Sonoma County’s planning department – Permit Sonoma – has short-term vacation rental (VR) rules inland as of 2021-2023, but those VR rules have not been expanded to the Coastal Zone.
Permit Sonoma has to update the Local Coastal Plan and create coastal zone short-term VR rules before they can become effective. There will be public sessions where the county will explain what they plan to do on the coast. This review process is nearly complete in mid-2023.
———HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY VR REGULATION——-
In the meantime, let’s look at the VR Ordinance for inland VRs. It’s Section 26-88-120 “Vacation Rentals”. This is the first of six blog posts that will look at that ordinance from A to Z. We already discussed the “Noise” rules in an earlier post.
[THIS REGULATION WILL BE SUPPLANTED BY NEW ORDINANCES – 2022 FOR INLAND VRs; 2023 FOR COASTAL ZONE VRs]
PURPOSE & APPLICABILITY – VR Ordinance Sec. 26-88-120
“(a) Purpose. This section provides requirements and standards for the operation of vacation rentals. These standards are intended to ensure that vacation rentals are compatible with and do not adversely impact surrounding residential and agricultural uses.”
“(b) Applicability. The provisions of this section shall apply to all vacation rentals except where there is a primary owner in residence. This section does not apply to legally established Hosted Rentals or Bed and Breakfast Inns, which are regulated by Section 26-88-118. As used in this section, “primary owner” does not include residences or condominiums owned as a timeshare, limited liability partnership or corporation, or fractional ownership of six (6) or more interests….”
This section continues to say VRs shall not be permitted in an “X Combining Zone”, nor in second dwelling units, or affordable housing units, tents, yurts, RVs, and other structures that are not a single-family dwelling. Go to the ordinance to see the rest of the text.
—————————BLOG COMMENTS———————-
The purpose of the ordinance is a general governmental purpose. Here, Permit Sonoma is creating “standards” to ensure short-term VRs are compatible with and do not adversely impact surrounding residential uses. This is the focus most people, whether for or against VRs, will have when defending or decrying VRs. As a VR operator this ordinance requires that you not adversely impact surrounding residential uses.
The applicability section makes clear that short-term vacation rentals are not permitted in certain structures – by type and ownership. Of interest are structures owned by corporations or limited liability partnerships, or with fractional ownership of six (6) or more interests – where short-term VRs are not allowed.
LLCs (limited liability company) are not mentioned. Many rental homes are owned by individuals, owner’s trusts, or LLCs. All of those ownership types appear to be allowed as short-term VRs. Anyone with a different type of ownership should check with the county VR office to see if they would be allowed to apply for a VR permit (when the short-term VR rules are expanded to the coastal zone).