SONOMA COUNTY URGENT UPDATE
On Monday, July 17, 2023, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors will convene for their final meeting to conclude discussions on the Local Coastal Plan's update. Our local Supervisor, Linda Hopkins, intends to put forth a late-stage change aiming to impose potential limitations on vacation rentals along the coast.
Your support against similar proposals in July 2021 was significant. Due to your efforts, the draft Local Coastal Plan update for the past two years specified that vacation rental restrictions would be subject to three considerations: designated sensitive habitats, water quality, and coastal access.
Nonetheless, Hopkins' new proposal seeks to expand these considerations to include "housing stock and affordability, community character, noise, and traffic impacts." Such an expansion may introduce restrictions based on a wider array of factors.
To provide some clarity, any fresh restrictions proposed under this Program must undergo a standard procedural development and acquire distinct approval from the Coastal Commission. Major changes to the LCP, such as this one, should be bolstered by evidence and undergo a thorough community debate rather than being proposed ad hoc in the eleventh hour of the process.
We're cognizant of the housing affordability issue that pervades not just Sonoma County but the entire state. In Bodega Bay, an increasing number of vacation rentals arguably has intensified pressure on housing availability. Restrictions on vacation rentals may or may not be the answer to this issue, but we firmly believe that any proposed policies must be accompanied by robust evidence when seeking Coastal Commission approval.
In contrast, factors like "noise" and "community character" appear unsupported, even with anecdotal evidence. It's premature to argue for noise-related restrictions when the new County license requirements and hotline, designed to address such concerns, have not yet been implemented. Additionally, the assumption that vacation rentals do not contribute to the Sonoma Coast's "community character" is an oversimplification. Vacation rentals can indeed enhance the local economy, promote new visitors and guests, and diversify the community.
We invite you to join us in resisting this abrupt change. Express your thoughts through public comment at the July 17th Board Of Supervisors meeting. You can either attend in person, participate via Zoom, or email your comment to bos@sonoma-county.org. If you have ties in a different Sonoma district, write to your Supervisor, urging them to reject Hopkins' rushed alteration to the Local Coastal Plan process.
To conclude, we encourage you to emphasize the importance of the conventional procedural process, the need for substantial evidence in policy changes, and the significance of vacation rentals in positively shaping our community's character.
Together, we can ensure that any changes made are well-considered, beneficial, and truly represent the needs of our community.
Warmly,
TSRHC Leadership Team
Important Update on SB 584 seeking to add 15% Tax on STRs To Members of The Sea Ranch Hosting Coalition
Update & Action Plan
We want to ask you and those in the short-term rental community to be aware and take some action. The California Senate Appropriations Committee will vote on SB 584, a bill that would impose an additional 15% tax on short-term rentals (STRs). This will make STRs less affordable for guests and impact hosts like you.
Our Take:
We have deemed this a “vacation killer” bill because the guests will ultimately have to pay this additional 15% in taxes. This affects more than just the guests. With demand dipping and an uncertain tourism market, we should not tax the working families that would otherwise be unable to stay. Only applying this tax to STRs will also affect the hard-working folks that help keep the STRs available. Our communities in California will all be affected, and we will find less tourism in our great state.
Collective Approach:
We are in active conversations with other city leaders of the short-term professions in Sonoma County, Santa Barbara, Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, and others willing to collaborate with us. These efforts are starting to make the local news, and we will need your help to gain awareness. Along with these efforts, we are working with Airbnb and Vrbo leadership, as well as advocacy leaders of the Vacation Rental Management Association, as they collectively work to persuade lawmakers about these unintended consequences and their unfair nature. We will continue this fight through our newsletter and outreach here.
Actions You Can Take Now:
This narrowly passed to get to the State Assembly. Let’s make sure this is where it ends. Lawmakers need to know that hosts like you are everyday Californians who rely on income from home sharing to afford to stay in your home. If you have not done so already, Airbnb has made it easy to share your story. Simply provide some information and answer a few questions to send an email to your representative. Sonoma County Hospitality Association has also provided means for you to express your stand on this outrageous bill.
Make your voice heard:
Reach out to your representative today
We can unite and fight this poorly intended law that is a “vacation killer” for us all.
Join TSRHC Today
Join our TSRHC Slack Workspace if you rent your home on a short-term basis and you wish to support our advocacy efforts to discuss in greater detail the implications of this proposed tax and how to stop it.
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