Freshman Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath pulled from consideration this year a bill that would have restricted short-term vacation rentals in San Diego County.
Boerner Horvath’s Assembly Bill 1731 would have barred Airbnb, HomeAway and VRBO from listing San Diego County vacation rentals in coastal zones for more than 30 days a year unless a full-time resident was on site.
The bill passed the Assembly, and had passed the Senate Natural Resources Committee with a 6-1 vote on Tuesday, when Boerner Horvath decided to hold it for the next session.
“I was elected to create sound public policy, not score quick political wins,” she said on Wednesday. “That is why I made the decision today to hold the bill and take more time to work on it through the next year.”
Boerner Horvath, a former Encinitas city councilmember who represents the 76th District in north coastal San Diego County, said her bill is designed to address “the hyper-accelerated conversion of available housing into full-time short-term vacation rentals made possible by web-based platforms.”
The bill would have particularly affected coastal communities like Mission Beach, Pacific Beach and La Jolla. It only affected San Diego County, but Boerner Horvath said it would be a test case for California as a whole.
“This bill has always been about slowing the bleeding when it comes to our housing stock and returning some semblance of control to our local communities,” Boerner Horvath said.
While the bill passed the Assembly, it was opposed by Assemblymember Todd Gloria, whose district includes the coastal communities in the City of San Diego. Gloria said controls on short-term rentals are better handled at the local level.
Share San Diego, a group that opposes excessive restrictions on short-term rentals, said Boerner Hovath’s decision was a victory for private property rights.
“We are pleased that so many local San Diegans and businesses joined together to push back against the state’s overreach into community issues to help stop AB 1731 from going into effect and taking away our private property rights,” said Jonah Mechanic, president of the group.
“We look forward to continuing to work with stakeholders to find reasonable regulations that ensure visitors can continue to have affordable access to San Diego coast, as they have for decades,” he said.