Only 99 of 150 Existing Short-Term Rentals Apply for a Permit Under New Ordinance

A key deadline for Short-Term Rental (STR) operators in Del Mar occurred on May 1, when the 150 STRs who previously were granted “existing STR” status by the City were required to file an STR permit application. Only 99 of these 150 STRs did so.

This means that 51 of the 150 City-recognized existing STRs have lost their eligibility for the special treatment extended to existing STRs under the City’s STR Ordinance.

These special benefits include eligibility for a permit without regard to the city-wide cap of 129 STRs; exemption from the limit of one STR per operator; and exemption from the requirement that the STR be within a primary residence — that is, the owner’s principal place of residence, where the owner lives for more than six months per year.

The stated purpose of City’s short-term rental (STR) ordinance, regulating visitor lodging of 30 days or less, is to provide a permitting process and reasonable standards regulating the use and operation of STRs while maintaining the residential character of neighborhoods in residential zones, preserving long term housing, and meeting State requirements to create additional affordable housing stock in light of California’s housing crisis. The ordinance also cites the Community Plan’s goal to preserve “Del Mar’s special residential character and small town atmosphere.”

Because only 99 existing STRs filed a permit application by the May 1 deadline, the Ordinance’s cap of 129 STRs be in effect immediately, since all existing STRs applying for a permit can be accommodated within the cap. Indeed, there will be space within the cap for 30 new STRs. Nestor Machado, Associate Management Analyst for the City of Del Mar, has confirmed that there are currently 10 owners on the waitlist for a permit for a new STR.