We need a vacation rental ordinance that makes it easy and practical for Monterey County property owners to sign up and participate, and that is easy for the County to administer. The City of PacificGrove adopted a great system in 2010. Monterey County needs an ordinance like theirs:

· Make it easy for property owners to join. Such an ordinance will also help benefit local visitor‑serving businesses.

· Require that all short-term rentals pay our Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) so that visitors to the County help support the services local residents need.

· Establish strict and enforceable standards to prevent neighborhood impacts and maintain the residential character of our local neighborhoods.

Until we have a strong and enforceable vacation rental ordinance in place, everyone is disadvantaged. We are not collecting taxes our government needs; we are not benefitting our tourist economy; and we don’t have effective enforcement to protect our neighborhoods.