Letters to the Editor: This is what happens in a beach town when vacation rentals take over

To the editor: Your article about the coastal San Luis Obispo community of Cayucos fast becoming a town of vacation rentals describes the problem of residential motels in our residentially zoned neighborhoods.

Many of us have believed for years that these businesses will destroy our town. In 1991, the California Supreme Court ruled in favor of one local zoning ordinance that prohibited renting homes to transient occupants for fewer than 30 days.

Real estate brokers sell property with the carrot that the home can be a profitable business. We’ve lost businesses serving the community to mostly tourist-centered ones that make up a majority of our downtown. Gone are the four full-service stations (including mechanics) and many other stores that benefited the community.

Many of us tried to restrict the numbers of vacation rentals 30 years ago as we saw our school enrollment decline. Now is the time (again) for Cayucos to address this problem.

We need more housing. We should help people who work here have a place to live. Restrict transient rentals to business-zoned areas. Property costs are too high, and many wealthy people who suck up all our housing don’t really care about our community.

Jan Lewis, Cayucos

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To the editor: My significant other and I have been vacationing in Cayucos for almost 20 years. The town has not lost its neighborly spirit.

This July, we were staying at a beach rental when my significant other had a medical emergency. As the ambulance was taking him to the hospital, the daughter of our rental’s owner came out and insisted on driving me to the hospital in San Luis Obispo. When we were finished at the hospital, she and her husband picked us up and drove us back to where we were staying.

Such great people in a great community.

Patricia Kepple, San Diego

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To the editor: Thank you for bringing the issues of short-term rentals in the coastal zone to light.

It’s not just Cayucos that is becoming a coastal “ghost town”; it is happening rapidly in many of California’s coastal towns and cities, including Santa Barbara.

The California Coastal Commission should reconsider its decision to allow short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods in coastal areas before we lose more housing for local workers and neighbors.

Dennis Thompson, Santa Barbara