New city report could affect the way people vote on Measure M

Short term rentals continue to be a hot topic in Pacific Grove, and new findings from the city could impact which way residents vote in limiting those rentals.

A report released by the city two weeks ago, shows that short term rentals brought in a combined revenue of 2.2 million in the 2017-2018 fiscal year. This is an increase from the 1.6 million the city saw in the 2016-2017 fiscal year. Both reports include the revenue gathered from application fees, license fees, transient occupational tax (resident), and code enforcement fees.

The question remains of whether this will sway voters at the polls, come November 6th. This election will be the first time Measure M will be seen on the ballot, according to Mayor Bill Kampe.

Many refer to the small coastal city as “America’s Last Hometown,” and some want to see it kept that way. 30-year resident, Thom Akeman, said this is part of the reason he is supportive of ‘Measure M.’ “Without the short term rentals it’s a nice quiet little town,” said Akeman.

Proponents of the measure hope to eliminate STRs in residential districts outside of the coastal zone. Akeman said the number of STRson his street has gotten out of hand. “There are strangers day and night coming and going — parking badly and making noises. You have no idea who’s who. So, the reason you want to live in a quiet small town was taken away,” said Akeman.

For some, renting out home to tourists has become a hobby and way of life. “We meet amazing people from around the world. It brings in nice money for housekeeping, ourselves, and the city,” said Joy Colangeo, a Pacific Grove resident and short term rental owner. Colangeo, and other opponents of ‘M’ say setting more limitations on STRs would harm the town’s economy.

Mayor Kamoe said he has seen the issue divide the town for a decade. He says the city has taken measures to try to cut back on the number of STRsin the town, over the years. One includes retiring 51 of the 254 STRs by April of 2019.

Mayor Kampe said that doing away with STRs completely could be harmful and already accounts for almost 10% of the city’s revenue. “Its not like this is the first time we have asked ourselves what do we have to do to try to restrict our city budget. We’ve done a lot of that. How much more there is to do? It looks very, very difficult at this point,” said Mayor Kampe.

Proponents of ‘M’ continue to fight on. Some said the financial loss will be compensated in others, such as ‘Measure U,’ which would increase the transient occupancy tax by 2%.

Over the course of the next weeks, you can find signs stating their stance on ‘M’ all over Pacific Grove. The true test will come on election day, where the fate of STRs are in the hands of voters.

To view the City of Pacific Grove’s Short Term Rental Program Revenue for the fiscal years of 2016-2017 and 2017-2018, you can visit www.cityofpacificgrove.org/STR.