By Gary Wonacott
In 2018, a a few days before there was to be a vote on then Mayor Faulconer’s proposed short-term rental regulations, I met with then Councilmember Chris Ward. In the meeting, I expressed concerns about the mayor’s proposed approach resulting in a huge wave of STRs in Mission Beach, but Councilmember Ward said that he was more concerned that there may not be a sufficient number of applications to pay for enforcement, and without enforcement, the program was doomed.
And here we are again. After being assured by Councilmember Jen Campbell and her staff going back to the Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU), we find that once again Councilmember Ward’s prediction has come true. There are too few applications to ensure that the program can fund a strong enforcement plan.
Certainly, the reduced funding will not support the sixteen Code Enforcement Officers promised by Councilmember Campbell that would enforce both unlicensed and nuisance STRs.
Councilmember Campbell missed what was probably the most important and effective enforcement approach available that would address the many unlicensed STRs at one time instead of one at a time. Incorporate language into the ordinance that penalizes any platform that contracts with an unlicensed STR operator. This has been proven to be effective in many large cities.
There is another issue that needs to be addressed.
Residents of Mission Beach raised the issue and Councilmember Campbell’s staff have acknowledged the fact that the 2020 census data should be used to quantify the number of STR licenses. There has already been much burden put on the residents of Mission Beach.
As it stands, the density of STRs in Mission Beach will be 34 percent, not 30 percent as the ordinance states. Between 2010 and 2020, there has been a decrease of almost 25 percent in the population of our community. Can you imagine decreasing by 25 percent one of your communities? The number of STR licenses needs to be realigned to the 2020 census. We believe this can be done administratively with your help.
The above is taken from a letter to City Council members by the author, dated Dec. 17, 2022. Gary Wonacott is a resident of Mission Beach