Mayor’s Ethics Issues

The City Council referred Mayor Terry Gaasterland’s potential conflict of interest relating to Del Mar’s Short-Term Rental (STR) regulations to the State’s Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) for review and potential action, by a 2-1 vote at the June 16, 2025 Council meeting, with Councilmember Quirk voting no and Gaasterland recused. The heart of the issue: Gaasterland’s non-disclosure to the Council or the public that she has engaged in STR activities, and her failure to recuse from the STR deliberations and decisions based on a conflict of interest because of her STR activities.

The action followed a contentious discussion, during which Gaasterland defended her conduct from the audience podium, claiming she had received advice orally from the FPPC in August 2024 that she could participate in the matter despite her rental activities. It is not clear what advice she may have received orally, or what facts she presented to the FPPC about specific regulations under consideration that would have a financial impact on STR operators. It seems clear that she asserted that all of her rentals were 30 days or longer.

Deputy Mayor Tracy Martinez disputed Gaasterland’s 30-day claim, stating she “knew for a fact” of a three-day rental. Also, two leases submitted by Gaasterland or her spouse as part of STR Registry filings on December 31, 2024, the filing deadline, reflected 29-day rentals. After the Council meeting, Gaasterland confirmed with a Coast News reporter that she had rented to family members of Martinez for a 3-day period, but called it “a friend helping a friend,” while Martinez reported that her family paid $200 per night for the rental.

Martinez and Councilmember Spelich asserted in the Agenda Report they submitted for this matter that “In the submitted registries, the Mayor and/or her spouse stated that they had operated each of the two units as short-term rentals at some point during the past 10 years prior to adoption of the STR ordinance…. As such, the Mayor should have publicly disclosed her STR rental activities and been recused from participating in the development and adoption of the City’s STR ordinance.” Though they originally recommended referral to the District Attorney’s Political Integrity Unit, the California Attorney General, and the San Diego County Grand Jury as well as the FPPC “for third-party review and action as appropriate,” the motion approved by a 2-1 vote of the Council was for referral solely to the FPPC.

The Council worked during 2023-2024 to craft the STR ordinance ultimately adopted on September 23, 2024. The ordinance carves out less restrictive provisions for STRs that existed before the ordinance’s adoption – exempting them, for instance, from the cap on the number of STRs and the requirement that STRs must be a “primary residence” (i.e., owner-occupied for more than 6 months each year).

Gaasterland’s “no” vote on the ordinance on September 23 did not affect the outcome, since it passed on a 4-1 vote. But she played an active role in formulating the regulatory scheme for STRs, including decisions on provisions that have a direct financial impact on STR operators. Indeed, she served as one of the two Council liaisons on this issue, working closely with staff on the STR regulations between Council meetings. She did not disclose her STR activities before the other Councilmembers agreed to her Council liaison role, or during the months of Council work on the issue. Her STR activities became generally known only after the December 31, 2024 Registry filings for her properties.