Title
a. Approve the response to the 2020-21 Monterey County Civil Grand Jury Final Report “Vacation Rentals Enforcement in Monterey County: Little Progress Despite Years of Struggle”; and
b. Direct the County Administrative Officer to file the approved response with the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court, County of Monterey, by June 15, 2021. (ADDED VIA ADDENDUM)
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
a. Approve the response to the 2020-21 Monterey County Civil Grand Jury Final Report “Vacation Rentals Enforcement in Monterey County: Little Progress Despite Years of Struggle”; and
b. Direct the County Administrative Officer to file the approved response with the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court, County of Monterey, by June 15, 2021.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
On May 25, 2021, the Board of Supervisors considered the response to the 2020-21 Monterey County Civil Grand Jury Final Report “Vacation Rentals Enforcement in Monterey County: Little Progress Despite Years of Struggle”. At the hearing, changes were requested related to the response to two findings - Finding 6 and Finding 9. Changes for those two findings were made to reflect information provided by the Board on May 25th. The concern was raised to the response to Finding 6 that it included a speculative statement suggesting that market demand for vacation rentals may contribute to the rise in unpermitted rentals. That statement has been removed in the revised response (Attachment 1). The response for Finding 9 incorrectly stated that the Board had not seen evidence of public confusion and community tension arising from inconsistencies in vacation rental enforcement between County departments. The revised response now reflects that the board offices had received concerns from constituents of resulting confusion and community tension.
The Grand Jury report was issued March 17, 2021 (Attachment 2). By law, the Board of Supervisors and elected County officials are required to respond to specific findings and recommendations as directed therein. Within 90 days of the report issuance, on or before June 15, 2021, the Board’s response must be filed with the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court, County of Monterey.
The Civil Grand Jury report required responses from the Board of Supervisors and Treasurer-Tax Collector, and invited responses from Housing and Community Development. This report provides the required responses by the Board of Supervisors, as updated based on Board direction on May 25, 2021, (Findings 1 - 12 and Recommendations 1 - 8) and includes invited responses from the County Housing and Community Development Department (Findings 4 - 10 and Recommendations 3 - 6). The Monterey County Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office has already provided their responses to the Court.
The Board of Supervisors’ revised approved response, which incorporates the Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) responses and incorporates Board direction provided on May 25, 2021 as tracked changes, (Attachment 1) should be deemed by the Monterey County Civil Grand Jury and the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court, County of Monterey, as the response of the Board of Supervisors and the invited response of the HCD to those issues raised by the Jury regarding “Vacation Rentals Enforcement in Monterey County: Little Progress Despite Years of Struggle”.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The County Administrative Office coordinated preparation of the recommended response to the 2020-21 Monterey County Civil Grand Jury Final Report “Vacation Rentals Enforcement in Monterey County: Little Progress Despite Years of Struggle” with the assistance, input and appropriate review by the Housing and Community Development Department (HCD).
FINANCES:
There are no fiscal impacts to the General Fund with this recommendation. HCD staff time to prepare this staff report and response is funded through the adopted Fiscal Year (FY) 2020-21 budget for General Fund, Administration Appropriation Unit RMA013, Unit 8222.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ STRATEGIC INITIATIVES:
Providing a timely response to the Grand Jury report supports the Board of Supervisors’ Strategic Initiatives for Administration by responding to and addressing issues raised by the Grand Jury regarding vacation rental enforcement.
__ Economic Development
X Administration
__ Health & Human Services
__ Infrastructure
__ Public Safety
Prepared by: Melanie Beretti, HCD Housing and Special Programs Services Manager (831)755-5285
Approved by: Mike Novo, Interim HCD Director
Approved by: Nick Chiulos, Assistant County Administrative Officer
The following attachments are on file with the Clerk of the Board:
Attachment 1- Monterey County Board of Supervisors Response to the 2020-2021 Monterey Civil Grand Jury Report “Vacation Rentals Enforcement in Monterey County: Little Progress Despite Years of Struggle”.
Attachment 2-2020-2021 Monterey County Civil Grand Jury Report “Vacation Rentals Enforcement in Monterey County: Little Progress Despite Years of Struggle”.
Attachment 3-May 10, 2021 TTC Responses to the 2020-2021 Monterey Civil Grand Jury Report “Vacation Rentals Enforcement in Monterey County: Little Progress Despite Years of Struggle”
cc: Charles McKee, County Administrative Officer; Leslie Girard, County Counsel; HCD Permit Center: Freda Escobar and Liz Gonzalez; Planning Commissioners; Environmental Health Bureau: Ric Encarnacion and Roger Van Horn; Water Resources Agency; California Coastal Commission; Office of the County Counsel: Wendy Strimling and Brian Briggs; Treasurer/Tax Collector: Mary Zeeb; Chief of Planning: Erik Lundquist; Planning Services Manager: Craig Spencer; Chief of Building: Joshua Bowling; and HCD Interim Director: Mike Novo, AICP; Monterey Regional Fire Deputy Fire Marshal: Dorothy Priolo; Monterey County Sheriff’s Office; STR Public Distribution List; Land Use Advisory Committees.