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Short Term Rental Ordinance Update

The County already regulates Short Term Rentals (STR), requiring both a Business License and Transient Occupancy Tax Certificate from the Department of Finance, and compliance with operating requirements established by the Community Development Agency. An update to the Short Term Rental Ordinance is underway along with significant public engagement. See below meeting materials and recordings, or for future meeting announcements. Ultimately, the County seeks to improve the availability of middle- and lower-income housing, while maintaining access to economic opportunities, services and activities gained through STRs.

Announcements and Quick Links

Now Available: Draft Short Term Rental Ordinance Standards for Public Review and Comment

The standards for the draft Short Term Rental ordinance are now available and Planning Commission hearings to consider them are tentatively scheduled for October 23rd and November 13th, 2023.

A staff report will be prepared before the Planning Commission and will be made publicly available October 12, 2023.

If you would like to submit comments on the draft standards to the Planning Commission, please email your comments to Kathleen Kilgariff and she will provide them to the Planning Commission before the hearing.

You may present oral comments on the Draft Ordinance at the hearing, which will be held in person in the Hearing Chambers, Room 330, Marin County Civic Center, San Rafael. For more information about the Planning Commission hearing, please see the Planning Commission hearings webpage , where agendas and other information will be posted before the hearings.

The Planning Commission will make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors, which will hold a hearing on the draft ordinance at a later date.  Ultimately, the California Coastal Commission must certify Short Term Rental regulations in the Coastal Zone as part of a Local Coastal Program Amendment.

¿Necesita esta información en español? Comuníquese con el personal del condado de Marin al (415) 473-7173 o str@marincounty.org

 

Questions? For questions regarding this matter, please review our STR Frequently Asked Questions or contact our office. 

 

Planning Commission Workshops

Community Meetings

January 25, 2023 - Short Term Rental Moratorium Meeting

The County of Marin kicked off our Short Term Rental Ordinance Update with five community meetings in the Fall of 2022. At these meetings members of the public shared feedback on the current Short Term Rental Moratorium in West Marin. As a result, the County is hosted this meeting to discuss and take further comments on the Short Term Rental Moratorium and ways the County can improve communication with our communities. Questions raised at this meeting are incorporated into the Short Term Rental Frequently Asked Questions webpage.

Fall 2022 Short Term Rental Learning Sessions

To start the Learning Sessions, County staff provided an overview of the draft guiding principles for this STR Update, STR data and trends, and a tentative project timeline. Staff received feedback on the data presented, guiding principles, and heard helpful comments that will help determine next steps in our process to update the Ordinance.

Overall, there are many stakeholders and public perspectives involved in this Update. From renters and affordable housing advocates to STR operators, vacation rental managers, business owners, and neighbors, many voices were heard. The County is committed to an open and transparent process as we begin this work, and will continue to do so as we move forward with the Update. We appreciate the feedback shared to date. Questions raised at this meeting are incorporated into the Short Term Rental Frequently Asked Questions webpage.

Learning Sessions Recordings

Guiding Principles

Guiding Principles will provide a foundation of understanding as we undertake the STR Ordinance Update. We hope that they help inform stakeholders, and provide clarity on the commitment from County staff to develop STR policies that reflect the vision and shared values of our communities.

  1. Prioritize housing supply and affordability, and consider regulations in light of their effects on the cost and availability of housing within individual communities.
  2. Advance equity in access to economic opportunities, services and activities.
  3. Recognize that Marin County has historically provided vacation opportunities to the greater Bay Area region and State.
  4. Distinguish among types of Short Term Rental operations and operators, e.g., hosted and unhosted, single and multiple ownerships, etc.
  5. Consider environmental constraints such as water and sewage capacity.
  6. Develop regulations that are clear, affordable, simple, and enforceable (C.A.S.E).
  7. Assure that short term rentals are good neighbors considering noise, parking, trash and other neighborhood quality of life concerns.

Questions?

For questions regarding this matter, please review our STR Frequently Asked Questions or contact our office.

Project Timeline

Short Term Rental regulations in the Coastal Zone must be certified by the California Coastal Commission before going into effect. Given the fact that properties in the Coastal Zone are also subject to the Short Term Rental Moratorium, which ends May 23, 2024, County staff must prioritize regulations in our Coastal Communities. At the end of 2023, the County will submit updated regulations as a Local Coastal Program Amendment for certification by the California Coastal Commission, and then will continue working on updated regulations for the rest of unincorporated Marin.


Short term rentals project schedule for phase 1 Costal Zone Regulations. Part one: Public Outreach. April to July 2023. Part two: Public Draft during August 2023. Part three: Planning Commission and board of supervisors, October to December 2023. Part Four: submit local coastal program amendment to Coastal Commission in December 2023. All the while ongoing Coastal Commissions Consultation.