Thumbnail photo: Crescent City is using a California Coastal Conservancy grant to install two ADA-compliant cabins at its Lighthouse Cove RV Park. | Photo courtesy of the City of Crescent City
After they weren’t able to reach a consensus on vacation rental regulations, Crescent City councilors last week approved contracts to install cabins and renovate an apartment for rent at the city-owned RV park.
Paid for through a $835,000 California Coastal Conservancy Explore the Coast Overnight grant, the project isn’t meant to compete with locals who own Airbnbs or VRBOs, Public Works Director David Yeager said at the Council’s Sept. 8 meeting.
Though the rates have yet to be set, Yeager described renting the cabins and apartment as a “lower cost opportunity” than booking a privately-owned vacation rental.
“There is a low set limit on these rentals. We won’t be competing with the other folks who mostly left the room,” he said, referring to those who spoke up earlier opposing regulations specifically for vacation rentals. “It does create an opportunity for us to increase the income over what an (RV) space would cost and really they would not be available to the city if they were not grant funded.”
In addition to the $835,000 grant, Crescent City is using $255,400 from its RV park fund to remodel the park’s restrooms as well as an existing apartment so it could be used as a short-term rental. The project’s total approved budget is about $1.1 million with about $97,341 as contingency for all three phases.
Any unused dollars will be returned to the city’s RV park fund.
Crescent City has also purchased two cabins that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. According to Yeager, they will face Elk Creek. Parking will be “on the RV park side.” There will be an ADA-compliant ramp and each cabin will have a deck that will also face the creek and the ocean.
Councilors on Sept. 8 approved a $138,078 contract with Sequoia Construction to prepare the site and set the cabins. They also approved a $230,682 contract with Adams Commercial and General Contracting to remodel the apartment.
Councilors also authorized the city manager to sign future change orders not to exceed an aggregate amount of $120,000 for the apartment remodel and $30,000 for the cabin project.
According to the city’s public works director, the apartment at Lighthouse Cove is about 1,200 square feet and has three bedrooms and one bathroom. The person who built the RV park lived there with his children, Yeager said.
But it’s not compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act, Yeager said. There was asbestos in the structure and a ladder out a window that served as a fire escape, he said.
Staff added the construction of an exterior deck as well as a set of stairs that weren’t included in the original project’s scope, according to Yeager’s staff report. The cost for that addition is $95,000.
The total budget for the apartment remodel is $405,600 with $42,959 left over as contingency, according to the staff report.
Yeager said if the city was unable to agree on a contract with Adams Commercial and General Contracting, it would have to issue a request for proposals for the deck portion of the project. The city is working on a change order for the deck portion, he said, asking councilors for their preemptive approval so the project could begin before the rains come in.
“We’re anticipating about a $60,000-80,000 bid,” Yeager said.
The Coastal Conservancy’s Explore the Coast Overnight program stems from Assembly Bill 250, which passed in 2017 and directed the conservancy to create low-cost coastal accommodations.
According to City Manager Eric Wier, though unspent funding from the project will go back into the RV park fund, it does generate transiency occupancy taxes. Revenue from those TOT taxes go into the city’s general fund, Wier said.
