Regulating Vacation Rentals in Coastal Zone
Summary
SCH Number
2023090692
Public Agency
Sonoma County
Document Title
Regulating Vacation Rentals in Coastal Zone
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
9/29/2023
Document Description
The project includes an ordinance amending Chapter 26C to establish a zoning permit requirement for new vacation rental operators to legally operate vacation rentals in the Coastal Zone and establish permit standards addressing allowable structures, wastewater, maximum occupancy, parking and other topics. The action also requires a vacation rental license which requires compliance with health and safety standards such as lighting restrictions, emergency evacuation plan requirements, and prohibitions on outdoor burning. The project does not alter the locations where vacation rentals are allowed within the Coastal Zone.
Contact Information
Name
Katrina Braehmer
Agency Name
Sonoma County Permit Sonoma
Job Title
Supervising Planner
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Location
Cities
Bodega Bay
Counties
Sonoma
Regions
Northern California
Cross Streets
All streets within the Coastal Zone
Zip
N/A
Total Acres
N/A
Parcel #
All within Coastal Zone
State Highways
Highway 1 and 116
Railways
N/A
Airports
N/A
Schools
Bodega Bay Elementary
Waterways
Russian River, Salmon Creek
Township
N/A
Range
N/A
Section
N/A
Base
MDM
Other Location Info
All Zoning Districts in Coastal Zone
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
State CEQA Guidelines sections 15307 and 15308
Reasons for Exemption
The proposed ordinance is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines sections 15307 and 15308 as an action taken to assure the maintenance, restoration, enhancement, and protection of natural resources and the environment, because requiring a vacation rental permit and a vacation rental license that impose standards that continue, add, or enhance requirements related to wastewater management, refuse management, noise, outdoor burning, and emergency evacuation will only serve to further protect natural resources and the environment from potential impacts related to vacation rentals. The Ordinance also adds these standards in the Coastal Zone where vacation rentals are currently unregulated. The Ordinance is further exempt under CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3) because it can be seen with certainty that the project will have no significant effect on the environment, because the project further regulates a currently allowed use in ways that are more protective of the environment.
County Clerk
Sonoma
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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