Editor’s note: See the separate and accompanying story that reports comments from Idyllwild residents or STR owners during the board’s meeting.

Tuesday, Nov. 7, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing on the latest draft Ordinance 927, Regulating Short Term Rentals (STR).

At the end of the seven-hour session, of which five hours were devoted to the STR hearing, the board voted to close the hearing and to continue the issue at its next meeting Tuesday, Nov. 28. The vote was 4-0. Supervisor Yxstian Gutierrez (5th District) missed the meeting.

After the public comments concluded, supervisors asked several more questions, then Chair Kevin Jeffries, (1st District) recommended that after returning from a brief recess, “… the board provide suggested refinements and provide direction to staff and they bring it back on Tuesday, Nov. 28.”

None of the supervisors asked for any changes to the major revisions — caps and density — to the ordinance. These will remain as proposed for both Idyllwild and Pine Cove and the Wine Country.

Caps and Density

In Idyllwild, a cap, or limit, on the total number of STRs will be 14% of the 3,567 current residential units. When approved, Ordinance 927.2 will allow up to 500 STRs in Idyllwild and Pine Cove.

Currently, 474 STRs have county certification in the Idyllwild area. This would allow for issuing 26 more STR certificates after the moratorium ends.

However, Planning Director John Hildebrand noted that his office is aware of at least 17 STRs that have been paying the Transient Occupancy Tax, but did not possess a current and valid STR certificate.

These properties were designated Tier 1. So before holding a lottery for available STR certificates, the Tier 1 properties would be given the first opportunity to apply for a certificate. If all 17 applied and were approved, this would then reduce the number of available new STR certificates in Idyllwild to nine, he stated.

The proposed density limitation is 150 feet between STRs. The distance will be measured from the property line of the certified STR.

When the proposed changes are approved, certified STRs within 150 feet of another properly certified STR may continue to renew their certificate. The county will use the attrition of existing certified STRs to enforce the density limit. So STRs that may be adjacent to each other can continue to operate according to the revised ordinance.

Staff presentation

Hildebrand opened the session with a presentation of the draft ordinance and its overall history to the board. He discussed how his staff worked with groups of community members from both Idyllwild and the Wine Country over the past year to develop this version.

The board was concerned about the conditions in Idyllwild and the Wine Country. “The intensification, clustering and density of STRs in these two areas” were a challenge, he stated.

Draft Ordinance 927.2 is the department’s response to these issues, Hildebrand told the board. Its goals, he stated, are to “protect the rights of property owners and residents, protect the rights of STR operators, and to strike a fair and equitable balance.”

Some of the countywide changes Hildebrand noted include requiring that the person signing the rental agreement must be age 21, or 25 for a Wine Country STR.

Also the public must be able to see the STR signage. It cannot be posted just in the rear of the property.

Code Enforcement (CE) Director Robert McGee briefly detailed how his staff has been enforcing the ordinance this year. In the six months from May to June 2023, his staff has received 713 calls regarding possible problems with STRs.

Of these, 162 calls were after hours and 130 were noise complaints. CE ultimately issued three noise citations, 83 notices and 23 cease and desist orders, which were for operating without a county permit. No STR certificate revocations were issued during this period.

Board concerns on ownership limitation for families

The limitation of only two STR certificates per person was the first issue that evoked questions and concerns from the supervisors.

Currently, no limitations exist on the number of STRs a person may own. The draft would limit ownership to no more than two certificates in Idyllwild and no more than two in the Wine Country. If and when the ordinance is passed with this language, existing owners with three or more STRs in either area will be exempt for three years. At that time, any request for renewal of a STR certificate must comply with this limitation.

Jeffries acknowledged that the limitation was intended to prevent corporations and large entities from buying a large number of STRs in these areas.

However, he was concerned about how it would affect families with multiple STRs and local businesses, especially if a family wanted to transfer ownership to another family member. This might occur if a couple owned STRs, one died and the estate passed the property to their child(ren).

Hildebrand replied that STR certificates do not transfer with the property ownership and that the new owner may have to apply for a new certificate.

“I’m not interested in penalizing these owners if they’ve been in compliance and being a good neighbor,” Jeffries said. “What does it matter if they own four or five?”

Hildebrand did note that he believes there are less than a half dozen STR owners with more than two properties.

“After hearing several stories from concerned STR owners who are trying to make a family business out of STRs, it leaves me still wondering why the urgency to sunset multiple unit owners (to no more than two), and yet allow the density issue to be grandfathered in, leaving the more urgent problem of density — one that may never in our lifetime get resolved,” Mark Dean of Pine Cove commented.

At the meeting’s conclusion, the supervisors did ask planning staff to address a change to this limitation. While Jeffries was the most vocal about his objection, both supervisors Chuck Washington (3rd District) and V. Manuel Perez (4th District) concurred.

Other issues supervisors want to be addressed

Earlier in the meeting, Washington shared that the neighborhood just outside of the Wine Country near Anza was concerned about its future.

“There are some STRs now, but they fear that once Ordinance 927.2 is passed, their community will become all STRs,” he noted. “We need to provide that community with some level of protection.”

Supervisor Karen Spiegel (2nd District) agreed that it should be part of the list of potential changes. She also concurred in the concern, frequently expressed by Dean, about permitting STRs on noncounty roads.

Perez discussed the possibility of creating a specific position within the county to oversee and address STR problems, especially complaints. He suggested both an STR hotline and a dedicated employee to respond and to address these issues.

Next session

Jeffries asked the planning staff to try to bring a revised Ordinance 927.2 back to the board at its next meeting.

“Going forward, it’s my hope that 927.2 gets passed quickly and we can get on with seeing how well the beefed-up enforcement aspect of controlling unruly STRs goes. I’m not overly optimistic,” Dean lamented. “Unleashed dogs, dogs left in STRs unattended barking, and poop bags left everywhere along residential streets has no enforcement whatsoever … No matter how it turns out, residents will lose privacy, peace of mind and the sense of living in neighborhoods.”