Task force tackles short-term rentals in Pacific Grove

Founded in the 1870s as a Methodist summer retreat, Pacific Grove has been a vacation getaway for decades.

Recently, more and more short term vacation rentals have popped up on the Monterey Peninsula.

While that’s a good thing for the local economy, short-term rentals can be nuisance for neighbors.

Since March of this year, Pacific Grove city leaders say they’ve fielded complaints about noise and parking at storm-term rentals.

In an effort to find a good balance, the city created a 5-member task force to help out.

Jan Leasure, a managing broker at Monterey Bay Property Management, sits on the task force.

“We’re looking at ordinances that have been implemented by other cities, we’re looking at what’s working and not working,” Leasure said. “We’re looking at what’s working and what’s not working locally… and we’ll find a way.”

There are about 170 short-term rentals in Pacific Grove, 16 of which are unlicensed. That’s another aspect the task force is tackling… making sure everyone follows the rules and pays the Transient Occupancy Task.

Wednesday marked the task force’s second meeting, and several residents spoke up. One resident talked about his own ideas for short-term rentals after expressing concerns about partying.

“Nothing outdoors after 9 o’clock,” he said. “That (noise) has been the main thing we’ve called the management company about.”

As the task force irons out the details, Monterey County Vacation Rental Alliance Vice President Chip Bates says other Central Coast cities are watching how PG moves forward.

He says short-term rentals are here to stay, and with a strong ordinance, there will be better regualtion.

“We are interested in preserving neighborhoods. We are interested in benefiting neighborhoods,” Bates said. “We think it can be done in a fair, reasonable way, and when there are bad actors, they need to be nailed. They need to be cited and they need to be penalized. Unless we have an ordinance that’s fair, however, you will simply drive all STRs back underground.”

The task force will eventually develop a set of recommendations and present those recommendations in December.