Santa Barbara’s ban on most short-term vacation rentals near the beach was rejected by an appeals court.
The city’s decision in 2015 to treat rental homes as hotels effectively banned them in the coastal zone, a strip extending about a half-mile inland from the beach. Previously, 114 homes were available for short-term rentals in that area; after the decision, there were six.
Judge Steven Perren wrote that the city erred in failing to seek the approval of the California Coastal Commission for the change to the local coastal plan