Vacation Rentals (VR) in Sonoma County are short-term rentals of a private residence for periods of 30 days or less. VRs do not include Bed & Breakfast Inns or hosted rentals permitted in accordance with the Sonoma County Code for B&Bs and hosted rentals, or occasional home exchanges that are not otherwise subject to the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT).
County VR rules do not currently apply to the Coastal Zone. Coastal zone VRs are required to pay the TOT and follow HOA rules and local law. The county’s update of the Local Coastal Plan (LCP) will likely extend existing county VR rules to the Coastal Zone.
Link to Permit Sonoma VR Rules: sonomacounty.ca.gov/PRMD/Regulations/Vacation-Rentals
Permit Sonoma (county planning department) regulates VRs though their Zoning authority. The draft LCP process is taking public comments on the VR regulation because VR oversight is part of county planning, zoning, and building regulation.
Permit Sonoma planning staff wants to establish performance standards or “permitting” beyond the requirement of coastal VR homes to pay TOT. They want VRs to operate responsibly and they believe VR rules will help with this goal. In order to do this they must complete the draft LCP, and obtain approval by the county Planning Commission, the Board of Supervisors, and the California Coastal Commission. The LCP should be finalized by the end of 2021.
Currently properties not in the Coastal Zone need a “permit” from the county in order to operate as a short-term VR. The county has the authority to regulate VRs, distribute permits for VR operation, or cap the number of VRs, and even to create “Exclusion Zones” – where no new VRs are allowed. (e.g. there are Exclusion Zones in Glen Ellen, Kenwood and other populated, residential areas)
The county VR regulations establish performance standards: how many guests are allowed per room, number of daytime guests, quiet hours, noise, parking, garbage, etc. They also establish penalties for an owner failing to meet these standards.
CURRENT VR PERMIT TYPES: 5 or fewer Guest Rooms require a “Zoning Permit” & TOT compliance; 6 or more Guest Rooms require a “Use Permit” & TOT compliance.
VR owners inland currently apply for a Vacation Rental Permit online. Link: SonomaCounty.ca.gov/PRMD/Regulations/Vacation-Rentals There are application forms, filing fees, proof of septic capacity (if applicable), and a “Certified Property Manager Requirement” among other things.
The “Certified Property Manager Requirement” requires owners to provide the 24 hour contact information of a property manager who has already passed the property manager certification exam and paid the fee. These managers must be within 30 miles of the vacation rental they intend to manage.
CURRENT VR RULES also provide for an enforcement mechanism & penalties: the VR Complaint Process is available ONLINE for submitting a complaint about the operation of a VR property. First the complainant calls the property manager (PM) – who should be available 24/7. The county has an online “permit history lookup” to allow people to search for the property address and find VR permits and the property manager’s phone number.
If a complainant suspects a VR is being operated without a permit they can submit a Code Compliance complaint to the county.
Response time follows calling the PM: the complainant waits for a response from the PM. The PM is responsible for contacting the renters to correct the problem within 1 hour or within 30 minutes during quiet hours. Quiet hours are from 10pm to 7am.
Complainants submit a written Complaint online if they do not hear back from the PM or the issue is not resolved within the required response time frame. When this happens the complaint goes into the county’s VR complaint system.
There are many ways an owner can run afoul of the county VR rules: too many guests, conducting a special event without a permit, outside amplified sound, unsecured pets, not using a certified property manager, failing to pay TOT – among other infractions.
VR owners pay for this enforcement via a fee they pay (to the county or tax collector) for monitoring and enforcement.
PENALTIES: What happens when you violate the county VR performance standards? The county VR Ordinance provides for “all other legal remedies, criminal or civil, which may be pursued by the county to address any violation of the County Code…” (do an online search for “Sonoma County vacation rental ordinance” or “Sec 26-88-120” to see the law that established the county’s VR regulation/rules).
The “Three Strikes Penalty” is in the county’s VR enforcement arsenal. Bottom line: “…any combination of three administrative citations, verified violations, or hearing officer determinations of violations…within a two year period” can result in your VR permit being revoked. If this happens “the subject property shall not be accepted for a minimum period of two years.”
CESSATION OF VR USE: Finally, when a VR owner sells the home the VR Permit expires automatically. A VR Permit cannot be given to a new property owner. That owner must go through the application process.
If you sell your home or cease operating as a VR the county wants you to let Permit Sonoma know as soon as possible so you are not held liable for any VR use of the property once it has been sold. There is a form online for Cessation of Vacation Rental Use . A VR owner completes and submits it in all cases where the home is no longer used as a VR.
SUMMARY: When the LCP process is finalized and the county establishes short-term VR rules for the Coastal Zone, we believe that all existing VRs on the coast will be allowed to operate, and will be contacted on how to be admitted into the county’s VR oversight system.
Permit Sonoma staff (planning department) will finalize the short-term VR rules that apply to the Coastal Zone — after LCP approval by the Coastal Commission. They will likely notify existing owners/TOT payers on what steps to take to obtain a VR operation permit. This could happen early next year (2022).
NEXT: MORE ON THE LCP COMMENT PERIOD
