Title
PLN260145 - SHIRK LAURA TR
Public hearing to consider action on a Commercial Vacation Rental to allow the use of residential property for transient lodging for a period of 30 calendar days or fewer.
Project Location: 3481 Oliver Rd, Carmel, CA 93923 Carmel Area Land Use Plan
Proposed CEQA action: Find the project Categorically Exempt pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15301, and there are no exceptions pursuant to Section 15300.2.
Report
RECOMMENDATIONS
It is recommended that the Zoning Administrator adopt a resolution to:
a. Find the project qualifies for a Class 1 Categorical Exemption from CEQA Guidelines Section 15301, and that none of the exceptions from Section 15300.2 apply to the project; and
b. Approve a Coastal Development Permit for a Commercial Vacation Rental to allow the use of a residential property for transient lodging for a period of 30 calendar days or fewer.
The attached draft resolution includes findings and evidence for consideration (Exhibit A). Staff recommends approval subject to 5 conditions of approval.
PROJECT INFORMATION
Property Owner/Applicant: Laura Shirk Tr
APN: 009-294-028-000
Parcel Size: 0.53 acres
Zoning: Medium Density Residential with a maximum Density of 2 units per acre and a Design Control overlay in the Coastal Zone or
“MDR/2-D(CZ)”
Plan Area: Carmel Area Land Use Plan
Flagged and Staked: N/A
Project Planner: Jade Mason, Assistant Planner
masonj@countyofmonterey.gov, (831) 755-3759
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION
The project site is located at 3481 Oliver Road, a publicly maintained road, within Carmel, within the Carmel Area Land Use Plan of the unincorporated County of Monterey. The owner submitted an application on March 25, 2026, seeking to use their existing single-family dwelling located in a residentially zoned neighborhood as a Commercial Vacation Rental. Therefore, operations shall not commence until the appropriate permit and licenses are obtained. The site is developed with a single-family dwelling and detached garage with a guest house, and the surrounding area is developed with single-family dwellings. The single family dwelling is near downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea (1.3 miles), the Carmel Mission Basilica (0.5 miles), the Barnyard Shopping Village (0.9 miles), and the Carmel River State Beach (1.5 miles) (Exhibit B).
The proposed commercial vacation rental is within the existing two-story 2,540 square foot single-family dwelling consisting of 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and an attached lower-level guest house with a bedroom and a bathroom, which is included in the application. All of which is proposed to be used as a commercial vacation rental. In total, there will be 4 bedrooms and three bathrooms for a maximum occupancy of 9 overnight guests and 13 daytime guests. The property will retain its potable water through California American Water, a public water provider, through the Monterey Peninsula Water District, and Carmel Area Wastewater District (CAWD) will continue to provide sewer service. The property will retain its solid waste services with Waste Management, a waste management company.
In the immediate neighborhood (500-foot radius from the residence), there are a total of four other applications for a Vacation Rental Operations License: two applied commercial vacation rentals, one issued homestay, and one approved discretionary permit for commercial vacation rentals. If approved, the granting of this Coastal Development Permit would allow the establishment of the 41st permitted vacation rental in the Carmel Area Land Use Plan out of a maximum of 118 commercial vacation rentals that may be issued at any given time pursuant to Title 20 Section 20.64.290.F.3.b.
Based on staff’s analysis, the proposed project is consistent with the policies and regulations pertaining to zoning uses and any other applicable provisions of the 1982 Monterey County General Plan (General Plan), Carmel Area Land Use Plan (CAR LUP), Carmel Area Implementation Plan (CAR CIP), Monterey County Code Title 7 Chapter 7.120, Monterey County Code Chapter 16.80, and applicable sections of the Monterey County Coastal zoning ordinance (Title 20).
Land Use
The parcel is zoned Medium Density Residential with a maximum Density of 2 units per acre and a Design Control overlay in the Coastal Zone or “MDR/2-D(CZ)”. Title 20 Section 20.12.050.DD allows for the Commercial Vacation Rental use subject to the granting of a Coastal Development Permit. Title 20 Section 20.64.290.F establishes the regulations for a property operating as a Commercial Vacation Rental on such property for transient lodging for a period of 30 calendar days or fewer.
The property complies with Title 20 Section 20.64.290.F.5, adequate emergency response times for fire and emergency medical. The submitted Operations Plan includes contact information for County emergency services for fire and emergency medical. Adequate is defined as 5-8 minutes within Community Areas, Community Plans, and Sphere of Influence, 12 minutes within Rural centers, and 45 minutes for all other areas. The subject property falls within the City of Carmel-By-The-Sea sphere of influence; therefore, is subject to the 5-8 minute response time. Cypress Fire Protection District Station 25 (Cypress FPD) fluctuates between 3-5 minutes away, and the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula (CHOMP) is 7-18 minutes away. Although CHOMP does not meet the required emergency response times, Cypress FPD provides advanced life support and a paramedic staff to provide emergency medical services, along with fire response services. The Vacation Rental Operation License requires that guests be provided with the contact information on the response time for emergency medical and fire services as a part of the informational notice posted within six feet of the front door and in a visible location outside of the structure (Condition No. 5).
Parking requirements outlined in Title 20 Sections 20.64.290.F.6 and 20.58.040 require that a Single-Family Detached residential dwelling unit have 2 spaces/unit. The application includes adequate parking spaces (4 guest parking spaces; 2 carport spaces and 2 uncovered), which exceeds the minimum requirements.
The subject property complies with the limitation on the number of Commercial Vacation Rentals per legal lot requirements of Title 20 Section 20.64.290.F.7, which allows one Commercial Vacation Rental per legal lot of record. The subject property will be the only Commercial Vacation Rental on the legal lot of record. The owner of the subject property complies with the ownership requirements of Title 20 Section 20.64.290.F.10, wherein the owner of the subject property is allowed to have an ownership interest in one Commercial Vacation Rental within unincorporated Monterey County. The owners of the property do not have an ownership interest in other already operating Commercial Vacation Rentals in unincorporated Monterey County, and this would be their first and only Commercial Vacation Rental in unincorporated Monterey County.
As detailed in the draft resolution (Exhibit A), the owner has provided evidence of compliance with the applicable requirements. The designated Property Manager for the Commercial Vacation Rental will be Jane Dowell who resides at 501 Camino Aguajito, Monterey, CA 93940, which is an average of a 12-minute drive away. Jane Dowell’s contact information will be provided to the guests of the property, and Jane Dowell will be available 24/7 to respond to guest or neighborhood questions or concerns and has the ability to arrive within 30 minutes. Jane Dowell’s contact information will be provided to guests as a part of the informational notice posted within six feet of the front door as required pursuant to Title 7 Section 7.120.040.L.
The property has a maximum occupancy of 9 overnight guests and 13 daytime guests. The proposed occupancy does not exceed the limits set forth in the California Uniform Housing Code and the requirements enumerated in Title 7 Section 7.120.070.C, which limit the maximum overnight occupancy to two persons per bedroom plus one not counting infants (zero to twelve months), with a not to exceed total maximum overnight occupancy of 10 overnight guests, regardless of the number of bedrooms in the property.
To ensure the proposed use will not affect the residential character of the neighborhood, the following two conditions have been incorporated. Condition No. 3 has been incorporated to ensure that the property will not be rented for the purposes of holding a corporate or private event venue, and Condition No. 4 to ensure that the property will remain in compliance with the regulations for Vacation Rentals in Title 7 Chapter 7.120, Title 20 section 20.64.290 and the Conditions of Approval. Additionally, the proposed Commercial Vacation Rental is subject to Monterey County’s Noise Ordinance (Chapter 10.60), which prohibits loud or unreasonable noise between the hours of 9:00PM and 7:00AM. In accordance with Title 20 section 20.70.060, if the property is found to be in violation of the approved operations plan or conditions of approval attached to this Coastal Development Permit, the permit may be revoked for non-compliance.
Access
This property is on Oliver Road, a public, County-maintained road in Carmel. Oliver Road is accessible to Highway 1. Therefore, it is not subject to Title 16 Chapter 16.80, which regulates private roads in Monterey County pursuant to Title 20 Section 20.64.290.F.4.
Although the property is accessed by a county-maintained road, the driveway is a shared driveway that serves this property and the neighboring property to the northeast. To date, no correspondence has been received objecting to the use of the shared driveway for a commercial vacation rental.
Violation
On March 25, 2026, the applicant submitted a request for a Coastal Development Permit for a Commercial Vacation Rental to allow the use of a residential property for transient lodging for a period of 30 calendar days or fewer. On September 3, 2026, an HCD-Code Compliance Case No. 26CE00632 was opened and created stating that the property may possibly be in violation with Monterey County Code through the operation of a non-permitted vacation rental. The Code Enforcement case was closed on October 22, 2026 and a formal administrative citation was not issued to the owner, however, staff was made aware that a vacation rental was operating without the benefit of a permit despite the closed Code Enforcement case. The vacation rental application was created prior to the creation of the code enforcement case, however, the property was operating as a vacation rental until September of 2026. At this time, the applicant continued to operate a commercial vacation rental without the benefit of an approved discretionary permit. The granting of this Combined Development Permit would allow for the use of the property as a CVR. No additional complaints have been received.
CEQA:
The project qualifies as a categorical exemption from environmental review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15301. This exemption applies to the operation of existing private structures, involving negligible or no expansion of an existing use. The Applicant/Owner proposes to use a residential single-family dwelling for transient lodging where the term of occupancy, possession, or tenancy of the property by the person entitled to such occupancy, possession, or tenancy for a period of 30 consecutive calendar days or fewer. This project does not propose or authorize any additional exterior development and/or expansion of the existing structure currently on the project site.
The subject property will be limited to one rental contract at any given time. All facilities, as planned and approved, have been confirmed by County agencies to be adequate for this use. Therefore, the proposed use is consistent with the CEQA Guidelines Section 15301. None of the exceptions under CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.2 apply to this project. Additionally, there will be no significant effect on the environment due to unusual circumstances. Further, there is no evidence that “the cumulative impact of successive projects of the same type in the same place, over time is significant.”
The County prepared a FEIR for the Vacation Rental Ordinances project, which was certified by the Board of Supervisors on August 27, 2024 (SCH# 2022080643). The FEIR analyzed the project for environmental impacts and did not identify any significant impacts of Commercial Vacation Rentals up to the Commercial Vacation Rental cap set for each County of Monterey Planning Area. This Commercial Vacation Rental does not exceed the cap of 118 on Commercial Vacation Rentals in the Carmel Area Land Use Plan. It would be the 41st Commercial Vacation Rental in the Carmel Area Land Use Plan. The FEIR did address public comments that vacation rentals have the potential for negative side effects including nuisance issues such as traffic, parking and noise. However, no significant environmental effects were identified. County regulations have been developed and are in effect to ensure that vacation rentals remain compatible with existing residential uses. Cumulative impacts of the regulations taken together with other past, present, and probable future projects were analyzed and no significant effects were identified. There is no evidence suggesting that approving this project would result in significant environmental impacts.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
The following agencies have reviewed the project, have comments, and/or have recommended conditions:
HCD-Planning
Prepared by: Jade Mason, Assistant Planner
Reviewed and Approved by: Jacquelyn M. Nickerson, Principal Planner
The following attachments are on file with HCD:
Exhibit A - Draft Resolution including:
- Recommended Conditions of Approval
- Operations Plan
- Site Plan
Exhibit B - Aerial Image and Surrounding Neighborhood
Exhibit C - Vicinity Map
Exhibit D - Home Inspection Checklist
Exhibit E - Public Comment
cc: Front Counter Copy; Jacquelyn M. Nickerson, Principal Planner; HCD-Planning; Jade Mason, Assistant Planner; Laura Shirk Tr, Property Owners; Jane Dowell, Agent; Interested Parties: The Open Monterey Project (Molly Erickson); Laborers International Union of North America (Lozeau Drury LLP); Christina McGinnis, Keep Big Sur Wild; LandWatch; Planning File PLN260145