Short-Term Rental Rules Are Getting An Overhaul In Marin County

SAN RAFAEL, CA — Marin County neighbors will have a chance this fall to share their thoughts on an updated set of regulations for short-term rentals, guiding properties found on services such as Airbnb.

County officials have spent months working on revisions to a 2018 ordinance and planning commissioners are gearing up to make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors. The goal is to strike a balance that allows for tourism-related economic benefits without further compromising residents' access to housing.

"Over the past year, staff from the County of Marin has worked on an ordinance update designed to build upon existing 'good neighbor' policies, ensure health and safety, and improve the availability of middle and lower-income housing while maintaining access to economic opportunities, services and activities in Marin's unincorporated areas," the county wrote Tuesday. "The lack of workforce housing in West Marin has been at crisis level for many years, and residents have voiced passionate feedback to the Supervisors and CDA staff."

The 2018 regulations mandated licenses for property owners marketing rentals for stays of 30 days or less and required neighborhood notification and contact information to field community complaints.

The updated proposal would institute new caps on the number of rental licenses in each community while ending a moratorium on new rentals in West Marin, which was approved last year.

According to the county, the draft proposal is the result of months of research, outreach efforts, and community meetings.

"The initial ordinance update proposal, which factors in that public feedback, covers regulations that establish general operating requirements, including building, health, and emergency preparedness standards and expanded 'good neighbor' rules," the county said. "Additionally, proposed regulations would limit the number of short-term rentals by community, which generally reflect existing conditions but would not allow for growth. Proposed limits would only apply to full-time short term rental use, not to properties rented while an owner or long-term tenant remain onsite."

The county published its full draft ordinance for public review and is preparing a report to present to the Board in the coming weeks. Community members can submit comments via e-mail or participate in the in-person hearing scheduled for Oct. 23 and Nov. 13 at the Mari County Civic Center.

More information about the short-term rental ordinance is available on the county’s website or by calling (415) 473-7173. Neighbors may subscribe to receive e-mail updates.