Board to Consider Adjustments to Countywide Short-Term Rental Regulations

RIVERSIDE (CNS) - The Board of Supervisors is slated today to consider
a series of proposed adjustments to the Riverside County ordinance
regulating short-term rentals in unincorporated communities, as well as
formally end the roughly 16-month moratorium on the issuance of STR
certificates in B-Bar H Ranch and Thousand Palms.
  

During its policy agenda Tuesday, the board will hold the first of two
planned public hearings on amendments sought by the Transportation & Land
Management Agency to Ordinance 927. The meeting will be the last before the
board takes its summer recess, which will run to the end of August.
  

``The proposed minor revisions to the county's Short-Term Rental
Ordinance are intended to provide additional protections and safeguards to
communities from potential impacts related to STRs, while also providing a
pathway for homeowners to operate them,'' according to a TLMA statement posted
to the agenda.
  

The STR ordinance hasn't undergone significant changes since it was
formally implemented in 2022.
  

Short-term rentals are defined as residential dwellings leased for a
maximum of 30 days and a minimum of two days and one night. Prior to the
ratification of Ordinance No. 927, the county had a somewhat informal process
for permitting short-term rentals, which number about 1,100 in unincorporated
communities countywide.
  

Among the major changes that TLMA has proposed is one that bears on
hours of service and deployment of Department of Code Enforcement officers to
handle STR complaints. Previously, officers were off the clock by 10 p.m. But
under the modified regulatory framework, two officers would be on duty at the
agency's Palm Desert and San Jacinto offices 7 a.m. to midnight all days of the
week.
  

The idea is to ensure ``sustained district presence and reduced travel
time between service areas,'' according to TLMA, which noted the largest
number of complaints against STRs traditionally occur in supervisorial
Districts 3 and 4. The first one encompasses the southwest county region,
stretching from Temecula across the Anza and San Jacinto valleys. District 4
covers all of the Coachella Valley east to the Palo Verde Valley.
  

Another change would be eliminating the current ``60-minute self-
correction window'' that has up to now permitted STR owners to address
complaints themselves within an hour. Instead, TLMA is proposing that code
enforcement officers go directly to locations where complaints have been lodged
and attempt ``knock and talk'' tactics that immediately make parties aware of
noise, obstruction and related problems.
  

Notices, or administrative citations, would be issued where complaints
are documented, according to officials. This would establish a gradual
process for ticketing people who violate regulations. However, under an
``urgent circumstance,'' where there's a public health or similar issue, the
noticing could be dispensed with in preference to immediate suspension of an
STR certificate and a cease-and-desist order mandating that actions be taken to
correct the offense forthwith, according to the proposed amendments.
  

TLMA is additionally asking the board to approve a provision
specifying that if an STR owner receives five notices over the 12-month period
in which an STR certificate is valid, the certificate could be suspended. The
receipt of seven notices would result in revocation and create a review process
-- after a minimum 24 months have elapsed -- if an STR operator submits a new
application to rent out his or her property in the future.
  

TLMA's other proposal is for properties where the STR owners reside on-
site be designated ``hosted stay'' STRs. The change would primarily affect
occupancy limits in Temecula Valley Wine Country. Currently the occupancy cap
at an STR less than a half-acre in size is 10, but if the owner-operator is on-
site, that would change to 12. For properties greater than two acres, where the
maximum occupancy is now 20, a hosted stay location's limit would be changed to
22.
  

TLMA is also proposing to eliminate the 90-day grace period that
currently enables STR owners to take up to three months to apply for STR
certification renewal. The ordinance would be amended to end certification at
the time of expiration.
  

The slate of proposed amendments further calls for an increase in the
initial STR application fee from $740 to $1,077, and elevating the annual
renewal fee from $540 to $775.
  

Part of Tuesday's hearing lastly will involve proposed termination of
a temporary moratorium on STR issuances within the eastern Coachella Valley
communities of B-Bar H Ranch and Thousand Palms. The moratorium was declared in
April 2025, following a surge in boisterous parties at vacation rental
properties throughout the areas, where there are a combined total of 59 STR
properties.
  

However, during the Coachella Valley's most popular fests -- Coachella
Music & Arts Festival and Stagecoach Music Festival, both in April -- only
two complaints were fielded, and neither resulted in the issuance of notices or
citations, according to TLMA.
  

``These data would appear to support the argument that if an ... issue
exists, it does not appear to be widespread in either community,'' the
agency said, adding that the proposed modifications to the STR regulatory
provisions would benefit B-Bar H Ranch and Thousand Palms residents, without
need of an ongoing moratorium.
  

Board members have recognized that the majority of STR operators are
law-abiding, but people leasing out some properties for illegal events have
grown accustomed to flouting regulations -- and had not faced serious penalties
to deter them from doing so.
  

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