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Council corrects STR ordinance language, clarifies homestays treated as short-term rentals
Summary
After public comment and staff review, the council directed staff to delete an errant sentence referencing homestays, clarified homestays will be treated the same as other short-term rentals (allowed in the VMU zone), and approved Ordinance No. 26-0390 as modified, 5–0.
Solvang’s City Council on Tuesday moved to correct a drafting error in the short-term rental ordinance and approved the ordinance as modified.
A public commenter, Susie Townson, urged the council to explicitly allow and regulate homestays so longtime residents could supplement income. Staff told the council that an isolated sentence referencing homestays in subsection 11-12-20(m) remained in the draft in error; earlier drafts had contemplated separate homestay rules but the council had directed staff not to regulate homestays separately. Planning staff said the ordinance should be edited to delete that sentence.
Planning staff explained that under the code as revised homestays are not separately regulated and would be treated as a kind of short-term rental. The staff presentation clarified homestays are allowed in the Village Mixed Use (VMU) zone where short-term rentals are permitted; council directed staff to bring back the implementation details and permitting portal work on approximately a six-month timeline if workload allows.
Councilmember (voice 10) moved to approve Ordinance No. 26-0390 with the corrections noted; the motion was seconded and the roll call vote passed 5–0.
The council also directed staff to remove the stray reference to homestays from section 11-12-20(m) so that the code does not appear to regulate homestays differently without definitions and enforcement mechanisms in place.
