After learning that the Riverside County Board of Supervisors had discussed a new ordinance to regulate short-term rentals, the local Idyllwild Association of Realtors created a committee of four to review how this action might affect the local rental market, according to Marge Muir, one of the committee members.

In an initial vote, the board approved the ordinance 4-1. But supervisors agreed to redraft it and bring it back to a future meeting, tentatively set for Jan. 12, 2016. The principal sponsor was Supervisor John Benoit (4th District), who said his intention was to regulate the industry and not ban it.

Third District Supervisor Chuck Washington co-sponsored the draft ordinance with Benoit, but expressed some concerns and reservations during the board’s discussion of it.

“So much doesn’t apply up here,” Muir said. “We hope to raise some things that don’t apply.”

The realtor group met Thursday, Dec. 3, and agreed to share the draft ordinance with the local innkeepers and vacation rental companies on the Hill, whom they feel may be affected to some extent, according to Johnny Wilson, another committee member.

“We wanted everyone to know about it and are waiting for any feedback,” he said.

As drafted, the proposal specifically excludes hotels, motels, lodging houses, bed and breakfast inns, cottage or country inns, and many more facilities. It does focus on privately owned residential dwellings, including detached or multiple-family attached, apartments, condominiums and cooperative apartments, mobile homes and more.

A principal reason, which brought the supervisors’ attention to this issue, is the many incidents of excessive noise and loud visitors. Benoit and his staff pointed to this problem as the number one complaint of short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods.