To: Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Permit Sonoma
Staff Name and Phone Number: Doug Bush, Planner III (707) 565-5726
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Fifth
Title:
Title
1:50 P.M. Adoption of Vacation Rental Regulations in Coastal Zone
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Hold a public hearing and adopt:
A) An Ordinance amending Chapter 26C to regulate Vacation Rentals in the Coastal Zone;
B) A Resolution authorizing submittal of Local Coastal Program amendments to the California Coastal Commission for certification
(Fifth District)
end
Executive Summary:
On August 2, 2022, the Board of Supervisors considered and voted on an ordinance to establish a zoning permit requirement and land use standards for vacation rentals in the Coastal Zone (Ordinance No. 6386) and a resolution authorizing submittal of the updates to the California Coastal Commission for certification (Resolution 22-0303).
Following the hearing, staff discovered that the California Coastal Act’s 10 business day requirement for legal notice of an action to amend the County’s Local Coastal Program was not provided. Instead, a standard 10 calendar day legal notice was provided for the hearing. As a result, this item is now being brought back a second time for Board consideration to follow the appropriate noticing requirement. The ordinance contained in this report (Attachment 1) has not changed since the August 2, 2022, meeting.
A vacation rental license ordinance was adopted by the Board on May 16, 2023. The ordinance recommended in this report would require vacation rentals in the Coastal Zone to obtain a license and comply with the adopted vacation rental license ordinance. For the license ordinance and zoning permit requirement to be effective in the Coastal Zone, the Board must adopt a new resolution (Attachment 2) authorizing its submittal to the California Coastal Commission for certification.
Discussion:
Currently, vacation rentals in the Coastal Zone are not subject to use-specific regulations, which can cause nuisance, impacts to environmental resources, and threats to public health and safety. To address these issues, the proposed Ordinance would add Section 26C-325.10. “Vacation Rentals” to Chapter 26C of County Code, creating vacation rental standards and requiring both a vacation rental license and zoning permit to operate a vacation rental in the Coastal Zone. These standards are the same as those previously adopted by the Board of Supervisors for application outside the Coastal Zone: 1) Zoning Permit Standards Ordinance 6386, adopted August 2, 2022 and 2) Vacation Rental License Ordinance 6427, adopted May 16, 2023.
The proposed ordinance, if adopted by the Board of Supervisors and certified by the California Coastal Commission, would implement requirements and standards including but not limited to:
1) Clearly defining vacation rentals
2) Requiring a zoning permit and vacation rental license
3) Specifying that vacation rental permits expire upon sale or transfer of a parcel
4) Clarifying what structures may be used as a vacation rental (e.g. detached single family dwelling or guest house) and which are prohibited (e.g. accessory dwelling unit)
5) Establishing a maximum occupancy of 2 guests per bedroom plus 2 additional guests per property, and never to exceed 12 guests
6) Establishing permissible noise thresholds, lighting standards, and parking requirements
7) Requiring emergency evacuation plans and prohibiting outdoor burning
8) Restricting ownership for new vacation rental owners to natural persons
9) Requiring a certified property manager
10) Addressing violations and enforcement
The proposed ordinance follows the direction of the Board of Supervisors and recommendations of the Planning Commission to establish a requirement for vacation rental operators to obtain both a zoning permit and vacation rental license to legally operate vacation rentals in the Coastal Zone. Once the license and zoning permit requirements are adopted by the Board of Supervisors and certified by the Coastal Commission, the coastal vacation rental program will become effective. Staff anticipates certification by the Coastal Commission in November of 2023. All vacation rentals in the coastal zone would be required to obtain a vacation rental license by June 16, 2024. New vacation rentals would also be required to obtain a zoning permit prior to operation.
Public Outreach:
Prior to the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisor’s prior hearings in 2022, staff engaged with the Lower Russian River Municipal Advisory Council, Sonoma Coast Municipal Advisory Council, The Sea Ranch Association, Sonoma Coast Vacation Rental Owners, and The Sea Ranch Hosting Coalition. Additional outreach was held through the General Plan Update Housing Advisory Committee comprised of nonprofit housing providers, service providers, nonprofit and for-profit developers, and representatives of farmworkers, people with lived experience of homelessness, and renters. This outreach included in-person workshops held in Spanish and input from Sonoma County Tenants Union, Legal Aid of Sonoma County, North Bay Jobs with Justice, Graton Day Labor Center, North Bay Organizing Project, Indivisible Petaluma, La Luz, and North Bay Organizing Project Petaluma.
Planning Commission Recommendation:
At the March 17, 2022, hearing, the Planning Commission recommended amending the coastal zoning code (Chapter 26C) to require a land use permit that restricts allowable structures, sets maximum occupancy, and establishes parking requirements. In addition, they recommended the creation of a Vacation Rental License Program that would require licenses for all vacation rentals inland and in the Coastal Zone within a year of adoption, that the license program include neighborhood notification when licenses are renewed, that outdoor fires be prohibited at vacation rentals, and that noise and performance standards be relocated from the Zoning Code (Chapter 26) to the vacation rental license code (Chapter 4). The vacation rental license ordinance (Ordinance 6427) was passed and adopted by the Board on May 16, 2023 and is now in effect outside the Coastal Zone, where vacation rentals now require a vacation rental license.
Strategic Plan:
Not Applicable
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
1. Public hearing on regulating vacation rentals in coastal zone (August 2, 2022)
Fiscal Summary
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
N/A
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
N/A
Attachments:
Att 1: Proposed Ordinances and Exhibits - Land use and Vacation Rental License
Att 2: Local Coastal Plan Amendment Resolution
Att 3: Ordinance 6386
Att 4: Resolution 22-0303
Att 5: Ordinance 6427
Att 6: Staff PowerPoint
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
Not Applicable