Editorial: Vacation rentals, affordable housing a delicate balance in West Marin

Marin County leaders are wrestling with coming up with the right number of short-term rentals that should be allowed in West Marin.

Their intent, so far, has not been to force current landlords out of the business of renting their house, a second unit or room to visitors, but to place a reasonable cap that prevents what has been an erosion of the area’s long-term rental stock.

Backers of capping the number at a lesser amount cite real-time cases of local workers unable to find affordable housing because those houses or second units have been converted to short-term lodging for visitors.

For property owners, that change brings a promise of generating more income without landlord-tenant regulations.

For the county, it has meant increased income in the form of lodging tax, in particular the West Marin levy that is supposed to go to emergency services and creating affordable housing.

The opposite result, of course, is undermining the availability of affordable housing and the county’s oft-stated goal of furthering racial and economic diversity.

The county also has to consider that for many property owners, having short-term rentals is the difference in them being able to afford to buy or keep their homes.

It is a delicate multi-sided balancing act, one that also can’t ignore the importance of tourism to West Marin’s economy.

Also important is a realization that many Marin residents likely turn to rentals on Airbnb, Vrbo or other online rental services when they visit other locales. Is it right that they ban them here, in their own neighborhoods.

Setting a cap seems a reasonable approach and one that has been advanced by the county Planning Commission. The commissioners are also recommending that Dillon Beach and Stinson Beach’s Seadrift area be excluded from the ordinance, respecting that they are already largely composed of vacation homes, many of which are also rentals.

The commission also proposed banning apartment complexes from converting to short-term rentals.

The caps will be specific to the West Marin towns; for example,  setting differing limits for Bolinas and Nicasio.

The overall cap will be lower than the 900 or so short-term rentals that county staff report are already in place today. Reducing that number will be achieved by attrition; when landlords opt to not renew their county licenses.

County officials, more than a year ago, declared a moratorium on new short-term rentals in West Marin, from Muir Beach to Marshall. The purpose was to declare a “time out” to give county planners time to assess the issue and formulate regulations.

The moratorium’s deadline is May 23 and county planners have done their homework, including holding a number of community meetings in West Marin.

There is local pressure to reduce the allowable number even below where planning commissioners appear to be heading in their recommendation.

Those voices contend that the growth of vacation rentals have already eroded a significant number of affordable housing that was once available to local workers.

In the county’s search for a reasonable cap, it is fair to property owners to achieve that number by attrition.

The nagging question, however, is the county’s ability to enforce the ordinance. Even staff admits enforcement will not be easy.

In moving forward with the ordinance, county leaders should build in a progress report – perhaps after two years – to take a good look at its effectiveness, whether it is protecting and restoring affordable housing or has become an unenforceable law.

Striking a balance between residents, local economy and tourism is not a new challenge. The rise in popularity of short-term rentals has added another concern – the loss of affordable housing.