By Charles M. Kelly
The first Seal Beach City Council meeting will be held Jan. 9. One item that is scheduled to be on the agenda next week is a public hearing on vacation rentals. According to a legal notice published in the Dec. 29, 2022, Sun, the council will consider an ordinance amending the Zoning Code to be consistent with court rulings and state law for vacation rentals. Among the new rules, if council adopts the ordinance (the text of which was published in another notice on Dec. 29):
• Property owners will have to apply annually for permits.
• Permits will be limited to 1% of the city’s housing stock.
• A business license will be required.
If this sounds familiar, that’s because in September 2022 the council voted unanimously to suspend enforcement of the existing ban on vacation rentals. There was no public hearing at the time. According to the report from that meeting to the council, city staff advised suspending the existing vacation rental ban in response to two court cases: Kracke versus city of Santa Barbara and Keen versus City of Manhattan Beach. Essentially, the appellate courts in those cases determined vacation bans limit coastal access and are subject to California Coastal Commission approval.
At the time, Community Development Director Alexa Smittle said the issues to be considered included how the short-term rentals would operate and how the city would enforce its rules.
At the time, staff reported there were 14 legal vacation rentals in Seal Beach.
The exact time of the Jan. 9, 2023, hearing can’t be known. The council meeting will be held at 7 p.m., next Monday.
According to the hearing notice, legal challenges to any decision the council makes could be limited to the issues raised at the meeting.
