The Seal Beach City Council on Monday, May 14, extended an interim ordinance that regulates vacation rental properties in Old Town. The council voted 4-0 to extend the temporary ordinance for 10 months and 15 days.
The ordinance limits vacation rentals to the Old Town area of the city, requires an on-site manager for multi-unit properties and requires owners to apply for a conditional use permit.
Owners would have until July 6 to submit their applications. They would not have to actually go through the hearing process by that date, according to City Attorney Quinn Barrow.
Vacation rental owners would also be required to have a business license and pay the city’s bed tax, also known as the transient occupancy tax.
Supporters of the ordinance complained about noise, parties and over-crowding at vacation rental properties. Opponents objected to regulation of their businesses.
Carla Watson asked if the CUPs would remain with the properties after the owners sold them.
Barrow said CUPs always run with the property.
Resident Barbara Barton said vacation rental properties were over-crowded with people and dogs. “I would ask the City Council to outlaw vacation rentals permanently—both daily and weekly,” Barton said.
She complained about a vacation rental property on one side of her home, but said she had no problems with the five-unit apartment building on the other side. The difference: the owner lives there.
Seth Eaker, who said he was speaking as a business advocate but not for the Chamber of Commerce, said that the ordinance seemed reasonable.
He said there was a sense of fairness and equality when standards were evenly applied.
Pam Edster said she was the owner and operator of a vacation rental who had lived in Seal Beach 18 years.
She said renting to vacationers allowed her family to live part time in their home. Otherwise, they would be "evicted."
She said the interim ordinance would harm business. She said it was a waste of the council’s time to regulate the estimated 23 vacation rental businesses in Old Town. Instead, she proposed improving the city’s noise ordinance.
She also objected to the conditional use permit requirement.
The CUP application requires hearing notices to be sent to any business or home within 500 feet of the rental property in question.
“This is not an easy process,” she said.
Later, District 1 Councilwoman Ellery Deaton said the CUP application process could be challenging for the business owner who was going through it for the first time.
However, she said it was a one-time process and then it was over. The extended interim ordinance limits short term rentals to Deaton’s district.
Robert Beck said he and his wife owned two vacation rental properties in Seal Beach.
“My wife is very selective about who she rents to,” Beck said.
He said they had never received complaints about their tenants.
Beck said he favored some provisions of the ordinance, but objected to the CUP process when he and his wife had complied with the requirements to have a business license and to pay the bed tax.
Deaton said vacation rentals were not legal in Seal Beach until 2011. However, she said there was a tradition of family friendly vacation rentals in the city.
Commendation for heroic Seal Beach teen
Mayor Michael Levitt presented a Certificate of Commendation to Seal Beach resident Celeste Infante for rescuing another teenager from possibly drowning on Sunday, May 7.
Bailey said the lifeguard assigned to the tower near the Seal Beach Pier saw Infante pull another girl on to her surfboard.
Bailey said the other girl had suffered a seizure.
Infante saw that the girl was unconscious. Infante went to the girl and pulled the other girl onto her surfboard.
“Her action in that time period had the immediate effect of allowing the victim to breathe freely and not aspirate any additional water as well as the long term effect of greatly reducing the victim’s likelihood of secondary drowning,” Bailey said in a Friday, May 11 report to the city manager.
Bailey said Infante was part of the Junior Lifeguards program had was a member of the Captains corps. Bailey said she did a great job on Sunday, May 7.
The Seal Beach City Council on Monday, May 14, extended an interim ordinance that regulates vacation rental properties in Old Town. The council voted 4-0 to extend the temporary ordinance for 10 months and 15 days.
The ordinance limits vacation rentals to the Old Town area of the city, requires an on-site manager for multi-unit properties and requires owners to apply for a conditional use permit.
Owners would have until July 6 to submit their applications. They would not have to actually go through the hearing process by that date, according to City Attorney Quinn Barrow.
Vacation rental owners would also be required to have a business license and pay the city’s bed tax, also known as the transient occupancy tax.
Supporters of the ordinance complained about noise, parties and over-crowding at vacation rental properties. Opponents objected to regulation of their businesses.
Carla Watson asked if the CUPs would remain with the properties after the owners sold them.
Barrow said CUPs always run with the property.
Resident Barbara Barton said vacation rental properties were over-crowded with people and dogs. “I would ask the City Council to outlaw vacation rentals permanently—both daily and weekly,” Barton said.
She complained about a vacation rental property on one side of her home, but said she had no problems with the five-unit apartment building on the other side. The difference: the owner lives there.
Seth Eaker, who said he was speaking as a business advocate but not for the Chamber of Commerce, said that the ordinance seemed reasonable.
He said there was a sense of fairness and equality when standards were evenly applied.
Pam Edster said she was the owner and operator of a vacation rental who had lived in Seal Beach 18 years.
She said renting to vacationers allowed her family to live part time in their home. Otherwise, they would be "evicted."
She said the interim ordinance would harm business. She said it was a waste of the council’s time to regulate the estimated 23 vacation rental businesses in Old Town. Instead, she proposed improving the city’s noise ordinance.
She also objected to the conditional use permit requirement.
The CUP application requires hearing notices to be sent to any business or home within 500 feet of the rental property in question.
“This is not an easy process,” she said.
Later, District 1 Councilwoman Ellery Deaton said the CUP application process could be challenging for the business owner who was going through it for the first time.
However, she said it was a one-time process and then it was over. The extended interim ordinance limits short term rentals to Deaton’s district.
Robert Beck said he and his wife owned two vacation rental properties in Seal Beach.
“My wife is very selective about who she rents to,” Beck said.
He said they had never received complaints about their tenants.
Beck said he favored some provisions of the ordinance, but objected to the CUP process when he and his wife had complied with the requirements to have a business license and to pay the bed tax.
Deaton said vacation rentals were not legal in Seal Beach until 2011. However, she said there was a tradition of family friendly vacation rentals in the city.
Commendation for heroic Seal Beach teen
Mayor Michael Levitt presented a Certificate of Commendation to Seal Beach resident Celeste Infante for rescuing another teenager from possibly drowning on Sunday, May 7.
Bailey said the lifeguard assigned to the tower near the Seal Beach Pier saw Infante pull another girl on to her surfboard.
Bailey said the other girl had suffered a seizure.
Infante saw that the girl was unconscious. Infante went to the girl and pulled the other girl onto her surfboard.
“Her action in that time period had the immediate effect of allowing the victim to breathe freely and not aspirate any additional water as well as the long term effect of greatly reducing the victim’s likelihood of secondary drowning,” Bailey said in a Friday, May 11 report to the city manager.
Bailey said Infante was part of the Junior Lifeguards program had was a member of the Captains corps. Bailey said she did a great job on Sunday, May 7.
The Seal Beach City Council on Monday, May 14, extended an interim ordinance that regulates vacation rental properties in Old Town. The council voted 4-0 to extend the temporary ordinance for 10 months and 15 days.
The ordinance limits vacation rentals to the Old Town area of the city, requires an on-site manager for multi-unit properties and requires owners to apply for a conditional use permit.
Owners would have until July 6 to submit their applications. They would not have to actually go through the hearing process by that date, according to City Attorney Quinn Barrow.
Vacation rental owners would also be required to have a business license and pay the city’s bed tax, also known as the transient occupancy tax.
Supporters of the ordinance complained about noise, parties and over-crowding at vacation rental properties. Opponents objected to regulation of their businesses.
Carla Watson asked if the CUPs would remain with the properties after the owners sold them.
Barrow said CUPs always run with the property.
Resident Barbara Barton said vacation rental properties were over-crowded with people and dogs. “I would ask the City Council to outlaw vacation rentals permanently—both daily and weekly,” Barton said.
She complained about a vacation rental property on one side of her home, but said she had no problems with the five-unit apartment building on the other side. The difference: the owner lives there.
Seth Eaker, who said he was speaking as a business advocate but not for the Chamber of Commerce, said that the ordinance seemed reasonable.
He said there was a sense of fairness and equality when standards were evenly applied.
Pam Edster said she was the owner and operator of a vacation rental who had lived in Seal Beach 18 years.
She said renting to vacationers allowed her family to live part time in their home. Otherwise, they would be "evicted."
She said the interim ordinance would harm business. She said it was a waste of the council’s time to regulate the estimated 23 vacation rental businesses in Old Town. Instead, she proposed improving the city’s noise ordinance.
She also objected to the conditional use permit requirement.
The CUP application requires hearing notices to be sent to any business or home within 500 feet of the rental property in question.
“This is not an easy process,” she said.
Later, District 1 Councilwoman Ellery Deaton said the CUP application process could be challenging for the business owner who was going through it for the first time.
However, she said it was a one-time process and then it was over. The extended interim ordinance limits short term rentals to Deaton’s district.
Robert Beck said he and his wife owned two vacation rental properties in Seal Beach.
“My wife is very selective about who she rents to,” Beck said.
He said they had never received complaints about their tenants.
Beck said he favored some provisions of the ordinance, but objected to the CUP process when he and his wife had complied with the requirements to have a business license and to pay the bed tax.
Deaton said vacation rentals were not legal in Seal Beach until 2011. However, she said there was a tradition of family friendly vacation rentals in the city.
Commendation for heroic Seal Beach teen
Mayor Michael Levitt presented a Certificate of Commendation to Seal Beach resident Celeste Infante for rescuing another teenager from possibly drowning on Sunday, May 7.
Bailey said the lifeguard assigned to the tower near the Seal Beach Pier saw Infante pull another girl on to her surfboard.
Bailey said the other girl had suffered a seizure.
Infante saw that the girl was unconscious. Infante went to the girl and pulled the other girl onto her surfboard.
“Her action in that time period had the immediate effect of allowing the victim to breathe freely and not aspirate any additional water as well as the long term effect of greatly reducing the victim’s likelihood of secondary drowning,” Bailey said in a Friday, May 11 report to the city manager.
Bailey said Infante was part of the Junior Lifeguards program had was a member of the Captains corps. Bailey said she did a great job on Sunday, May 7.
Councilwoman Ellery Deaton
Come meet our City Clerk, Linda Devine and me from 6 to 7:30 p.m. today, Thursday, June 28, at at Javatini’s coffee shop at 148 Main St., Seal Beach. Devine is our Seal Beach city clerk and will be able to answer any questions you may have about the clerk’s responsibilities as our official record keeper and as the one responsible to see that our elections are conducted correctly and fairly.
Annual Slurry Seal Program—Old Town
This year’s annual Slurry Seal Program was awarded on May 29. The streets included within this project are taken directly from the Pavement Management Report that was adopted in the summer of 2010.
The streets included within the project are listed as follows:
11th Street between Seal Way and Ocean Avenue
12th Street between Seal Way and Ocean Avenue
13th Street between Seal Way and Ocean Avenue
14th Street between Seal Way and Ocean Avenue
Dolphin Avenue between Seal Way and Ocean Avenue
Neptune Avenue between Seal Way and Ocean Avenue
Electric Avenue between Seal Way and Ocean Avenue
Electric Avenue between 6th Street and Main Street
Seal Beach Blvd. between Electric Avenue and Pacific Coast Hwy It is anticipated that construction will begin in late June.
Ocean Avenue Alley Reconstruction
The Ocean Avenue Alley is having water and sewer mains rehabilitated between 1st Street and Main Street. The water and sewer funds are paying for replacement of the alley surface after the utilities are replaced. Design will begin with the intention of having construction begin in September.
Storm Drain Design—Bridgeport
A professional services agreement with PSOMAS was approved by City Council on October 10, 2011 for engineering design of this project. A Coastal Commission Permit application has been submitted.
Main Street Beautification
Main Street Beautification Phase one of Main Street Beautification is complete. No parking places were displaced for the planters. Under-performing trees have been removed and new trees planted, new pavers and planters have been installed and flowers are now blooming. Main Street is looking great for residents and visitors to enjoy this summer. Summer is here! Have a great Fourth of July.
Ellery Deaton is the Seal Beach City Councilwoman for District 1, which includes Old Town and Surfside.
