Most West Marin residents support short-term rentals but think they should be limited in number and operated by local homeowners, according to a survey conducted by county planners. They also believe S.T.R. policies should be tailored to the unique characteristics of the communities in which rental properties are located.
County staff presented the survey results at a recent Marin County Planning Commission meeting, the latest of several hearings intended to gauge public opinion as planners formulate regulations to replace the current two-year moratorium on short-term rentals.
As sites such as Airbnb and VRBO have flourished and corporations have joined homeowners in the S.T.R. market, officials have worried that short-term rentals may be limiting the supply of long-term housing. They are seeking ways to regulate the short-term market while allowing homeowners some flexibility to generate income by renting their homes.
“This is not a black-and-white issue for us,” said Sarah Jones, director of Marin’s Community Development Agency. “This is not a matter of ‘we should have no vacation rentals,’ or ‘we should have unlimited vacation rentals.’”
The C.D.A. received nearly 2,500 responses to its survey, with roughly 1,000 of those from residents of unincorporated Marin, most of which lies in the coastal zone. Sixty-four percent of residents in unincorporated areas supported placing limits on S.T.R.s, and the same percentage said different rules should apply to owner-occupied rentals and those with no host on site.
Fifty percent said they strongly supported restrictions, and 22 percent said they strongly opposed them.
Fifty-three percent of residents in unincorporated areas said homeowners should be limited to just one short-term rental, and 57 percent said that any cap on the total number of rentals should vary from community to community.
“What works for Dillon Beach might not work for Bolinas,” said Kathleen Kilgareff, the county planner who oversaw the survey, summing up some of its findings.
Respondents were more comfortable with S.T.R.s where the host lives on the property, Ms. Kilgareff said, and more concerned about those with no host present.
“People want neighbors,” she said. “People want to be able to borrow a cup of sugar from someone who lives on the same street.”
The June 12 meeting gave the planning commissioners their first chance to weigh in on the shape of potential regulations.
Chris Desser, who represents West Marin, said any regulations should be tailored to the needs of individual coastal communities.
“One size is not going to fit all,” she said. “Two sizes aren’t going to fit all. There should be opportunities for each of the village associations to come up with rules that suit them.”
Don Dickenson, an at-large commissioner, asked staff to determine what percentage of short-term rentals are owned and operated by large companies without local ties. He said he recently inherited a home in Sonoma County and had been approached twice by investors who apparently wanted to convert it into a short-term rental.
“I’m curious to know to what degree that is happening in Marin,” he said. “At this point, I don’t really have a sense as to whether that is part of the problem that we should be addressing.”
As they have at previous hearings, supporters and opponents of short-term rentals spoke passionately about the issue. Others submitted comments in writing. Despite their differences, most seemed to agree that a balance could be struck between limiting S.T.R.s and banning them outright.
Mollie Lounibos, a Bolinas resident, said it is becoming increasingly difficult to find rental properties in West Marin, in part because property owners can earn more by converting their long-term rentals. She urged planners to impose village-by-village caps on short-term rentals and restrict them to one property per person.
“Short-term rentals are hurting our communities because they are decreasing the housing available for full-time residents,” she said. “It is heartbreaking. Families are being forced to leave. This is happening all the time and has begun to escalate.”
Maureen Cornelia, an Inverness resident who organized a group called West Marin Residents for Housing, also called for regulations that restrict S.T.R.s without banning them.
“We’ve all watched local workers, young families, seniors leave the community,” she said. “School enrollment is down. Local jobs go unfilled. We lose long-term residents who have built lives here. I absolutely believe there’s a place for short-term rentals in our community, but not at the current number, nor at the expense of our rural communities’ viability.”
Owners of S.T.R.s said they provide essential income and boost the local economy, creating jobs for house cleaners, landscapers and property managers along with customers for local shops and restaurants. Limiting S.T.R.s would not enhance the affordable housing stock, they argued, because most owners of such properties use them for part of the year and would not convert them to long-term rentals.
“There’s not any data that shows that reducing the number of short-term rentals is going to increase the amount of long-term housing,” said Steve Rubin, who owns short-term rentals in Stinson Beach, where he has lived for 23 years.
The previous owner of one of his homes lived in the East Bay and used it for vacations. “When they weren’t there, the house was empty, full of spider webs,” he said.
Short-term rentals provide people who can’t afford to purchase a home in West Marin an opportunity to enjoy the region’s spectacular natural beauty, said Anna McConnel, an Inverness resident who does not own an S.T.R. but says they provide crucial access to the coast.
“We went for a walk at Kehoe Beach the other day and it was completely empty,” she said. “I thought, you know what, this is nuts. Everybody deserves the right to go there and be on that beach and enjoy the beauty of Point Reyes. I really feel we need far better access for people to enjoy this incredible part of the world.”
The two-year moratorium on new short-term rentals in West Marin expires next May.
County planners intend to propose updated S.T.R. regulations by late July and have the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors vote on them in the fall. In December, the rules will be sent to the California Coastal Commission, which must approve them before they can take effect.