It is four years in the making and after 4.5 hours on Wednesday night, the Paso Robles Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend new rules on vacation rentals be forwarded to the city council.
Currently, Paso Robles has more than 350 short term rentals registered with the city. After three years, the ordinance would cap it at 300.
The new ordinances would create stricter rules on where a rental could start, as well as regulations for current rental “businesses.”
At the meeting, which was a continuation of Tuesday’s meeting, dozens of residents provided public input both for and against the vacation rentals found on AirBnb and VRBO.
Some of the language in the new ordinance, which could be tweaked by City Council, has expansion of the notice requirement to 300 feet for rentals. Only one rental would be allowed to operate per plot of land. Parking restrictions would place a focus on guests using the driveway before street parking. Occupancy standards would allow for two residents for every bedroom of the unit. A two bedroom rental would allow four guests to stay overnight but during the day could have up to 10 guests.
The goal of the ordinance would also be to shift where the rentals are located. Currently 210 are in the single-family residential zone. The ordinance would bring that down to 100.
Fines for violations would be $100 for the first violation, $200 for the second, $300 for the third and possible revocation of license.
City Council will hear the first reading of the ordinance on June 4 with a public hearing on June 5. If it passes, the ordinance would go into effect in mid-July. The first day to submit short-term rental permit applications would be July 18, 2019.
