Cathedral City moves ahead with plans to phase out short-term vacation rentals

Cathedral City is moving ahead with plans to phase out short-term vacation rentals in residential neighborhoods.

The city is planning to put implement plans over the next two years. The city council believes this was a necessary move to restore the quality of life back into residential neighborhoods.

The council also came to the conclusion that there was no amount of enforcement was available to properly address the complaints by adjacent neighbors who are faced with unruly STVR renters.

This decision comes after a year of public input and the creation of a short-term vacation rental task force.

The ordinance will be brought to the City Council for a first reading on August 26, 2020. If it is approved, then there will be a second reading on September 9, 2020. The ordinance would go into effect on October 9, 2020.

There will be two exceptions to this phase-out.

Homes that are located in neighborhoods governed by Homeowners Associations that permit such use and home-sharing vacation rentals.

Home sharing means that it is the owner's primary residence and rents out a portion of the property like a room or a casita.

Rules include that the owner may only have one primary or principal residence and the owner of the home is onsite during the rental period.

Other notable regulations for the proposed ordinance include:

• Increase in the fines for advertising or renting a STVR without a city permit.
  • New fines would be $5,000 for the first violation and $10,000 for a second violation with escalating amounts thereafter.
  • Failure to respond to a Hotline call regarding noise, music, trash, parking violations within 30 minutes would be $1,000 fine for the first violation and $3,000 for the second violation, revocation of the permit on the third violation for 12 months.
  • Failure to properly advertise the STVR with permit numbers and photo of the unit's front exterior would be $2,500 for first violation and $5,000 for second violation along with a six-month permit revocation.
• Neighboring properties within 300 feet of any new STVR permit application and renewal shall receive notification of such STVR.
• Guest check-ins must be done in person or via video technology.
• Outdoor amenities such as pools and spas must be closed between the hours of 10 pm and 8:00 am.
• All rental agreements must be filed with the City within 24 hours of completion.

In addition, the city's current moratorium on new STVR permits remains in place for an indefinite period of time or until the new ordinance goes into effect, making it permanent.

The moratorium excludes HOA neighborhoods that explicitly allow STVRs.

Click here to watch today's special city council meeting discussing the decision to move ahead with the plan.