Supervisors limit vacation rentals

On Tuesday, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors gave final
approval to the so-called vacation rental ordinance, which puts
limits on residential-style vacation rentals throughout the
county.
The ordinance takes effect on Jan. 1, 2011 and will allow
existing rentals with up to six guest rooms and with no more than
two structures to operate with a basic zoning permit.
New rentals will be limited to five guest rooms when the
ordinance takes effect, but properties can be “grandfathered” into
the system if they are registered between now and the time the
ordinance takes effect.
Larger rental properties, those with more than seven rooms or
more than two structures, will require a more expensive use
permit.
The use permit requirement is intended to address concerns
raised by the Regional Water Quality Control Board about septic
system capacities on the Russian River from Fitch Mountain to Monte
Rio.
According to the county’s staff report, the permit process will
“ensure septic suitability and neighborhood compatibility.”
At its meeting on Sept. 28, the board established occupancy
limits of two individuals per room and quiet hours between 10 p.m.
and 9 a.m., prohibiting outdoor amplified sound.
The ordinance will affect approximately 650 known vacation
rentals, mostly in the West County, and came in response to
increasing complaints about noise, parking, garbage, trespassing,
crime and other activities occurring on vacation rental
properties.
The issue gained momentum earlier this year, when a
non-permitted deck at a vacation home located on 40 acres above
Westside Road near Guerneville collapsed during an out-of-control
party.
A small handful of speakers voiced concerns on Tuesday in
contrast to earlier, more contentious meetings on the subject, and
Board Chair Valerie Brown expressed relief that the two-year
process was finally drawing to a close.
One of the speakers who spoke out against the ordinance was
Chuck Ganeless-Levine, who owns two rental properties in the
Russian River area.
His main concern is the limit to the number of guests allowed in
his six-room properties, which he rents mostly to wedding parties
and other “multi-generational” family gatherings.
“They spend a lot more money and they don’t drink,” he said.
“There are usually 16 to 18 people and they’re well-ordered
gatherings.”
Levine and his wife bought the properties to help fund their
retirement, but he’s worried that he’ll lose sufficient income that
he won’t be able to pay the mortgage and will be unable to sell the
property in the current economic climate.
“(The Supervisors) are cutting off their economic purse
strings,” he said.
According to the Sonoma County Tourism Bureau, the vacation
rental business generates more than $2 million in annual county
transient occupancy tax (TOT) revenues, about 25 percent of the
total county TOT, which is a 9 percent tax added to the nightly
rate guests pay at hotels, inns and vacation rental houses.
Vacation home rentals generate more than $20 million in annual
revenue in Sonoma County and vacation home renters spend an
estimated $60 million annually on food, drink and shopping.
The Sonoma County Lodging Association and county staff estimated
there are approximately 200 county vacation rental properties that
do not pay TOT, according to a report last year.
Most vacation rentals are managed by professional property
management services, whose rental agreements typically include
provisions against large parties or events, but there are also a
large number of vacation rentals by owners that are advertised on
websites but do not pay transient occupancy tax, according to
county officials.