Santa Cruz County Sub Peak Occupancy Is Not the Year

Jacob Mishalanie
Aug 15
12 min read

Updated: 15 hours ago

Seacliff State Beach and the Aptos shoreline

Santa Cruz County’s short-term rental map is not one pool. Ordinance 5497 organizes unincorporated permits into three named designated areas plus a fourth row for everything outside those areas. Live Oak is LODA. Seacliff, Aptos, and La Selva Beach share SALSDA. Davenport and Swanton are DASDA. The number 270 that follows this cluster around is the **outside designated areas** non-hosted maximum. It is not a fourth town, and it is not a leftover pile you can assign to Aptos.

A host or buyer who only checks “the county cap” will misread their street. DASDA allows **3** non-hosted and **4** hosted. LODA allows **262** non-hosted and **18** hosted. SALSDA allows **147** non-hosted and **45** hosted. Outside allows **270** non-hosted and **185** hosted. Remaining availability is a question for vacation.eplanreview@santacruzcountyca.gov with the APN, not a blog. Theregulationpost is the ordinance. This page is the geography.

These three designated areas are different products. Live Oak sits against the city and the Highway 17 day-trip corridor. Seacliff / Aptos / La Selva Beach is a south-county coastal corridor under one shared allotment. Davenport / Swanton is a thin north-coast band. Do not write one listing for all three. Themarketingpost is the overnight case. Theinvestmentpost is whether to buy. This page tells you which row you are even in.

City of Santa Cruz is none of these rows. Capitola is none of these rows. If the pin is inside a city, stop using this table. Then write the listing for that town, not for “Santa Cruz County.”. The corridor is its own coast: Seacliff State Beach, the concrete ship, Aptos Creek, Highway 1 on the north edge, Capitola as a different city to the west.

How to tell which row the parcel is in

The county publishes written bounds and maps on the short-term rental page. DASDA runs from Riverside Avenue and San Vicente Street in Davenport north along Highway 1 through New Town and Davenport Landing south of the highway to Swanton Road, including parcels within a quarter mile of Swanton Road and excluding parcels that abut Last Chance Road. LODA is the Harbor Area Special Community plus Live Oak east and south of East Cliff and Portola from 9th Avenue to 41st Avenue. SALSDA is the Aptos Planning Area piece bounded by the Capitola line, Highway 1, Bonita Drive, San Andreas Road, the Urban Services Line, and La Selva Beach.

Do not eyeball that from a listing photo. Send the APN to vacation.eplanreview@santacruzcountyca.gov and ask which row, whether the street is under a block limit, and whether any SALSDA carve-out applies. The county names streets that do **not** count toward SALSDA caps or block density, including Pot Belly Beach Road, Las Olas Drive, specified Rio Del Mar flats frontages, Beach Drive, and Via Gaviota. A house on those streets is not “inside the 147” by default.

If staff say you are outside designated areas, you are on the 270 / 185 row. That can be a mountain parcel, an inland neighborhood, or a coastal pocket the designated polygons missed. It is still unincorporated county, still one-permit-per-owner, still TOT with the Tax Collector. It is not “uncapped.” Themarket reportis how to think about that row as inventory. This paragraph is how to land on it. Print the reply and keep it with the deed file. Zoning maps get argued at the counter; an email that names the row is what you wanted from this page.

DASDA: three non-hosted doors on the north coast

Davenport and Swanton are a small, quiet pairing. The table’s **3** non-hosted and **4** hosted cells are village-scale. A buyer who modeled 270 leftover permits and then landed here has the wrong model. Winter is the identity, not a failed Boardwalk season. Highway 1, not Highway 17, is the access. Theshoulderstorm-and-fireplace card fits this coast better than a Giant Dipper first photo.

Ask staff whether any of those three non-hosted permits remain before you bid. If the answer is waitlist, believe it. Block density at 20 percent and the two-neighbor adjacency rule can close a tiny geography even faster than the cell count implies. This is not a market you enter to “try STR.” It is a market you enter if the clerk says yes and you want the bluff.

Do not market DASDA as Santa Cruz Boardwalk. The guest who wanted Beach Street will review the drive. Write the north coast. TheDIYpost is why a template will fail you here faster than in Live Oak. There is no crowd to hide a generic sentence in. Highway 1 weather, a closed cafe on a Tuesday, and a three-permit ceiling are the operating facts. If those sound like a problem, this is not your row. If they sound like the product, ask staff whether a door is actually open before you tour a second time.

LODA: the large near-city unincorporated pool

Live Oak’s **262** non-hosted cell is the big number on the table. It sits against the city, the harbor, East Cliff, and the Highway 17 day-trip machine. That is more room on paper than DASDA or SALSDA, and it is also the geography most likely to feel like a vacation-rental neighborhood to the people who live there. Twenty percent block density and the adjacency rule are the practical lids. A street can be done while 262 still looks large.

This is the row where themarketingconversion matters most. The Boardwalk is close enough to steal the first sentence. Steal it back. West Cliff, the harbor, and the fact that Sunday 17 is a reason to stay are the overnight case. A Live Oak house that only photographs the rides is competing with city hotels it cannot beat on walkability.

Hosted in LODA is a small cell: **18**. If you were planning a hosted story here, confirm remaining hosted permits separately from the 262. They are not the same line. Theregulationtable is the source. This page will not merge them to make the story simpler. Live Oak also sits close enough to city limits that a bad pin will send you to John Jezek’s desk instead of county vacation-rental review. Confirm the jurisdiction on the tax bill, not on the listing headline.

SALSDA: one shared cap for three named communities

Seacliff, Aptos, and La Selva Beach are not three pools. A permit issued in one counts against the **147** non-hosted and **45** hosted maxima for all three. That is the fact this post exists to make unmissable. An Aptos buyer who assumes La Selva’s vacancies are extra inventory is reading the table wrong. Email staff about the shared cell, not about “Aptos only.”.

The corridor is its own coast: Seacliff State Beach, the concrete ship, Aptos Creek, Highway 1 on the north edge, Capitola as a different city to the west. It is not Beach Street and it is not Davenport. Listings should say Aptos or Seacliff or La Selva on the mailbox. TheBay Area hubwill not do that work for you.

Carve-outs matter. If the parcel is on a named excluded street, SALSDA caps and block density may not apply. That is not a rumor you should write into an offer without staff confirmation. It is a reason to put the street name in the email. Getting this wrong in either direction , assuming you are in the 147 when you are carved out, or assuming you are free when you are not , is how deals break after earnest money. Rio Del Mar flats in particular are easy to misread from a map app. Use the county’s street list, then ask.

The corridor still shares a guest who wants a beach morning without Beach Street. Seacliff’s pier and the cement ship, Aptos village, La Selva’s quieter sand , those are different first photos under one permit math. Do not use a Live Oak harbor shot on a La Selva URL. Themarketingovernight case still applies; the landmark just changes. Highway 1 is the local road. Highway 17 is the extra hill if they came from San Jose. Say both if both are true.

Outside designated areas is still a cap

The 270 / 185 row is the rest of unincorporated county. Felton, other San Lorenzo Valley communities, Soquel pockets that are not in a designated polygon, and inland neighborhoods land here unless staff say otherwise. Henry Cowell is a Felton product. Do not use a Boardwalk hero. Theremotedesk-in-the-redwoods month is a plausible outside-area product if the house has a desk.

270 is a real lid. It is the largest non-hosted cell on the table, and it is still a lid. Waitlist rules apply outside designated areas too. One-per-entity applies. ADU bans apply. This is not the Wild West row. It is the row people confuse with “no cap” because the brief said 270 countywide. You now know better.

Mountain versus residual coast still matters inside this row. A summit house and a leftover beach pocket do not share a guest. The table lumps them. Your listing must not. TheCambria reportis another reminder that a county line is not an identity. If you are buying “outside” because 270 looked like room, walk the parcel. Some of that room is a dark hillside with no day-trip fallback. That can be a feature for aremotemonth. It is a problem if you needed Boardwalk overflow to make the debt work.

What is the same in every row

One permit per person, entity, and property. No hosted-plus-non-hosted on the same parcel. No STRs in apartments, mobile-home parks, affordable units, or ADU/JADU properties. TOT with the Tax Collector. ePlan. Posted fees. CruzAware on renewal. Proof of significant use. Those rules do not relax because you are in LODA’s large cell or DASDA’s tiny one.

Block density at 20 percent and the two-neighbor adjacency rule are stated for the three designated areas. If you are outside, ask staff whether a block limit still hits your street. Do not assume the answer. The waitlist exists for designated areas, for streets under a block limit, and for outside-area parcels. July 15 and January 15. $145.

Theinvestmentsequence still starts with the APN, not with the zone’s vibe. Pretty Davenport light does not open a closed cell. A Live Oak deck does not waive adjacency. Process first. The posted fees are the same schedule regardless of row ,.90 or.45 to apply non-hosted, $660.95 hosted, $145 to wait. The row changes your odds, not the cashier.

How to use this page the week you buy or list

Write the county email. Paste the APN. Ask: designated area or outside; remaining non-hosted and hosted in that row; block limit; adjacency; SALSDA carve-out; whether you already hold a permit elsewhere. Then call the Tax Collector. Then decide whether the product is coast weekend, mountain weekend, or winter month. Then write the listing for that town, not for “Santa Cruz County.”.

If you already operate, use this page as a check that your first photo matches the row. DASDA bluff, LODA cliff-and-harbor, SALSDA Seacliff or creek, outside grove or leftover coast. The cluster image on this post is Seacliff. That is a SALSDA frame. Do not steal it for a Felton URL of your own. Theshoulderstorm-and-fireplace card fits this coast better than a Giant Dipper first photo.

When staff answer, keep the email. Ordinance pages update. This blog will not be the document you show at renewal. The table on cdi.santacruzcountyca.gov will. Recheck it. Then operate the one door you are allowed to hold. Zoning maps get argued at the counter; an email that names the row is what you wanted from this page. This page will not merge them to make the story simpler.

A one-page comparison you can take to the clerk

DASDA: north coast, 3 non-hosted / 4 hosted, Highway 1, winter identity, no Boardwalk first sentence. LODA: Live Oak / harbor edge, 262 / 18, Highway 17 day-trip pressure, density and adjacency are the real lids, do not confuse with city 250. SALSDA: Seacliff + Aptos + La Selva as one 147 / 45, check carve-out streets, name the town on the mailbox. Outside: 270 / 185, still capped, still one-per-entity, split mountain from leftover coast in the listing. City: not on this table.

If two of those paragraphs could describe your house, you do not know which house you have. Send the APN. Theregulationpost plus this page plus the clerk reply is the whole map. The rest of the cluster , marketing, shoulder, remote, DIY, market report, investment , assumes you have landed on a row. Land first. Then write the night that row can actually keep.

Bring a printed table to the zoning appointment if you take one. Point at the row. Ask them to initial remaining hosted and remaining non-hosted, or to say they will not quote remaining and you should join the waitlist. Either answer is useful. A shrug is not. The county already told the public the maxima. Your job is the remainder and the street-level locks. Theinvestmentpost is what to do with a no. This page is how to ask so the no, if it comes, is about the right polygon. DASDA is not LODA. SALSDA is not three towns. 270 is not the county. City is another government. That is the whole spotlight.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the 270-permit cap one countywide pool?

270 is the outside-designated-areas non-hosted maximum. DASDA, LODA, and SALSDA have their own cells. The City of Santa Cruz is a different ordinance. Email vacation.eplanreview@santacruzcountyca.gov with the APN to learn which row you are in. Ask: designated area or outside; remaining non-hosted and hosted in that row; block limit; adjacency; SALSDA carve-out; whether you already hold a permit elsewhere.

Do Seacliff, Aptos, and La Selva Beach have separate caps?

They share SALSDA: 147 non-hosted and 45 hosted. A permit in one community counts against the same allotment as the other two. Some named streets are carved out of SALSDA caps and block density , confirm those with staff. The county names streets that do **not** count toward SALSDA caps or block density, including Pot Belly Beach Road, Las Olas Drive, specified Rio Del Mar flats frontages, Beach Drive, and Via Gaviota.

How small is the Davenport / Swanton area?

DASDA allows 3 non-hosted and 4 hosted rentals. Do not model it off a 270-countywide sentence. Confirm remaining permits before you bid, and do not market it as the Boardwalk. DASDA: north coast, 3 non-hosted / 4 hosted, Highway 1, winter identity, no Boardwalk first sentence. DASDA runs from Riverside Avenue and San Vicente Street in Davenport north along Highway 1 through New Town and Davenport Landing south of the highway to Swanton Road, including parcels within a quarter mile of Swanton Road and excluding parcels that abut Last Chance Road.

Is Live Oak the same as the City of Santa Cruz?

LODA is unincorporated Live Oak / Harbor-area geography with 262 non-hosted and 18 hosted on the county table. The city has a 250 hosted cap and is not issuing new non-hosted permits. Different clerks, different TOT. LODA: Live Oak / harbor edge, 262 / 18, Highway 17 day-trip pressure, density and adjacency are the real lids, do not confuse with city 250.

What if my parcel is outside the three designated areas?

You are on the 270 non-hosted / 185 hosted row. That is still a cap, still one-permit-per-owner, still county TOT. It is not an uncapped leftover. Ask staff to confirm you are truly outside. The number 270 that follows this cluster around is the **outside designated areas** non-hosted maximum. It is still unincorporated county, still one-permit-per-owner, still TOT with the Tax Collector.

How do I know if a SALSDA carve-out applies?

The county names streets including Pot Belly Beach Road, Las Olas Drive, specified Rio Del Mar flats frontages, Beach Drive, and Via Gaviota. Put the street in the email to vacation.eplanreview@santacruzcountyca.gov. Send the APN to vacation.eplanreview@santacruzcountyca.gov and ask which row, whether the street is under a block limit, and whether any SALSDA carve-out applies. The waitlist exists for designated areas, for streets under a block limit, and for outside-area parcels.

Do block-density rules apply in every zone?

The county states a 20 percent block-density limit in DASDA, LODA, and SALSDA, plus a non-hosted adjacency rule. If you are outside designated areas, ask whether a block limit still hits your street. If you are outside, ask staff whether a block limit still hits your street. Block density at 20 percent and the two-neighbor adjacency rule are stated for the three designated areas.

What should I ask the county in one email?

APN; which row; remaining hosted and non-hosted; block limit; adjacency; any SALSDA carve-out; and whether you already hold a permit. The public page does not publish a live remaining-count widget. The county already told the public the maxima. Ask them to initial remaining hosted and remaining non-hosted, or to say they will not quote remaining and you should join the waitlist.

Work with Crest & Cove Creative

Santa Cruz County's short-term rental map splits into four capped zones under Ordinance 5497, and DASDA's 3 non-hosted permits behave nothing like LODA's 262. A single countywide pitch misreads which zone a listing sits in.

Crest & Cove Creative writes copy that names the correct designated area, DASDA, LODA, SALSDA, or the city, instead of a generic countywide pitch. Send your address and we will confirm which zone your listing should be marketing to.

Reach out at crestcove.co or (256) 998-7502.