Pismo Beach cracks down on short-term rentals amid complaints

Pismo Beach leaders are placing a moratorium on new short-term rental permits amid complaints for residents who say the occupants are a nuisance and don't follow local rules.

There are currently 28 STRs in the city, but residents continue to file complaints about noise and not following the rules. At its June 21 meeting, the City Council unanimously passed an emergency ordinance to stop issuing STR permits until they can come up with more strict rules for enforcement.

Councilmember Sheila Blake said even the threat of high fines doesn't seem to solve the issue.

"I'd like to know where the hell we went wrong?" she said. "We got a great town here, and all of a sudden it's so attractive to everyone that they don't care how much they have to pay for a penalty. It happens everywhere. ... They will pay anything just to have use of the house."

Even though breaking STR rules is a misdemeanor, most problems are solved by fines starting at $750 and going up to $1,000 for each violation after that. Blake and Councilmember Scott Newton said that these kinds of measures weren't harsh enough. 

The city's staff report says that since 2020, Pismo Beach has fined people who broke STR rules almost $30,000. Nearly half of that amount came from winning a court case that a then-licensed STR operator had brought against the city to get $16,750 in fines for running an illegal business out of their rental, according to a report by New Times SLO.

"Unfortunately, people think they can do what they want and the municipal code appears to be advisory. ... I assure you the municipal code is not a recommendation, ... we do enforce them. We see an increase of people choosing to say, 'I'm not going to pay your fine, have a nice day,'" City Manager James Lewis said.