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The Arcata City Council passed a vacation rental ordinance last night that will cap the units at 100, for now, as well as require owners to obtain permits and provide contact information at the site.

After Mayor Sofia Pereira recused herself, the remaining councilmembers voted 4-0 to pass the regulations on short-stay rentals in an effort to preserve neighborhood settings and protect the city’s limited housing stock.

The item was pulled from the consent calendar by Councilmember Brett Watson for discussion on how to handle properties that might have multiple rentals on a single parcel.

Watson and fellow Councilmembers Emily Goldstein, Sarah Schaefer and Stacy Atkins-Salazar all voiced agreement that one permit would be required per property but each rental unit on a property would be counted and applied toward the cap of 100.

City Manager Karen Diemer noted there was a 90-day grace period for property owners already operating short-stay rentals to apply for permits, with “everyone getting a chance to in essence be grandfathered in” under the ordinance.

After that time passes, Diemer said she would bring back to the council for review a report on how many permits had been issued.

In other business, the council also unanimously extended an urgency ordinance that places temporary restrictions on the eviction of commercial tenants due to non-payment of rent related to COVID-19.

View the full meeting here.