County offers 6-month report on Short-Term Rental program

At the Aug. 27 meeting of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors,
John Hildebrand, Planning Director, presented the Department’s six-month
report on the implementation of revised Ordinance 927.2, “Regulating
Short-Term Rentals”.

This follows the Feb. 1 opening of the Tier 1 application process for
new STR certificates. The application period ended on May 1. The Report
also described Code Enforcement’s actions taken to enforce the Ordinance
since the beginning of 2024.

Tier 1

Ordinance 927.2 was effective on Jan. 11 and established a cap or limit
of 500 STRs in Idyllwild (including Pine Cove). At that time, 462 STR
certificates had been issued for this area, which allowed the County
Planning Department to issue an additional 38.

The first properties to be eligible for a STR certificate, according to
927.2, were owners who had been paying the Transient Occupancy Tax
between Sept. 13, 2021 and Sept. 13, 2022 but did not have a
certificate.

They would be granted the certificate if they provided proof of having
paid the TOT during that period and meeting all other eligibility
requirements. If the number of operators who met these criteria exceeded
38, a lottery for the remaining STR certificates on the Hill would be
needed.

However, Hildebrand reported that a lottery was not needed. Although 51
operators submitted applications for Tier 1 eligibility, 34 certificates
were issued. Since the cap is 500, four more certificates may be issued
pursuant to Tier 2 requirements.

There were also separate limits for the Wine Country – Residential, Wine
Country – Equestrian, and the Wine Country – Winery. These situations
were similar to Idyllwild. While there were Tier 1 certificates
available, the number approved left the total certificates below the
cap. So, Tier 2 applicants were eligible for submission in all three
Wine Country areas, too.

No Tier 1 lottery was necessary because the number of eligible operators
falling under the overall caps and some existing operators not renewing
their certificates.

“Tier 1 notifications to the eligible operators have been sent,” the
Six-Month Report stated.

Once final approval of the new Tier 1 operators occurs, the Tier 2
process will begin with a public notice. If the number of Tier 2
applicants exceeds the available certificates under the cap, a lottery
will be conducted to award the new STR certificates.

Enforcement

Since Jan. 1, the County’s Code Enforcement’s dedicated STR team has
conducted 866 inspections Countywide. They have issued 539 cease and
desist orders, issued 166 notices of violation, and imposed citation
fines totaling $56,000.

During the seven months from January through July, Code Enforcement has
opened 319 cases involving Ordinance 927.2 and closed 306. There have
been 126 after-hour complaints, too.

Beginning Friday, Aug. 23, Code Enforcement planned to initiate a 90-day
STR Concentrated Enforcement Operation in Wine Country.

The Report provided this information for submitting a complaint. Call
the 24-hour STR hotline at 951-955-2004 or 760-393-3344 or contact Code
Enforcement via email at [email protected].

Next Steps

The only recommendation included in the Report was asking the Board to
request an annual STR report every fiscal year.

In an email to the Town Crier, Hildebrand added, “Every Ordinance has a
shelf life and should be reviewed and amended as needed over time. The
STR Ordinance, as will be discussed during the hearing next Tuesday,
appears to be working the way it was intended. We’ll listen to what the
public has to say and consider any further changes, if needed.”

However, in advance of a future budget review, the Report noted that the
one dedicated staff position for managing the STR program is not
sufficient, and the board should expect a request for additional support
staff.

Planning is currently testing a beta version of mapping software to
identify STRs throughout the County. When available, this software will
show the location of an STR issued certificate, including the
certificate number, responsible operator’s contact information, and
occupancy limits.

“This will become a publicly available mapping tool,” according to the
Report.