Newport Beach delays new regulations on short-term rentals

Newport Beach will hold off on ratifying a wide-ranging package of changes to its rules for short-term lodging after landlords objected — particularly in inland Corona del Mar.

The City Council tentatively approved a new set of regulations earlier this month including a two-night minimum stay, a limit on occupancy, a requirement for off-street parking and informational signage, and a cap on the number of permitted rentals in the city.

One way to limit permits is by phasing them out for homes not in the “coastal zone,” which is approximately up to the seaward side of Coast Highway. That would affect about 60 homes, mostly in Corona del Mar.

CdM lawyer Melinda Luthin represents some of those homeowners. She ripped the provision as an arbitrary ban that is a land-use restriction presented as a modification of business permits.

It is “a zoning code amendment, like it or not. It is disingenuous for the city to contend that a complete ban on [short-term rentals] north of PCH is somehow not a change of land use or restriction within a district, which, by definition, is a zoning ordinance,” Luthin wrote in a letter of opposition. “This is especially true where, as here, the zoning code itself states that STRs are allowed as of right at all properties zoned” for duplexes.

Short-term rentals are allowed only in neighborhoods zoned for duplexes or multifamily housing.

One landlord on Jasmine Avenue north of Coast Highway said she is dependent on the income she gets by renting out her second unit, and the ability to rent it out was a factor in her purchase.

Another landlord, Colleen Howes, said the justification for cutting off permits north of the highway appears to be that it avoids the scrutiny of the California Coastal Commission.

“How can this be a valid justification for revoking our permits?” she said.

Landlords also criticized the city’s proposed overall cap of 1,600 permitted short-term rentals, along with the exterior signage, which they said could make homes a target by implying they’re sometimes vacant.

The City Council unanimously agreed Tuesday to delay the final vote on rule changes on the suggestion of Councilwoman Diane Dixon, a member of the council’s short-term lodging committee.

She said the committee will review the recent feedback and bring proposed changes to the council “quickly.”

Police gun range renovation

The council unanimously agreed to budget $765,000 to remodel the indoor gun range at the Newport Beach Police Department headquarters.

The remodel will completely overhaul the range, which was built in 1976, with a new ventilation system, ceiling and wall plates, acoustic panels, energy-efficient lighting, bullet traps and an automated turning target system.

Optima RPM Inc. of Irvine picked up the $691,000 construction contract. The balance of the funding will go toward contingencies and incidentals.

Housing advisory committee

The council filled out a housing-focused advisory committee as it concentrates its planning and zoning energies on meeting yet also challenging state expectations that the city accommodate 4,832 new homes over the next decade.

The Housing Element Update Advisory Committee consists of:

• Larry Tucker, a real estate development lawyer with extensive experience on the city’s Planning Commission and Finance Committee
• Jeff Bloom, an executive vice president and real estate director for Comerica Bank
• Susan De Santis, an urban-planning professional and one-time director of the California Department of Housing and Community Development
• Paul Fruchbaum, an affordable-housing developer
• Beth Kiley, a longtime commercial and residential real estate appraiser
• Geoffrey Le Plastrier, a real estate investment advisor with degrees in architecture, planning and law
• Stephen Sandland, an architect and a real estate developer
• Ed Selich, a developer, planner and former Newport Beach mayor
• Debbie Stevens, an environmental consultant
• Mayor Will O’Neill, as an ex officio member

The City Council has agreed to pause the ongoing overall update of Newport’s general plan — a comprehensive long-term development strategy and guide — to focus on the housing and related land-use and circulation elements. The Southern California Assn. of Governments has tentatively said Newport must plan for the 4,800 new homes by 2029.

The city has passed a resolution opposing the SCAG allocation and is preparing for a formal appeal.

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