Two requests for vacation rental permits will be reviewed by the Seal Beach Planning Commission on Wednesday, Dec. 19. One of the public hearings will be for a conditional use permit to operate a short-term rental on Seal Way. The other public hearing will be for a short-term vacation rental on the 1200 block of Ocean Avenue.
The City Council passed an urgency ordinance on Oct, 22 that banned new vacation rentals. The council also passed another ordinance that also bans new vacation rentals. The difference: the urgency ordinance was temporary, but went into effect immediately. The other ordinance would be permanent, but would not go into effect for 30 days after the second and final reading.
The ordinance does not apply to vacation rental properties that have already received permits or are in the process have having their permit applications reviewed.
As recently as Monday, Dec. 12, Ocean Avenue area residents asked the City Council to overturn a Planning Commission decision to issue a vacation rental permit for the property at 413 Ocean Ave.
The council voted 4-1 in favor of the request. A resolution formally overturning the Planning Commission’s decision will return to the council in January.
Meanwhile, some Old Town area residents have criticized the Planning Commission for approving CUPs for short-term rentals. The Seal Beach ordinance prohibits new vacation rentals—but allows the commission to approve permits that were submitted before the City Council outlawed them. Old Town is the only area of the city where vacation rentals have ever been allowed.
In early November, 11 Old Town residents spoke out against a permit application for 17th Street.
Vacation rental permits won’t be the only item on the Dec. 19 Planning Commission agenda. Planners will also hear a request from Chick-fil-A for a CUP to operate a fast food restaurant with a drive-through window at the Shops at Rossmoor on Seal Beach Boulevard.
Last year the Rossmoor Community Services District created a Shops At Rossmoor Committee to address Rossmoor area residents’ concerns about increased business activity in the shopping center. The committee had now jurisdiction over the shopping center, which is actually located in the city of Seal Beach. At the time, Rossmoor residents were reportedly concerned about the increased traffic congestion on Seal Beach Boulevard and St. Cloud Drive, as well as the potential impact of proposed construction for a Toys R Us and Babies R Us store, In-N-Out Burger and a Staples outlet.
Residents of College Park East and the Rossmoor Park condominium complex (which, like the shopping center, is also in the city of Seal Beach) have in the past also expressed concerns about increased traffic from new businesses.
A fourth business matter, planners will hold a public hearing on a request for a permit for the Mobil gas Station to sell beer and wine for consumption off-site.
