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Council initiates study to ban short‑term lodging in Los Rios, directs staff to consider citywide code change
Summary
Following a recent court ruling, the council voted 3‑1 on May 15 to initiate a study to amend the Los Rios Specific Plan to explicitly prohibit short‑ and long‑term lodging, and instructed staff to draft parallel land‑use code changes applying citywide.
The San Juan Capistrano City Council on May 15 voted to initiate a study to amend the Los Rios Specific Plan so that short‑term and long‑term lodging are explicitly prohibited in the historic residential and low‑density residential districts, and directed staff to include language that would make that prohibition explicit across specific plans or the land‑use code.
Development Services Director Joel Rojas told the council the proposal responds to a recent superior court ruling that dismissed citations issued for unpermitted short‑term lodging in the Los Rios historic residential district. "The court dismissed citations that were issued for unpermitted short term lodging in the Los Rios historic residential district, finding that 1, the Los Rios specific plan does not prohibit short term lodging," Rojas said, adding the decision found the specific plan and related rules ambiguous and that donations to nonprofits in exchange for lodging were not necessarily compensation.
Attorney Chuck Krolikowski, who said he was involved in the underlying court action, urged caution. "I think the way you're drafting this ... is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad," he told the council, arguing cities cannot categorically prohibit rentals of 30 days or more when a tenant establishes residency. Several council members agreed the concern is substantive and supported a "belts and suspenders" approach: amend the Los Rios specific plan and also clarify the city's land‑use code so existing and future specific plans are not ambiguous.
Council Member Howard Hart said the issue likely affects more than Los Rios and urged a citywide solution rather than amending plans piecemeal. After debate and a staff‑recommended study scope, the council voted 3‑1 to initiate the amendment study and to have staff prepare language to address both the specific plan and the zoning code.
What happens next: Staff will draft specific plan language and land‑use code amendments, conduct an environmental analysis, present proposed amendments to the planning commission and return to the council for final action. The motion passed 3‑1; the record shows residual disagreement over the scope and constitutional risk of a categorical prohibition.
