By JP Crumrine
Correspondent

“What’s your opinion of short-term rentals?”

Ask anyone, ask your neighbor, ask the person next to you at the post office, ask the person behind you in line at Fairway or Village markets, or ask someone at any bar in town.

You will get an opinion. It is unlikely the person being queried will give you a quizzical expression and ask, “What are short-term rentals; you mean cars?” In Idyllwild, everyone has an opinion on this topic and those opinions outnumber the stars.

Some will look disgusted and offer many reasons for limiting or even abolishing STRs, while some will respond with a lecture about private property rights or offering opportunities to families to visit Idyllwild.

In early 2016, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved Ordinance 927, which authorizes and regulates the use of STRs in the unincorporated areas such as Idyllwild and the Hill. Since then, STRs have grown. The number of certified STRs in Riverside County doubled between 2016 and 2021, according to county data.

But many of the problems that led to its adoption remain, even if at a lower rate. Neighbors still find cars parked up and down local streets. Many weekends, Idyllwild is the host to several parties, many which are noisy and bothersome. Trespassing or letting their dogs run without leashes create mild to dangerous problems, too, especially when the trespasser is not a resident and disputes the issue. And the week often begins with plenty of trash bags in driveways, along the curb and elsewhere.

One Monday morning, a local resident observed three trash bags left at the end of the next-door driveway after a boisterous group of vacationers. For the next three nights, coyotes distributed dirty diapers throughout the neighborhood.

Occasionally, the problems can drift into another category. Bill Tell of Idyllwild wrote about the STR on his cul-de-sac. “The STR has hit all of the buttons you mentioned and then some, too numerous to count as to the various episodes, some could even be considered X-rated … we just simply stopped counting.”

Ask a local Realtor
Real estate agents are trapped in the middle. They are trying to satisfy their clients, neighbors of the property and their friends, as well as their livelihood.

Karen Doshier, Idyllwild Association of Realtors president, described the STR issue as “… a two headed topic. Vacation rentals earn money and bring people to Idyllwild who spend money. But the neighborhoods are overrun. Some are like parking lots at night.”

Doshier, a Realtor, stresses that “selling homes is our business.” While she does not wish to abolish the use of STRs, she admits that she has lost some sales when the prospective buyer asked whether the house next door was or would become an STR. Some buyers do not wish to live next to a home frequently rented rather than a second home limited to visits from the owner’s family.

Rather, Doshier added, “We want enforcement. For example, to collect the TOT [Transient Occupancy Tax] for the county’s general fund.” She acknowledged that some buyers, who intend to use the property as an STR, know nothing about the county’s regulatory process. So often they do not get the STR certificate.

However, renting their home can help some people pay their mortgage. Steve Cuellar, another Idyllwild Realtor, said, “I understand the frustration with the availability of affordable housing. It’s a statewide problem, not just in Idyllwild.”

As a result of COVID-19, more people are able to and choose to work at home. As a result, more people can move from the metropolises to areas such as Idyllwild, which has contributed to the astronomical rise in home prices.

But not all home sales are for STR investors. For example, Jon Brown, Idyllwild resident and recently appointed to the Fern Valley Water District Board of Directors, said 20 years ago, there used to be just three full-time homes on his street. Now there are 10 full-time residential homes. He wants to remind people, “Vacation cabin rentals existed here well before 2000.”

“There’s a huge movement to work remotely,” Brown opined. “More people are choosing to live here. Twenty years ago, a permanent resident with a job off the Hill had a long and often unbearable commute.”

Housing sales have been “crazy” the past year in Idyllwild, according to Cuellar. Consequently, agreeing with Doshier, “STRs lower the expenses and help mitigate the cost.”

Nevertheless, Cuellar wants the next steps to be balanced. The problems with STRs, such as noise and parking, need to be alleviated while protecting the options for property owners.

Ask a local neighbor
Riverside County 3rd District Supervisor Chuck Washington, along with his colleague Keven Jefferies (1st District), authorized an ad hoc committee to seek comments and ideas about the STR issue and the proposed changes to Ordinance 927.

Terry Shirley, an Idyllwild resident and Idyllwild Community Center vice president, attended the meeting with others from throughout the county, including the wine country. In preparation for the meeting and following it, he has spoken to many residents about the issue.

Two issues — noise and parking — have to be addressed, according to Shirley. One person to whom he spoke was prevented from getting into their driveway because so many cars were parked along the street belonging to visitors at a neighbor’s STR.

Woody Henderson, who lives on a road Riverside County does not maintain, plows the snow himself. But in the winter, often the cars parked along the road during a weekend rental makes the plowing difficult, if not impossible.

Further, all but two of Henderson’s neighbors share the cost. The uncooperative beneficiaries who do not contribute are the owners of the nearby STRs.

One of Henderson’s worries is how the visitors will react when an emergency occurs. Will they know how to evacuate or be trapped in cars, he posed.

Some visitors at the STR on Tell’s street not only blocked driveways, but “[they] blocked access to our street preventing emergency responders from directly accessing downed power lines and tending to spot fires … they could only get to within four doors of the emergency.”

Sometimes the STR is being used for more than a vacation with family or friends. “In the past we have counted up to 26 cars on the street and the renters said they were running a retreat — certainly not the intentions of an STR,” Tell wrote and added. “We live in a residential neighborhood not a commercial district; that is what downtown is for.”

While Riverside County does have a noise ordinance, it is rarely enforced. Nancy Pearlman who has house near Idyllwild Arts has frequently endured loud parties from her neighboring STR. “The house next to [my] cabin rents out to loud parties with noise and music all day and night until I stop them around 2 a.m. Now I plan to stop them at 10:01 p.m. in the future, per the county regulations.”

She also has had firewood stolen from her stack. As a result, she has approached the owner (Pearlman believes the STR is operating with a certificate), “… but sadly the situation has not been handled well … No one is there to tell [the renters] to be responsible neighbors.”

Besides noise and parking, which are major problems for Courtney Locke of Pine Cove, she once observed ST renters next door fill an inflatable pool, which they brought for the weekend. Then on the last day of the stay, they tried to “drain it inconspicuously, creating a small moat in the neighbor’s driveway,” she noted.

“It’s a new breed of entitlement,” Locke added. “I would never recommend going to an STR that has a hot tub.” Both of her neighboring STRs have hot tubs, which can add to the noise and other issues.

STRs may also affect local inns. However, Chris Singer, owner of Silver Pines, said, “I haven’t been yet. I’m not afraid of competition.”

Singer said it’s not unusual on Friday night or Saturday morning for a couple to come into her office without reservations asking for a room. They had planned to rent an STR house or cabin, but it might not have been ready or appropriate or they couldn’t find it or contact the manager.

The increase in use of STRs “won’t last very long,” Singer opined. “With the huge increase in home sales, everybody thinks they can turn their cabin into an Airbnb. But there’s no infrastructure.” Managing, cleaning and parking are all in limited supply in Idyllwild, she explained. Eventually, this will diminish the demand for STRs.

Solutions
Solutions for solving the STR problems range from prohibiting the practice to maintaining the rights of property owners. Peter Szabadi of Idyllwild and a director on the Idyllwild Water District board, expressed the most common desire, “It’s great that the supervisors are considering to adopt and to amend the new ordinance [927], but the county should concentrate on enforcement and make sure STRs observe the rules.”

Ideally, both Henderson and Pearlman would limit STRs to Idyllwild’s commercial area. “While I am not opposed to STRs, I am asking for balance of both sides,” Henderson stated. If STRs cannot be concentrated in the commercial corridor, he would like them banned from private and county non-maintained roads and better compliance with applicable county codes.

Brown agrees with restricting STRs from private roads. “To operate an STR on a private street, one should get the acceptance of a percentage of the neighbors.”

“The most common suggestion I heard was compliance with codes and better enforcement of codes,” Shirley said.

Brown feels the county has abdicated its responsibility to govern and to police. It’s the county’s job to enforce the noise ordinance.”

Apparently, there are only three code enforcement officers in Riverside County. If their work week is limited to Monday to Friday, they are unlikely to be able to address a weekend complaint, especially one regarding noise, Shirley noted.

“Further, it is difficult for a code officer to respond timely from Hemet.” Shirley added that several people would like to see an officer assigned to live on the Hill.

People recognize that increasing the Code Enforcement staff will require more funding. Consequently, many favor an increase in both STR fees and code violation fines.

Brown agrees with some increase in these fees but worries that if the registration cost is too high, owners will go underground. He prefers to encourage owners to obtain the county certificate and for the county to rely on the TOT to fund greater enforcement. If Code Enforcement is funded from TOT, then “those with the highest occupancy will pay the most.”