litigation (City of Del Mar v. California Coastal Commission), the conditional approval expired on December 13, 2019.
February 7, 2021 - The court dismissed the City of Del Mar v. California Coastal Commission case because the CCC’s conditional approval had expired.
To establish new STR policies and regulations, the City must process a new ordinance and submit the adopted ordinance to the CCC for certification.
Process to Establish New Policies/Regulations
In preparation for the City Council to provide policy direction on the development of new STR policies and regulations, the City Council Planning Liaisons, Councilmembers Dave Druker and Terry Gaasterland, have recommended that the City Council first identify the objectives and guiding principles for this effort. This discussion is envisioned to occur at the City Council meeting on July 24, 2023. Once the Council has provided the necessary policy and regulatory framework, staff will work on drafting an ordinance for consideration through a public process that will include the following:
• An environmental analysis of the draft ordinance resulting in an environmental determination for review by the public and decision makers in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act. • Availability of the draft ordinance for public review for a period of at least six (6) weeks prior to City Council consideration for adoption. • During this time, the Planning Commission will hold a noticed public hearing to provide a recommendation to the City Council.
• The City Council will hold a noticed public hearing to introduce the ordinance and a second hearing to adopt the ordinance.
• Once adopted, the ordinance will be submitted to the Coastal Commission for certification of the associated Local Coastal Program Amendment.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
In January 2023, staff engaged one of the City’s existing as-needed consultants, DTA, to prepare an analysis identifying the number and characteristics of active STRs within the City. Specifically, the study identified and analyzed the following:
• Total number of dwelling units in the City, including the respective number of vacant and occupied units;
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Presentation of STR Data and Next Steps
July 10, 2023
• The number and general location of all STRs currently operating in the City; • The respective number of STRs that are investment properties where the owner does not live on-site, rentals of an owner’s primary residence, or homestay STR rentals of a portion of an owner’s primary residence; and • STR booking data characteristics such as length of stay (days per rental), occupancy capacity per STR, and rental rates per STR.
The data and analysis are intended to facilitate a general understanding of the STRs currently operating in Del Mar to inform community discussions and future City Council policy direction. DTA collected data for the timeframe of January 1 through April 30, 2023, and prepared an analysis of baseline STR conditions (Attachment A). While some of the data collected is proprietary, DTA disclosed their methodology for data collection from AirDNA, which is a reputable data source. A copy of the City’s Zoning Map (Attachment B) is also attached for reference.
The following is a summary and analysis of the results collected for this snapshot in time:
• According to the population and housing data for 2020 published by the United States Census Bureau, there are 2,574 dwelling units in the City.
While this is the data source that DTA used for their analysis, it should be noted that the 2023 Department of Finance estimate of dwelling units for Del Mar is 2,601.
• 116 STRs are being advertised for rent on a daily basis in the City of Del Mar.
This includes the number of dwelling units that are being advertised for short term rental. Where a dwelling unit was being advertised on multiple sites, or where a single unit was advertised with potential for rent as multiple smaller rentals, it was only counted once.
• This represents approximately 4.51% of the total dwelling units in the City.
This is in line with what is generally considered to be a reasonable proportion of the total housing stock. For comparison, the Del Mar Times reported on May 28, 2023, that the City of Solana Beach typically issues approximately 250 to 350 STR permits per year, which is equivalent to approximately 5% of their housing stock.
Using the Department of Finance’s 2023 estimate of 2,601 total dwelling units in Del Mar, STRs would be closer to 4.46% of the City’s total housing stock. 4 July 10, 2023 Item 09
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Presentation of STR Data and Next Steps
July 10, 2023
• 8% (9) of the 116 STRs are operating in locations where they are currently allowed under existing regulations and/or entitlements.
There are 9 STRs operating in locations where STR use is allowed including within the Wavecrest Resort (R2 zone) and L’Auberge Vacation Villas (Hotel Specific Plan). For context, there are 31 units total at Wavecrest Resort and 12 total units at L’Auberge Vacation Villas. The City has additional capacity for STRs in other commercial zone locations including the Residential Commercial zone, Central Commercial zone, North Commercial zone, Professional Commercial zone, Visitor Commercial Zone, and 941 Camino del Mar Specific Plan.
• Of the 116 STRs, 69% (80) are investment properties where the owner does not live on-site and 31% (36) are rentals of an owner’s primary residence.
Most properties being used as STRs are properties where the owner of record is identified as a trust, corporation, or entity that is not the occupant of the unit. A smaller subset are STRs in an owner’s primary residence that includes whole unit rentals and STRs where an owner rents out only a portion of their home. DTA indicated that the STRs identified in Del Mar did not include any where the rental would involve renting the unit with an owner present on-site. • 3.7 days is the average length of stay for STRs in Del Mar.
For comparison, STRs in the La Jolla community of the City of San Diego were reported as a 3-day average, City of San Diego STRs (92114 zip code) as a 3.5- day average, and City of Solana Beach STRs as a 4.5-day average for each rental agreement.
• $630 is the average rental rate per night in Del Mar.
For comparison, the City of Solana Beach STRs are $365 per night average, City of San Diego STRs (92114 zip code) are $489 per night average, and La Jolla STRs are $507 per night average for each rental agreement. • 62% is the average occupancy rate for the 116 STRs.
This data reflects the number of days that an advertised STR was occupied versus unrented where a high occupancy rate indicates a high utilization rate. For comparison, the City of Solana Beach STRs are 65% average occupancy, La Jolla STRs are 69% average occupancy, and City of San Diego STRs (92114 zip code) are 72% average occupancy.
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July 10, 2023
• Within Del Mar the top locations for STRs include RM-West zone (37 STRs), R2 zone (20 STRs not including Wave Crest), and RM-East zone (18 STRs).
The most common locations for STRs listed above are in proximity to the shoreline in the North Beach neighborhood and in the South Bluff neighborhood. Additional shoreline locations include R1-5B zone (8 STRs), RM-South zone (7 STRs), Wave Crest Resort (3 STRs), L’Auberge Villas (6 STRs), and BC zone (1 STR). STRs were also identified in the hill neighborhoods in the R1-10 zone (15 STRs) and CVPP (1 STR).
HOUSING IMPACT:
STRs involve commercial use of a dwelling unit that can displace long term housing stock.
This special project to establish new STR policies/regulations is consistent with the City’s Housing Element Program 5C as a measure intended to reduce current vacancy rates (units reported as unoccupied due to off-site owners with no long-term housing tenant) and protect the residential character of neighborhoods in residential zones (i.e., creating new opportunities for STRs in commercial zones and maintaining the majority of dwelling units in residential zones for long term housing).
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal action to be taken by the City Council for this agenda item.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:
The requested action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (General Rule) because CEQA only applies to projects with the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. For the purpose of CEQA, there is no change in baseline environmental conditions as a result of the action.
NEXUS TO CITY COUNCIL GOALS AND PRIORITIES:
The STR Regulations special project is a City Council identified priority for completion in Fiscal Year 2023-2024.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment A – DTA Short Term Rental Study – June 13, 2023 Attachment B – City Zoning Map
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26TH
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GRAND
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18TH
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26TH ST
28TH ST
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STRATFORD
SEA ORBIT LN
LOIS LN
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11TH ST
12TH ST
13TH ST
PACIFIC LN
DEL CAMINO
OCEAN AV
15TH
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DELMAR LN
14TH
MAIDEN LN
MELANIE
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9TH
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FR
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R1-10
R1-10
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R1-10
PP
R1-10
R1-10
R2
R2
R2
R1-10
R1-10
RME
PP
R1-10
R1-10
R1-10
R1-10
R1-14
R1-10
R1-10
R2
R1-10
R2
R1-14
R2
NC
R1-10
R1-10
NC
HSP
R1-10
R1-10
R1-10
R1-10
R1-10
R2
R1-10
PSP
PP
R1-10
BC
R1-10
R1-10
R1-10
R1-10
R1-10
R1-10
R1-10
PP
R1-10
RME
RME
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PF
PF
RME
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R2
RAIL
RAIL
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BC
R1-10
R1-10
R2
R2
R2
R1-10
R2 R2
R2
R2
R2
R2
HSP
PP
CC
RC
R1-10
R2
R2
R2
R1-10
R1-10
CC
CC
CC
R1-10
CC
RMC
CC
R1-10
RMC
R1-10
R1-10
R1-5B
R1-10
R2
R2
R1-10
PP
R2
R1-10
R2
R1-10
CC
R1-10
R1-10
RMC
CC
CC
RMW
RMC
R2
RME
BC
RMC
CC
R1-5B
CC
R1-10
PP
PP
RMW
RMW
R1-10
PC
R1-10
R1-10
RMW
R1-10
R1-10
PP
R1-5B
R1-10
R1-10
R1-10
R1-5B
R1-5B
R1-5B
R1-5B
R1-5B
RMC
R1-5B
RMC
RMW
R1-10
BC
R1-10
RMW
PP
RMW
RMW
R2
RMW
R1-5
R1-5
R1-5
R1-5
R1-5
R1-5
PF
PP
PP
R1-40
R1-10
R1-10
R1-10
R1-10
R1-10
R1-10
R1-5
R1-5
R1-10
RMC
PF
VC
RMC
R1-10
R1-10
R1-10
R1-14
PF
PSP
VC
PC
R1-10
RMC
R1-14
PP
PF
FR
941SP
City of Del Mar
Official Zoning Map
Residential Zones
R1-40
R1-14
R1-10
R1-10B
R1-5
R1-5B
RME
RMW
RMC
RMS
R2
CVPP
Commercial Zones
RC
CC
BC
PC
NC
VC
Miscellaneous Zones
941 SP
PSP
HSP
FR
FW
RR
PP
PF
Overlay Zones
Floodplain Overlay
Bluff, Slope & Canyon Overlay
Open Space Overlay
! Historic Preservation Overlay
0 400 800 1,200
Feet
Prepared: August 21, 2022 O
Attachment B -
Zoning Map
15 July 10, 2023 Item 09