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Vacation Rentals & Hosted Rentals

Exclusion (X) Combining District

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On May 24, 2016 the Board of Supervisors adopted an ordinance rezoning designated parcels within the north county and the Sonoma Valley to apply the Vacation Rental Exclusion (X) Combining District effective June 23, 2016. Hearings for the rezonings were held before the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors. Parcels lists and maps are available below.

In areas that have now been designated with the Vacation Rental Exclusion (X) Combining District, existing legally permitted vacation rentals may continue but those permits will expire upon sale or transfer of the property. Hosted rentals may still be conducted in these areas. No further applications for vacation rentals will be accepted within the Vacation Rental Exclusion (X) Combining District Areas.

Look up your property's Zoning Code designation. If it has an "X" it is located within the Exclusion Combining District.

Joining the Exclusion (X) Combining District

Property owners can apply to have their property can be re-zoned to add the Exclusion (X) Combining District

All proposed zone changes must be consistent with adopted Area Plans and the General Plan; applicants should verify with planning staff if an Area Plan Amendment or General Plan Amendment must be filed in conjunction with the Zone Change.

Proposal statements should include how the proposed Zone Change (addition of the Vacation Rental Exclusion (X) Combining Zone) would be consistent with the Sonoma County General Plan and Zoning Regulations.

Compatability General Plan 

The General Plan Housing Element contains policy that calls for continued regulation of the use of existing residences on residential lands for vacation rentals; and a program for considering revisions to the Vacation Rental Ordinance to limit conversion of permanent housing stock to visitor-serving (commercial) uses and making vacation rental uses more compatible.

Proposal statements should include how and to what extent the proposed Zone Change would limit the conversion of existing residences to vacation rentals thus complying with the Housing Element policy.

Zoning Regulations

The Zoning Regulations include the Vacation Rental Exclusion (X) Combining Zone, which may be placed on parcels where one or more of the following criteria are met:

  1. there is inadequate road access or off-street parking;
  2. the prevalence of vacation rentals is detrimental to the residential character of neighborhoods;
  3. the housing stock should be protected from conversion to visitor-serving uses;
  4. there is a significant fire hazard due to topography, access or vegetation;
  5. the residential character is to be preserved or preferred; and
  6. other areas where the Board of Supervisors determines that it is in the public interest to prohibit the establishment and operation of vacation rentals.

Proposal statements should include a discussion of whether and in what way the area proposed for the X Combining Zone has inadequate road access or off-street parking, a significant fire hazard, a residential character to be preserved, or housing that would be lost to commercial uses.

The following documents must be submitted:

Documents

Map Series of Areas where the Vacation Rental Exclusion (X) Combining District has been adopted (PDF: 2.7 MB)

Vacation Rental Exclusion (X) Combining District Parcel List (PDF: 1.7 MB)