New short-term rental rules in Idyllwild, other areas to be decided by county supervisors
Owners of short-term rentals in Idyllwild and other unincorporated areas of Riverside County soon could have to follow new rules to operate their properties, with county officials advancing a proposal Wednesday that would establish new parameters for inspections and occupancy limits, as well as steeper penalties for rule violations.
After a lengthy hearing over the proposed changes in April, the Riverside County Planning Commission unanimously agreed Wednesday to advance a draft ordinance aiming to establish more oversight of the short-term rentals already under the county's purview.
Many residents of unincorporated areas of Riverside County have raised concerns about issues such as loud parties, blocked roadways, fire hazards, trash and parking congestion — areas the county is looking to address through its draft ordinance.
The proposed changes follow a 2021 Riverside County Civil Grand Jury report on the county’s short-term rental landscape, which found its current enforcement process to be ineffective, with fines too small to act as a meaningful deterrent. The report also recommended mandating property inspections and hiking short-term rental initial licensing and renewal fees to fund better enforcement.
“This has been one of the most challenging ordinances that this county has taken on and worked with,” John Hildebrand, the county’s planning director, said Wednesday. “We’re not quite there yet, but we’ve got a working framework that we’ll keep refining as needed.”
County planning officials have developed a draft ordinance that would implement the following rules:
Require property inspections for people seeking a short-term rental certificate.
Require a noise monitor both inside and outside of the short-term rental property.
Require property owners to post a sign outside the property that includes the rental’s certificate number, the name and phone number of the property owner, the maximum number of guests allowed at the property and the number for the county’s code enforcement hotline.
Impose escalating fees for violations of the ordinance, including $1,300 for a first violation, $3,000 for a second violation within a year of the first violation and $5,000 for each additional violation within one year of the first violation. Short-term rental permits could also be revoked after a third violation.
Implement a occupancy limit of two people per bedroom, plus one additional person, with a maximum of 10 people. Occupancy can be increased to a maximum of 16 by submitting an application to the Building and Safety Department and complying with all applicable state building code requirements. Rentals that have at least five bedrooms and are located on a property of at least five acres can also apply to have a maximum occupancy of 16 people.
Require property owners to have one on-site parking space for every four occupants, with a prohibition on off-site parking.
The proposed changes, which will go to the county Board of Supervisors for further consideration, come as unincorporated parts of the county have seen a substantial spike in their number of short-term rentals.
In 2016 — the year the county first adopted a short-term rental ordinance — the county had 268 certified rentals. This year, the county has roughly 925 short-term vacation rentals, along with an estimated double to triple that amount operating without proper permits, according to a county staff report.
More: Riverside County weighs new short-term rental rules, enforcement steps to address growing market
Hildebrand has previously noted the draft ordinance is part of a broader initiative by the county to refine its short-term rental process, in part to rein in the high number of unpermitted vacation rentals.
In recent months, the county entered into an agreement with compliance technology company Deckard Technologies to handle short-term rental applications and tax collections. County officials have also set up a 24/7 call center to handle issues related to rentals and begun hiring more code enforcement officials to work over the weekends.
The issue has drawn substantial feedback from residents of unincorporated Riverside County, particularly those from the Temecula and Idyllwild areas, where short-term rentals have an outsized presence compared to many other parts of the county.
During the meeting Wednesday, more than 20 people gave their thoughts on how the county might improve its proposed ordinance. While their perspectives varied, several county residents questioned the draft ordinance’s prohibition on renting different rooms within a property to multiple parties at the same time.
“Almost all single-room rentals are quiet couples. This fosters tranquil STRs,” said Tyler Massas, who said he rents individual rooms of his home to people visiting the Temecula wine country area. “If the ordinance were to require STR owners to rent an entire home to one renter, this causes a much higher risk of noise and loud parties … Please allow us to continue renting single rooms in our home.”
The planning commissioners were receptive to the residents' comments, as they agreed to allow multiple rentals at the same time for rentals with no more than five bedrooms.
Other residents questioned the ordinance’s occupancy requirements. Some argued the county should reduce the maximum occupancy below the 10-person limit allowed under the ordinance, while others said the commissioners should consider a minimum setback distance from other homes for any short-term rental eligible to host 16 people.
The draft ordinance headed to the Board of Supervisors may not be the final steps taken by the county to address its short-term rental regulations, as Hildebrand said county officials also may begin a "phase two," which could include looking at a limit on the number of short-term rentals allowed in parts of unincorporated Riverside County.
While short-term rental limits weren't at the center of the discussion Wednesday, some in attendance already had thoughts on the possibilities, including targeting specific areas with limitations. Brian Tracy, a leader of a citizens group focused on short-term rentals in Idyllwild, said the county should consider a cap on short-term rentals at 10% of the total housing market in the mountain town.
"We have approximately 3,800 dwelling units in our ZIP code. A 10% cap would allow for 380 registered official short-term rentals," Tracy said. "We have presently, according to county records, about 350 (short-term rentals), so we would not be excluding anybody who is already registered is already registered, already legal and already operating."
"We need a cap," Tracy added. "We're a small community. We're being overwhelmed by short-term rentals."
The Idyllwild area has nearly half of all registered short-term rentals under county jurisdiction, with a 70% higher ratio of short-term rentals to residents than Palm Springs, according to a previous Desert Sun analysis of county, city and census data.
The commissioners ultimately advanced the draft ordinance by a 5-0 vote. The draft ordinance will now head to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, which will likely consider the ordinance sometime in the coming months, for possible adoption.
Previous reporting from The Desert Sun business reporter James B. Cutchin was used in this story.
Tom Coulter covers politics and can be reached at thomas.coulter@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Supervisors to weigh new short-term rental rules in Idyllwild, other areas
