Action Alert: Short Term Vacation Rental Ordinance (STVR)

Comments on Short Term Vacation Rental (STVR) Ordinance due September 13

After years of public outcry regarding the adverse impacts of short-term vacation rentals on affordable housing and neighborhood life, Calaveras County has a draft Short-Term Vacation Rental Ordinance. Written comments on the Initial Study Checklist for the draft ordinance are due Friday, September 13. If you have problems with an existing STVR near you, and you think that those problems will not be addressed by the proposed ordinance, then your comments will be especially important. A Planning Commission hearing and a Board of Supervisors hearing on the draft ordinance will follow after the end of the written comment period.

Good Components of the Draft STVRO  

There are many good components of the draft ordinance. Each STVR (new or existing) will need to apply for a permit, to meet permit conditions, and to pay the transient occupancy tax (TOT). The number of residents is limited by the number of rooms in the rental and available parking. The number of water crafts is limited by the length of the dock. There can be no live amplified music or additional guests after 10 pm. Trash will be removed between occupancies. There are stiff financial penalties for violation of the ordinance or permit conditions. A sign out front of the unit provides the number of the manager who is on call to receive complaints. 

Weak Aspects of the STVRO

However, there are a number of weaknesses in the ordinance. 

Onsite resident managers are not required. Instead, the units can be managed by somebody offsite but on call. 

The number of non-resident guests is only limited by available onsite parking. Such parking could accommodate hundreds of guests on a large agricultural property in the RA or A1 zone. All one has to do is mow the weeds. 

While the maximum number of residents will be listed on the contract and in advertisements, there is no prior disclosure of the prohibition on parties or that guests must leave by 10 pm. These limitations also need to be in adds and contracts.  

It is not clear to whom you complain at the County when a STVRO violation is in progress. The phone number of the County contact need NOT be on the sign outside the STVR. Violations with regard to large or late parties are likely to happen at night and on weekends. Will Code Compliance enforce the ordinance after regular business hours and on the weekends? Will the Sherriff? Are they equipped with decibel meters to enforce the noise ordinance? 

There is no limitation on the location or number of STVRs in any one neighborhood. A family could invest all its savings in a home in a nice neighborhood, and then have the neighborhood disrupted by multiple STRVs. 

While parties are prohibited, the term party is not defined in this section of the code, making it unnecessarily difficult for rental occupants to comply with the ordinance, and for local staff to enforce it.

There is no requirement that the STVR owner have liability insurance to cover harm done to the property of neighbors by the vacation residents or their guests. 

In addition to residential areas in and around towns, STVRs will be allowed in some agricultural land zones. It seems like unsupervised STVRs on 10-acre parcels in the Residential Agriculture zone are likely to trigger conflicts with neighbors who purchased large residential lots for peace and quiet for themselves and their livestock. Also, unsupervised STVRs on isolated 100-acre parcels in the A1 zone may invite ordinance violations and pose health, safety, and fire risks.  

Perhaps most disappointing, the County is not dealing with the impacts of multiple STRVs in one neighborhood, and the adverse effects of STRV’s on the availability of affordable long-term rental units for Calaveras County families. The County says it will study these impacts and address these issues at some indefinite future time.   

You can view the draft ordinance and initial study on the CPC website here or at the County website at https://planning.calaverasgov.us/Projects .

Send your comments to the Planning Department Interim Director Peter Maurer at pmaurer@calaverascounty.gov . 

Also send copies of your comments to the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors at:  ‘Ahuse@calaverascounty.gov‘; Michelle Plotnik <mplotnik@calaverascounty.gov>; Timothy Laddish <TLaddish@calaverascounty.gov>; ‘Don Parker’ <dparker@calaverascounty.gov>; ‘Hector Lozano’ <hlozano@calaverascounty.gov>; mrobie@calaverascounty.gov; bosclerk@calaverascounty.gov