UPDATE: Pacific Grove passes short term rental moratorium

UPDATE 8/5/15: The Pacific Grove city council passed a moratorium that will temporarily ban new licenses for short term rentals. That ban will be in place for the next 45 days, which will give city leaders a chance to study the current ordinance.

PREVIOUS STORY: The coastal city at the very tip of the Monterey Peninsula may see a change that could impact the many tourists who stay there. Wednesday night, Pacific Grove city council will decide whether to temporarily ban new licenses for short term rentals.

The current ordinance was voted in about five years ago. A lot has changed since then, including a big increase in short term vacation rentals. It’s good for the economy, but some residents said there’s a downside too.

Pacific Grove city leaders said short term vacation rental market has exploded on the Monterey Peninsula. The economy is getting better and more people are traveling. Websites like Air B&B have taken off.

“It’s become more popular than expected,” City Manager Tom Frutchey said.

But with that popularity are complaints.

“We’ve had some neighborhoods complain it’s affecting the quality of life in the neighborhood,” Frutchey said.

A 45-day moratorium on issuing new short term rental licenses would give city leaders a breather, to give the city a chance to study the current ordinance and brainstorm ways to update it. Managing broker Jan Leasure thinks it’s a great idea.

“It’s been five years, it’s tried and tested at this point. We should be able to go back and see what’s working, what isn’t working and fix what isn’t working,” Leasure said.

One of her ideas is to only grant one unit in multi-unit complexes a license.

“One of the concerns that has been expressed about short term rentals is that it may impact the long term rental housing stock,” Leasure said.

Another idea is to limit the number per neighborhood. There’s also been talk about making sure there’s on-site parking for each rental. So far the city has issued 175 licenses and that could be the limit for the next 45 days.

While Leasure said regulation is key. She hopes the city doesn’t limit it too much to the point where it drives the underground economy because there’s already a problem with illegal short term vacation rentals in Pacific Grove.

If City Council votes in favor of the moratorium, it would take effect immediately.