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At Politifest Saturday, City Council candidates Richard Bailey and Nicole Crosby couldn’t agree on a simple fact: whether the California Coastal Commission would have to sign off on any changes to the city’s laws on vacation rentals.

Crosby wants to severely overhaul the rules and said she would pursue it on Day 1, dramatically lowering the number of allowed vacation rentals. Right now, 1% of the city’s housing stock can be permitted for short-term vacation rentals. The exception is Mission Beach, where 30% of homes can be set aside for visitors.

Bailey was more cautious. He said he would consider changes but the already budget-conscious city can’t just disregard the tens of millions of tourism tax dollars short-term vacation rentals now pay the city.

But he said the Coastal Commission would have to sign off on any changes. Crosby, a chief deputy city attorney said Bailey was wrong — the city could change it without the Commission’s blessing.

She now admits she wasn’t correct. The city could change its vacation-rental laws but the part that is on the coast would need to wait for a change to the Local Coastal Program, which does need Coastal Commission Approval.

She said they could change it and work with Coastal Commission staff to make sure it stuck.

“We can work with Commission staff to review and accept modifications or new STVR regulations simultaneously while the ordinance moves through committees and City Council public meetings.  This requires diligence, patience and oversight—qualities I intend to bring,” she said in a follow-up email.

Bailey pointed out that the city’s 1% cap was flawed. Areas like Ocean Beach and Pacific Beach had much more vacation rentals than other areas, even if it all equaled lower than 1%. But rather than necessarily lower the cap, he suggested another way to make it equitable.

“In addition to reforming how this entire program works, we need to make sure the tax revenue generated from those communities, from those short-term vacation rentals actually stays within those communities that are most affected,” he said.

Bailey said the demand for vacation rentals in Mission Beach is high and he seemed willing to defer to the Coastal Commission’s apparent preference that the city preserve that option for visitors there until the current ordinance expires in 2030. And the city should be cautious about losing the more than $50 million in revenue it collects from vacation rental taxes.

“Any changes to the short-term vacation rental ordinance, which I’m certainly happy to consider, we also need to keep in mind the other side of the ledger,” he said.

Crosby was determined to change and specifically radically reduce the number in Mission Beach.

“Thirty percent is fine? It is not fine. It has decimated a community,” she said. Later, she added: “You can reduce it on Day 1. You don’t have to wait until 2030,” she said.

It seems you could do a lot before 2030, but you couldn’t change that without the Coastal Commission approving.

Scott Lewis oversees Voice of San Diego’s operations, website and daily functions as Editor in Chief. He also writes about local politics, where he frequently breaks news and goes back and forth with local political figures.

Contact Scott at scott.lewis@voiceofsandiego.org or 619-325-0527 and follow him on X at @vosdscott.