California Bay Area Beach Town Divided Over Airbnb Rules

Super Bowl LX will take place on Sunday, Feb. 8, in Santa Clara, CA—and Airbnb hosts in nearby cities are hoping to cash in.

But in one coastal city just 35 miles from the stadium, there's controversy brewing around short-term rentals. The city of Pacifica imposed new rules on STRs last year.

For instance, ADUs can no longer be rented out, and hosts must prove their rental is their primary residence. Unhosted short-term rentals, in which the host vacates the property and rents the entire residence, are restricted to a maximum of 60 operating nights annually. The city also capped the total number of short-term rentals at 150.

However, the rules currently apply only to the inland part of Pacifica, which is east of Highway 1.

In coastal neighborhoods like Sharp Park and Pedro Point, the ordinance is still awaiting approval from the California Coastal Commission, which is scheduled to vote on Feb. 4.

The commission is required to act by early April, but may delay its decision for up to a year.

Mixed reactions from residents

Some residents applaud the stricter regulations on short-term rentals.

On the grassroots group Pacifica Homes Are Not Hotels' website, Pacifica resident Debi Hirshlag, who lives in the Pedro Point neighborhood, writes, "For the past 2-3 years, every time a house sells in the neighborhood, you hold your breath wondering if you’ll have a great new neighbor or nights of loud parties and densely parked cars. Sadly it’s more often been the latter.”

Pacifica resident Mark Stechbart told the San Francisco Chronicle, "It’s like living next to a dive bar and a Holiday Inn."

But Airbnb host Russell Jones, who lives in the coastal zone of Pacifica and rents out his property part-time, disagrees.

He tells the Chronicle that "we have a great relationship with our neighbors" and says the new ordinance "was designed to run operators out of business."

Impact on Pacifica

The stricter regulations are costing short-term rental hosts in Pacifica big bucks.

"Over the past 12 months, the average daily rate in Pacifica was $326, peaking in August at $372 and dipping to around $280 in December and January," Chloé Garlaschi, communications manager of AirDNA, a firm that compiles and analyzes Vrbo and Airbnb data, tells Realtor.com®.

But hosts aren’t the only ones feeling the financial impact.

City officials tell the San Francisco Chronicle that Pacifica’s stricter regulations have already caused a sharp decline in the number of short-term rentals, which has resulted in a loss of revenue for the city.

Even so, Mayor Christine Boles told the Chronicle that she supported tighter Airbnb regulations despite the projected revenue loss because “the impacts to the community were too much.”

However, Justin Wesson, Airbnb senior public policy manager, tells Realtor.com, “The proposed rules will make it more expensive for guests and families to visit Pacifica, impacting local businesses that rely on tourism and tax revenue for the city."

Wesson says that in 2024 alone, Airbnb collected and remitted approximately $1.1 million in Transient Occupancy Taxes on behalf of hosts in Pacifica.

Short-term rentals and housing stock

Pacifica Homes Are Not Hotels claims that short-term rentals deplete the housing stock in any community in which they operate, citing a study.

But according to the Chronicle, Coastal Commission staff stated in a memo that there is limited evidence the new short-term rental regulations would generate additional long-term housing opportunities, especially affordable housing, in Pacifica, partly because the properties involved are "actually quite expensive."

The median listing price in Pacifica is $1,360,750.

Wesson says, “Airbnb supports meaningful solutions that help create more affordable housing supply across the state, but restrictive short-term rental policies that hurt residents who occasionally share their home to make extra money is a misguided approach."

Area cities and short-term rentals

Other Bay Area jurisdictions have enacted their own short-term rental regulations.

San Francisco’s rules are comparatively looser, capping unhosted rentals at 90 nights annually, whereas San Jose permits up to 180 nights.

However, Big Sur has banned unhosted short-term rentals altogether.

The city of Sausalito has effectively outlawed most short-term rentals by designating rentals of less than 30 days as an impermissible use in residential zones and imposing fines for advertising on short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb or Vrbo.

In Half Moon Bay, a host can operate only one short-term rental within city limits, and most short-term rentals can only operate if the property is the primary residence of the host.

In Marin County, property owners must obtain a short-term rental license, a business license, and a transient occupancy tax certificate before operating.