Encinitas short-term rental operators would see their annual permits replaced with three-year ones under an ordinance the City Council approved 4-0 on Wednesday, Sept. 23.

Mayor Bruce Ehlers, Councilmember Farrah O'Hara, Councilmember Marco San Antonio and Councilmember Luke Shaffer voted yes on Ordinance 2026-15. Councilmember Joy Lyndes was absent.

The changes mark a shift in how the city regulates the more than 300 permitted short-term rentals, defined as properties rented for 30 days or less. Beyond the longer permit terms, the ordinance would let the city revoke a permit that has been inactive for more than 12 months. It also adds new measures to improve collection of the transient occupancy tax, the "bed tax" charged each night a unit is rented.

Several council members said enforcement should target the roughly 300 unpermitted units the city has identified rather than cause "undue stress" to legal operators. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Ehlers went on a ride-along during a recent short-term rental inspection before the vote.

"I totally understand fire extinguisher checking and smoke detector checking in the (rental) unit, but to then expand that to the entire property seems a bit on the excessive side," Ehlers said at the Sept. 23 meeting.

Shaffer said friends told him recent city code inspections had been excessive. He said he could understand a full-scale inspection when a rental first receives its permit but that subsequent inspections should be more limited.

Residents and operators who spoke at the meeting echoed those concerns. Pedro Tavares, who rents a one-bedroom unit at his Olivenhain home, told the council the renewal paperwork is "unnecessarily cumbersome." Tavares also said the on-site host requirement prevents him and his wife from going out for a date night or a weekend away when the unit is rented.

Kimberly Jackson of Vacation Rentals by Kimberly told the council she is pleased the city is stepping up enforcement against unpermitted units.

The city's annual work plan for fiscal year 2026-27 sets quarterly targets to reduce non-compliant rentals from 280 to below 70 by June 2027.

The Sept. 23 vote was a first reading. The council will consider final adoption at its Oct. 14 meeting at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 505 South Vulcan Ave. The full ordinance text is available at the City Clerk's office at the same address or by calling 760-633-2601.