Village Beat Update on Short-term Rentals

by Kelly Mahan Herrick

At a Montecito Association Land Use & Transportation Committee meeting earlier this week, Executive Director Sharon Byrne and First District Supervisor representative Darcel Elliott gave an update on plans for a Short Term Rental (STR) Ordinance for the Coastal Zone in Montecito. As it stands now, the only ordinance pertaining to STRs in Montecito is in the inland zone, where the only type of allowable short-term rental is a homestay, when an owner or long-term tenant is on the property during the time of a short-term tenancy.

According to Byrne, the tax collector’s office has sent out 23 letters in the Coastal Zone and 33 letters in the inland zone in Montecito to enforce STRs – both illegal and legal – that do not have business permits and are not paying Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT). Even illegal STRs are required to pay TOT taxes, Byrne said. Elliott reported that all enforcement at the County level is reactive, not proactive, and that in order for the County to be proactive, they would need to hire a full-time staff member, to the tune of

$145,000 per year. “The County just does not have the budget for that,” she said. “That position cannot be funded at this time, but Das [Williams] is open to asking for that funding in the future.”

To report an illegal STR, Elliott recommends using the Planning & Development website to file a complaint at www.countyofsb.org/160/PlanningDevelopment.

Because of the volume of work associated with various other projects including the Housing Element, the County has had to postpone any work on an updated STR ordinance for the Coastal Zone until 2024/2025. Currently, STRs in the Coastal Zone are unregulated, as the Coastal Commission rejected Santa Barbara County’s attempt at prohibiting STRs in the entirety of Montecito in May 2018.

Jeff Shelton Remodel on Coast Village Road

Plans to remodel the building that was once the home of Cava were in front of the Santa Barbara City Architectural Review Board last week. The building, located at 1212 Coast Village Road, will be reimagined by well-known architect Jeff Shelton in his iconic, whimsical style.

The plans propose renovating the façade of the restaurant building and adjacent office on the site, as well as proposing to remove two diagonal parking spaces that will be relocated. Shelton’s plans include his quintessential decorative tile in blue and yellow colors, cement plaster, ironwork, decorative pots, signage, and awnings.

Comments from the ABR were mostly positive, with board members calling the project “delightful” and in compatibility with the surrounding neighborhood. The project received design approval, and will need to return for final approval. One board member, Steve Nuhn, voted in opposition to the project, stating concerns with neighbor compatibility. The tenant improvements are in preparation for the opening of Clark’s Oyster Bar, an Aspen and Austin-based eatery that will offer an upscale seafood menu. No word yet on the planned opening.

Update to Park Lane Homicide Investigation

On May 27, 2022, 96-year-old Violet Evelyn Alberts, a longtime resident of Montecito, was found deceased in her residence on the 900-block of Park

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