Board to review short-term rental regulations for Idyllwild, Temecula Valley

Riverside County's short-term rental regulations for properties in Idyllwild-Pine Cove and the Temecula Valley Wine Country yielded more than 500 cease-and-desist orders and $56,000 in citations during their first six months on the books, according to a report the Board of Supervisors will review tomorrow.

The Transportation & Land Management Agency will present its semiannual report on the STR provisions specifically carved out for the mountain and Wine Country communities as part of the board's policy agenda Tuesday.

Compendium highlights include the 539 cease-and-desist orders filed against property owners between January and July, as well as the 5,392 complaint calls, 866 on-site inspections and the tickets totaling $56,000.   

TLMA officials are expected to answer supervisors' questions regarding the types of complaints, resolutions and budgetary impacts for Department of Code Enforcement officers' and sheriff's deputies' responses, especially after-hours and on weekends.

According to the report, as of the end of July, there were 462 certificated short-term rentals in Idyllwild-Pine Cove and 89 in the Wine Country.

The overall cap for the Wine Country Zone, where there are currently 998 dwellings, is 105 permitted STR properties. It's 500 for Idyllwild-Pine Cove.

The minimum age of anyone applying for a short-term rental certificate in the Wine Country is 25, while in the county's other unincorporated communities it's 21.  

"The idea is to maintain the character of the communities,'' TLMA Director John Hildebrand told the board when the caps were approved last November. "We impose limits so the character is maintained.''

A moratorium on the issuance of STR permits in the mountain communities and Temecula Valley was first implemented in September 2022, then again last August, providing the Planning Commission time to consider targeted modifications to Ordinance No. 927. The commission's ultimate approval resulted in the matter going before the board for final consideration in November.   

On Oct. 18, 2022, the board signed off on a sweeping short-term rental regulatory framework under 927 for most unincorporated communities, but Supervisor Chuck Washington and TLMA officials supported excluding the Temecula Valley and Idyllwild-Pine Cove from the ordinance until specific problems
related to enforcement of regulations in each location could be ironed out.

There is a 500-foot separation requirement under the ordinance, mandating that any newly certificated STRs be at least that distance from the nearest residence.

The revised ordinance included ``responsible operators'' and "responsible guests'' at short-term rental properties as being held liable for paying penalties in the event a property is determined to be a nuisance because of parties or other disturbances. Previously, only owners could be fined.

The framework implemented testing requirements to confirm STR operators understand county regulations and are able to comply with them.   

The regulatory apparatus established under Ordinance No. 927 focused on occupancy limitations, noise controls, parking designations and other health and safety provisions for STRs. It was in response to increasing problems stemming from unlicensed vacation rentals.

There are over 1,200 licensed short-term rentals in unincorporated areas countywide, with the greatest concentrations in the Temecula Valley and mountain communities, according to TLMA.

Short-term rentals are defined as residential dwellings leased for a maximum of 30 days and a minimum of two days and one night.   

Owners are required to pay transient occupancy taxes to the county.