Title
PLN250317 - AULAKH AMARDEEP S & KAUR JASPREET
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: 4041 Los Altos Dr, Pebble Beach, CA 93953
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 6 conditions of approval.
PROJECT INFORMATION
Agent: Amardeep Aulakh
Property Owner: Amardeep S. Aulakh and Jaspreet Kaur
APN: 008-112-025-000
Parcel Size: 0.30 AC
Zoning: Medium Density Residential with a maximum gross density of 4 units/acre with a Design Control Overlay within the Coastal Zone or “MDR/4-D (CZ)”
Plan Area: Del Monte Forest Land Use Plan
Flagged and Staked: N/A
Project Planner: Kyle Benalcazar, Assistant Planner
benalcazark@countyofmonterey.gov; 831-784-5716
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION
The project site is located at 4041 Los Altos, a privately maintained road, within the Del Monte Forest area of the unincorporated area of the County of Monterey. The Applicant, Amardeep Aulakh, submitted an application seeking to use the existing single-family dwelling located in a residentially zoned neighborhood as a Commercial Vacation Rental. The site is developed with an existing single-family dwelling and attached garage. The proposed commercial vacation rental is within the existing 3,635 square foot single-family dwelling with an attached garage, and consists of four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a dining room, and a laundry room. The applicant is proposing that the residence be occupied by a maximum of nine people overnight, 13 people during the daytime hours at the property at a time, and a maximum of six contractors on site at any time consisting of the cleaning crew and other property management services. The property will retain its domestic water connections to California American Water Company, a public water provider, through the Pebble Beach Community Services District, and Pebble Beach Community Services District will continue to provide sewer service. The property will retain its solid waste services to GreenWaste Recovery, LLC., a waste management company.
Within the immediate neighborhood, excluding this application, there are two approved applications for a Homestay and one applied application for a Commercial Vacation Rental. If approved, the granting of this Coastal Development Permit would allow the establishment of the 4th permitted vacation rental in the Del Monte Forest Land Use Plan out of 57 Use Permits permitted pursuant to Title 20 Section 20.64.290.F.3.d.
DISCUSSION:
Based on staff’s review of the planning application materials, the property complies with all rules and regulations pertaining to zoning uses and other applicable the 1982 County of Monterey General Plan (General Plan), Del Monte Forest Land Use Plan (DMF LUP), Del Monte Forest Coastal Implementation Plan (DMF CIP), Monterey County Code Title 7 Chapter 7.120 (Title 7), Monterey County Code Title 16 Chapter 16.80 (Title 16), and the Monterey County Coastal Zoning Ordinance (Title 20).
Land Use
The parcel is zoned Medium Density Residential with a maximum gross density of 4 units/acre with a Design Control Overlay within the Coastal Zone or “MDR/4-D (CZ)”. Title 20 Section 20.12.050.DD allows for 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 parcel is located on Los Altos Drive with a Design District overlay subject to the DMF LUP. However, the project does not propose any physical changes that would have any potential to impact scenic or visual resources: no construction, exterior alterations to structures, land alteration, or vegetation (or tree) removal are proposed as part of this application.
The property complies with Title 20 Section 20.64.290.F.5 in that it has been demonstrated that the response time for County emergency services for fire and emergency medical services is adequate. 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 under the Community Areas, therefore it is subject to a 5-8 minute response time. The subject property is within a 5-minute drive from Pebble Beach Fire Station 22, which provides fire response services, and a 7-minute drive from the Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula, which provides 24-hour emergency medical 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 (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 two spaces/unit. The application includes adequate parking (at least four parking spaces), 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 Applicant/Owner has provided evidence of compliance with the applicable requirements. The designated Property Manager for the Commercial Vacation Rental, Joseph Sennish of Carmel Coast Estate, Inc., resides at 400 Camino Aguajito, Monterey, CA 93940 approximately 4.0 miles (10 minutes) from the subject property. Mr. Sennish’s contact information will be provided to the guests of the property and will be available 24/7 to respond to guest or neighborhood questions or concerns, and has the ability to arrive within 30 minutes. Mr. Sennish’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 nine overnight guests, 13 daytime guests, and six contractors. 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 and not counting infants (zero to twelve months), with a not to exceed total maximum overnight occupancy of 15 overnight guests, regardless of the number of bedrooms in the property. Title 7 Section 7.120.070.C also limits the maximum daytime occupancy of occupants and visitors to not exceed a count of 1.5 times the maximum overnight occupancy and shall not exceed a total count of 15 persons per unit, no matter how many bedrooms.
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.
Private Road Access
The property is within the Pebble Beach area and is currently managed by the Pebble Beach Company, which is the legally established governing structure for the private roads used to access the subject parcel. Pebble Beach Company is authorized to make determinations regarding the use, maintenance, and related matters regarding the private road. Pursuant to Title 20 section 20.64.290.F.4, the subject property must comply with Title 16 Chapter 16.80, which regulates private roads in Monterey County. The private road accessing the property is subject to a private road agreement, which is recorded as a deed restriction for the subject property. The deed restriction for the subject property was recorded as Deed Number 2923 (Reel 424, Page 314 of Official Records).
The deed contains two restrictions: one related to the “Use of Roads and Bridle Paths” and the second related to “Covenants and Conditions”. The language under “Use of Roads and Bridle Paths” states that the “Grantee, subject to the provisions hereof, is hereby granted license for the use, by himself, his family, servants, tenants and guests occupying or visiting said premises, of all roads and bridle paths now or hereafter owned by Grantor in Del Monte Forest, and to free access to Del Monte Forest; in consideration of which the owner of said premises shall be obligated to pay Grantor the sum of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) on each January 1st hereafter, the payment of which sum is and shall be secured by a lien and charge on said premises. Grantor, however, reserves the right to change, abandon or close any of said roads and paths, provided that (so far as within the control of Grantor) there shall always be left open a road by means of which and/or of connecting roads access may be had to said premises from the nearest public highway”. The plain language of this deed restriction gives the property owner access to their property as long as they pay $100 each January 1st. The other restriction under “Covenants and Conditions” states that “No trade, business or profession of any description shall be conducted on said premises. Said premises shall not be used for any purpose whatever except solely and exclusively for the purpose of construction and maintenance of not more than one private single family residence…”. Therefore, the project is classified as a Tier 3 category pursuant to Title 16 Chapter 16.80, which means the language identified under the “Use of Roads and Bridle Paths” constitutes a private road agreement.
The Pebble Beach Company submitted a letter on October 9, 2024 to the County stating that they have a blanket objection to the use of residential property in Pebble Beach as commercial vacation rentals. This letter further stated that Pebble Beach Company believes that “…the plain meaning of the CC&R language bans short-term vacation rentals in the Del Monte Forest.” (Exhibit D)
The applicant is aware of the objections and restrictions outlined within the CC&R’s and believes they have the right to continue the use of the property for the proposed application of a Commercial Vacation Rental.
The County of Monterey’s regulations for private roads, pursuant to Title 16 section 16.80.060.A, state that if the Appropriate Authority finds, based on substantial evidence in the record, that a substantive dispute exists regarding the use of a private road for a project, the Appropriate Authority “may approve the project but shall require as a condition of project approval that the applicant provide the County with proof of access demonstrating that the dispute has been satisfactorily resolved”. Therefore, staff recommends that Condition of Approval (Condition No. 6) to ensure that the substantial dispute regarding the plain language of the private road agreement is resolved prior to the applicant commencing the use of their property as a commercial vacation rental. This Condition requires that the applicant provides the County of Monterey Housing and Community Development (HCD) staff with adequate documentation that the private road dispute has been satisfactorily resolved and the use of the property as a commercial vacation rental is allowed and does not violate the plain language of any deed restrictions and/or private road agreement. If this condition's requirement is not satisfied within 30 days of project approval (should it be approved), the pending Vacation Rental Operations License request will be denied and the Applicant/Owner may reapply in the future when necessary documentation is obtained.
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 on Commercial Vacation Rentals in the Del Monte Forest Land Use Plan. It would be the 4th Commercial Vacation Rental in the Del Monte Forest 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
None
Prepared by: Kyle Benalcazar, 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 and Floor 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; Kyle Benalcazar, Assistant Planner; Jacquelyn M. Nickerson, Principal Planner; Amardeep S. Aulakh and Jaspreet Kaur, Property Owners; Amardeep S. Aulakh, Agent; Interested Party List: The Open Monterey Project; LandWatch (Executive Director); Lozeau Drury LLP; Christina McGinnis, Keep Big Sur Wild; Planning File PLN250317