City, community members discuss short-term rentals
Community Development Director Warren Frace facilitated the workshop.
Dozens of locals participated in workshop
– The City of Paso Robles held a workshop Thursday night on short-term rentals at the library conference room. Community Development Director Warren Frace facilitated the workshop, the second held this week. Earlier this week, the city conducted a workshop on parklets in downtown Paso Robles.
About 70 people participated in the workshop. People also participated on zoom. About a dozen people called in from local homes or from out-of-town. Most of the call-ins were in support of short-term rentals. Some identified themselves as owners of short-term rentals in the City of Paso Robles.
The city hosted an online survey about short-term rental permits that had over 300 responses. A plurality of respondents advocated for additional short-term rental permits, selecting “Not enough permits” as their highest concern. The survey results advise the city to increase permits above the current limit of 325.
Opponents to short-term rentals complain about the noise, the traffic, and the loss of homes that used to house families that are now being used for visitors. Many California towns and cities have restrictions on short-term rentals, especially in residential zoning. Cities to regulate short-term rentals include San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, St. Helena, Seal Beach, Temecula, San Diego, Rancho Mirage, Pacific Grove, Tiburon, Truckee, and Yountville, among others.
The city says about six percent of the homes on the west side of Paso Robles are now short-term rentals.
The Short Term Rental Ordinance expires on August sixth. The issue will go before the Paso Robles Planning Commission before it goes back before the city council in July.
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