Sonoma Supervisors add ‘exclusionary zones' to vacation rental code

At the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, May 24, an issue of interest to many Valley residents will be up for a vote: the creation of Vacation Rental Exclusion Zones in the county code.

These would define a number of residential areas – most, but not all, in the Sonoma Valley – where new vacation rental permits would no longer be issued. First District Supervisor Susan Gorin's initial request to ban new VR permits in all residential (R1) zones county-wide was rejected by her fellow supervisors when they accepted some restrictions and modifications to the vacation rental code in January.

But in March the Board agreed to the idea of exclusionary zones, and the county Permit and Resource Management Department developed maps of neighborhoods that have strenuously objected to the vacation rental properties in their midst.

“We have identified all properties zoned R1 in Sonoma Valley and worked to ensure they are included in the exclusion zones,” said Gorin. “It is those properties that are part of our workforce housing supply, and it is important to reclaim them over time.”

A complete series of maps of all Sonoma County areas being considered for the new Vacation Rental Exclusionary zone (VR-X) is available as a PDF at this link (1.4 MB).

In addition, Gorin requested a number of RR zones – rural residential – including several housing subdivisions such as Diamond A, Sobre Vista, Foothill Ranch and Agua Caliente Knolls be included into the new Vacation Rentals Exclusionary (VR-X) zones.

“It is a natural extension of those neighborhoods, and we have been able to document where the vacation rental complaints originated,” said Gorin. “This will help protect neighborhood character and reduce friction and concerns.”

A total of 7,810 parcels in the county – including some in the 4th District, near Windsor, Healdsburg and Cloverdale – were proposed for inclusion in the VR-X zones, having met at least one of six criteria including high fire danger, limited road access, inadequate off-street parking, the loss of housing stock and “the prevalence of vacation rentals eroding the residential character of neighborhoods,” according to the summary of the agenda item.

Existing, fully permitted vacation rentals would be able to continue to operate, but their permits would expire upon sale or transfer of the property. Permit holders are also subject to the new “three-strikes” rule, which can lead to the withdrawal of their permit if three documented violations of county regulations are found by PRMD.

After public hearings and review by the Planning Commission, they recommended 6,204 parcels to move forward for the Board's consideration for the Vacation Rental Exclusion (X) Combining Zone.

Contact Christian at christian.kallen@sonomanews.com.