Placentia council imposes 45-day moratorium on new short-term rental permits

The Placentia City Council adopted an urgency ordinance 5-0 on Sept. 2 placing a 45-day moratorium on new short-term residential rental permits as staff works to revise local rules. Council members said the pause will give staff time to return with options for spacing requirements, inspection protocols and a possible cap on permits.

Development Services Director Joe Lambert urged the council to use the 45 days to refine enforcement and operational standards. “We prepared an optional moratorium urgency ordinance, which, if adopted, would place a moratorium on new short term rentals for up to 45 days,” he told the council during the study session. Lambert summarized existing rules — a 300-foot director-discretion spacing, annual renewals and a 10 percent transient-occupancy tax — and presented options including a 500-foot radius, mandatory inspections, caps measured as a percentage of housing units, and tougher revocation procedures.

Council members said enforcement, not prohibition, was a primary driver. Councilmember Yamaguchi said he wanted a balance "between both interests" and recommended measures such as inspections and limits on occupancy and minimum stays. Mayor Pro Tem Ivanka moved to adopt the moratorium and Councilmember Yamaguchi seconded; the ordinance passed unanimously. City staff instructed to return within the 45-day period with draft ordinance language incorporating council direction.

The moratorium takes effect immediately; staff noted planned follow-up work will include options for: a stricter automatic disqualifier for new permits within a specified radius, inspections patterned after hotel or fire-business checks, a tiered enforcement regime (fines, suspensions, revocations), and consideration of whether partial/room rentals should count toward any cap. The council also directed staff to better measure unlicensed listings and to continue coordination with the vendor that tracks potential illegal operators.