Santa Cruz County, CA Short-Term Rentals: Night Caps (2026)

694(D)(4)(a) sets hard numeric ceilings inside the county's three designated short-term rental areas. The Live Oak Designated Area (LODA) is capped at 262 non-hosted and 18 hosted permits, for a maximum of 280 total. The Seacliff/Aptos/La Selva Designated Area (SALSDA) is capped at 147 non-hosted and 45 hosted permits, for 164 total. The Davenport/Swanton Designated Area (DASDA) is capped at three non-hosted and four hosted permits, for seven total. Starting January 1, 2026, unused non-hosted permits in each designated area get reduced by up to 10 per year over five years, though no existing permit holder loses their permit through that reduction.

Beyond the three designated areas, subsection (D)(4)(b) also imposes a 20% block density limit: no new short-term rental can be approved if it would push short-term rentals past 20% of the residentially-usable parcels on that block, with waiting lists available for applicants who exceed the threshold. Outside all three designated areas, subsection (D)(4)(c) sets countywide ceilings of 270 non-hosted rental permits and 185 hosted rental permits; once either ceiling is hit, no new permits in that category issue until attrition drops the count below the limit.

A handful of named streets and parcel clusters, including Pot Belly Beach Road, Las Olas Drive, and stretches of Rio Del Mar, are carved out of both the designated-area caps and the countywide caps entirely.