Public hearing to consider an ordinance adding sections to Chapter 13.10 of the Santa Cruz County Code and adding a definition in subdivision 13.10.700-V of the Santa Cruz County Code relating to vacation rentals.
Plain and simple — vacation rentals are businesses in residential neighborhoods. Before the Internet, people rarely rented out their houses other than weekly or monthly and certainly not by the day. Now the Internet has transformed what were formerly homes into unmanaged mini-motels.
As more homes in our coastal area become vacation rentals, it impacts the quality of life for people who live here, creating concerns about neighborhood integrity, loss of rental housing for local residents, and increased rents.
After the public testimony and a great deal of deliberation by the commission members, the HAC finally voted for a much simplified version of the ordinance, compared with the original version brought to the commission by Planning Department staff.
Popular Sunny Cove Beach has been both an enjoyable beach and a source of community interest for many years. Most people are surprised to find out that it is privately owned property. Recently the owners contacted the County in order to donate this small-scale beach surrounded by natural bluffs, which is enjoyed by residents and
visitors alike.
The economy of Santa Cruz County is in dire straits with an unemployment rate over 10 percent, a county budget millions of dollars in the red, and foreclosures among the highest in the state. Tourism, our largest source of jobs, continues to struggle. Why then would supervisors propose an ill-conceived ordinance that will have devastating effects on our local economy?
The Scotts Valley City Council voted to draft a letter to the Board of Supervisors Wednesday, asking the county to study the economic impact a proposed vacation housing ordinance would have on Scotts Valley.
But one thing many of the regulars there don’t know is that the beach is privately owned, and public use of the property has been more about the goodwill of the owner than a guarantee.
A cautionary step-by-step guide for Santa Cruz property owners wishing to build a home within Coastal Commission jurisdiction
LIVE OAK — County leaders lost the initial battle to crack down on vacation home rentals after the Housing Advisory Commission rejected a proposed ordinance Wednesday that would have capped the number of rentals, limited the number of people who could stay in the homes and mandated permits for operating vacation rentals.