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| News:
06/15/2010
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Vacation rental ordinance hits a bump in the road
Efforts to start formally regulating vacation rentals in unincorporated Sonoma County got temporarily sidetracked recently when a proposed ordinance was attacked for being draconian and overreaching. A crowd of mostly vacation rental owners and managers packed a June 10 Sonoma County Planning Commission meeting to strongly object to the specifics of the proposed ordinance. The draft had been developed by the Permit and Resource Management Department (PRMD) with input from vacation rental industry representatives over the last year and a half, but some at the meeting said that what was in front of them was unrecognizable. “What began as an effort to surgically address the legitimate concerns over problem (vacation rentals) has morphed into something far-reaching and will create a burdensome bureaucracy,” said Liza Graves, a co-founder of Sonoma-based Beautiful Places, which manages vacation rentals, including a number in Sonoma Valley. PRMD officials have said that since vacation rentals are not listed in county codes, they are technically not allowed. However, the county has never taken any enforcement action on the existence of rentals in residential areas, though it has required any vacation rental to register and pay Transient Occupancy Taxes (TOT). County officials said that over the years, the number of complaints about vacation rentals have increased, with neighbors complaining about noisy parties and the general compatibility of such transient rentals in residential areas. The draft ordinance under discussion would require vacation rentals that met specific standards to obtain an over-the counter “zoning permit” in order to operate, at a cost of $117. Those rentals not meeting the standards could still obtain a use permit, which takes longer, is much more expensive, and could require a public hearing. Specifically, the ordinance would limit the number of rooms in a rental to a maximum of five, and put limits on the number of daytime and nighttime guests, which would be different depending upon if the rental was on a sewer or septic system. Noise limits would be imposed, including quiet times and the prohibition of any outside amplified music. There would also be parking rules. An enforcement process would be set up if there were complaints about a vacation rental property, which could result in the county revoking a rental’s zoning or use permit. The draft ordinance would allow rentals in some residential and agricultural zoning areas but not others. Most of the attendees at the June 10 meeting said the new rules were overkill, especially since only a small percentage of vacation rentals have experienced complaints by neighbors. “You’re trying to kill a mosquito with a sledge hammer,” said Chuck Ganeless-Levine, who owns vacation rentals in the Russian River area. Only a couple of the speakers offered support for the draft ordinance as presented, with some challenging the ordinance’s allowance of vacation rentals in any residential zones County officials estimate that there are 640 vacation rentals outside the county’s designated Coastal Area paying the Transient Occupancy Tax, 65 percent of which are in District 5 (which includes the Russian River area), and 23 percent of which are in District 1 (which includes Sonoma Valley). In fiscal year 2008-09, TOT money from vacation rentals was over $1 million. After hearing public testimony, the Planning Commission decided to kick the ordinance back to PRMD planners for further work and discussion with stakeholders. Commissioner Dick Fogg said, “I plead for simplicity and a lack of complexity in this thing. If you need a bigger hammer for the bad apples, go ahead and do that.” PRMD planners are due to come back to the commission in August. Any vacation rental ordinance must eventually be approved by the county’s Board of Supervisors. You can download the PRMD staff reporthere. Editor & Publisher Email: alec@kenwoodpress.com |
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