As Monterey County Now reported in late August 2026, a three-bedroom home on Sunset Lane in Pebble Beach is booked out most weekends this fall, listed on VRBO at more than $1,300 a night. Monterey County has not issued the property a permit to operate as a commercial vacation rental. Pebble Beach Company, which owns the private road the guests drive in on, has not given its consent either. The home was still being rented as of late August 2026.
The Monterey County Vacation Rental Alliance describes county approval and private-road access as separate questions in Pebble Beach, and both matter to anyone weighing a purchase here with rental income in mind. A county permit alone does not settle whether guests may use the private road.
Two Owners, Two Approvals, No Requirement That They Agree
Del Monte Forest sits in unincorporated Monterey County, so county planning staff handle zoning and permits the way they would anywhere else in the unincorporated coastal zone. But Pebble Beach Company owns and operates the major private assets inside the Forest, including 17-Mile Drive and the network of private roads that reach most homes off it. Where a county-approved use meets a privately owned road, the county's permit and the road owner's consent are two separate approvals, and nothing in the county ordinance requires them to line up.
The county has been direct about this on its own vacation rental FAQ page: in Del Monte Forest, deed language and private access restrictions "may be enforced by the Pebble Beach Company," and the county says plainly that it cannot give legal advice or speak on the company's behalf. Its recommendation to applicants is to contact PBC's Architectural Review Office directly before filing anything with the county at all.
What the County Ordinance Actually Regulates
Monterey County Now describes Monterey County's vacation rental rules as sorting every short-term rental into one of three categories:
- Homestay
- Limited Vacation Rental
- Commercial Vacation Rental – capped at 4 percent of the housing stock in each planning area.
Here is the detail that matters for Pebble Beach specifically: the ordinance itself does not mention homeowners associations or CC&Rs at all. A county permit can be granted even if a private association or a company like Pebble Beach Company objects.
Pebble Beach Company has already answered that question for the entire Forest. Shortly after the county adopted its ordinance, the company issued a blanket objection to short-term rental operations across Del Monte Forest, arguing the CC&Rs already prohibit commercial use of homes.
The Timeline That Got Us Here
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| October 14, 2024 | County's inland vacation rental ordinance takes effect |
| 2024 | Pebble Beach Company issues a blanket objection to all vacation rentals in Del Monte Forest |
| August 13, 2025 | California Coastal Commission approves the coastal vacation rental ordinance |
| September 23, 2025 | Monterey County Board of Supervisors formally adopts the coastal ordinance |
| October 24, 2025 | Coastal ordinance takes effect |
| August 13, 2026 | County Zoning Administrator hears four Pebble Beach vacation rental applications, approves all four |
| August 25, 2026 | Hearing on the private-road objection is continued at Supervisor Kate Daniels's request |
The company's position has not softened since 2024. As Monterey County Now reported, its general counsel, Diane Goldman, put it to the county in writing:
"The plain meaning of the CC&R language bans short-term vacation rentals in the Del Monte Forest."
What the August Hearing Actually Decided
On August 13, 2026, the county's Zoning Administrator heard four vacation rental applications for Pebble Beach properties, including a second home on Sunset Lane, and approved all four. That approval covers the land use side of the equation only. It says nothing about whether guests can legally use the private road to reach the house.
Supervisor Kate Daniels, whose District 5 seat covers Pebble Beach, requested a continuance of the private-road objection hearing. That continuance was set for August 25, 2026. The property manager for the Sunset Lane rental, Joseph Sennish of Carmel Coast Estates, has taken the opposite legal position from Pebble Beach Company, arguing the CC&Rs actually do give owners and their guests permission to use the roads. Neither side has backed down, and more appeals on other Pebble Beach applications are expected to follow the same pattern.
The practical upshot is that a Zoning Administrator's stamp of approval in Pebble Beach right now tells you the county thinks your rental clears its own rules. It tells you nothing about whether the company that owns your street agrees.
What This Means Before You Write an Offer
If a Pebble Beach property's income projection includes short-term rental revenue, the county permit is the easier half of the question. Before you count on that income:
- Pull the recorded CC&Rs for the specific parcel, not a general summary. Pebble Beach Company's objection rests on its reading of that language, and the exact wording varies by tract.
- Call Pebble Beach Company's Architectural Review Office directly and ask, in writing, whether the company will consent to guest use of the private road serving that address. Get the answer before assuming the income.
- Confirm which of the three county categories the property would need. The company's objection has focused on commercial, unhosted use.
- Ask whether the seller has an existing county permit, and if so, whether Pebble Beach Company has sent that specific address an objection letter, separate from its 2024 blanket statement.
- Understand that a Zoning Administrator approval, like the four issued on August 13, 2026, resolves the land use question and nothing else.
A county permit number in a rent roll reflects county approval, but it does not by itself resolve Pebble Beach Company's separate position on guest use of the private road.
A Different Read for Current Owners
If you already own in Del Monte Forest and are weighing whether to formalize an existing rental, the same split applies in reverse. Getting county approval does not resolve your exposure to the company's objection. The Del Monte Forest Property Owners association tracks road and land use issues on behalf of Forest residents through its Roads & Land Use Committee, and its meetings are one of the more direct ways to hear how this dispute is developing before it reaches a listing you're trying to sell.
FAQ
Does a Zoning Administrator approval mean I can start renting immediately? It means the county has approved the land use. It does not mean Pebble Beach Company has consented to guests using the private road, and the company's 2024 blanket objection to Del Monte Forest rentals has not been withdrawn.
Does this affect Homestay rentals? Pebble Beach Company's public objection and its dispute with the county have centered on unhosted, commercial rentals. Any owner considering one should confirm the company's position on that specific use rather than assume it falls outside the objection.
What if the seller already has a county permit on the home I'm buying? Ask whether Pebble Beach Company has sent an objection letter for that address specifically, not just relied on its general 2024 statement.
Pebble Beach real estate rewards buyers who ask the second question, not just the first one. If you are weighing a Del Monte Forest purchase and want a clear-eyed read on what a rental permit is actually worth on a specific street, Cheryl Heyermann has spent decades untangling exactly this kind of Monterey Peninsula complexity for buyers and sellers. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
