I’m bad … I’m countywide

Single-family home rental problem not limited to just Mammoth, June Lake

Mono’s Board of Supervisors conducted a workshop on a proposed single-family transient rental ordinance during its Tuesday evening’s adjourned BOS session in Mammoth. The goal: review and discuss a draft policy for handling June Lake home rentals, both authorized and unauthorized.
When it was over, however, the focus changed, and a central theme emerged: enforcement. Supervisor Vikki Bauer’s original concept was as a County-approved, district specific ordinance. The unveiling at a BOS meeting in June Lake this summer drew an even mix of reactions from JL locals.
From there, the topic went through discussion within the JL Citizens Action Committee. Before being taken to the Board, the draft language by Mono Community Development Director Scott Burns and Assistant County Counsel Mark Magit was also reviewd by Mono County’s Planning Commission, which Magit said had no major changes or other notes.
The plan calls for institution of an annual “Vacation Home Rental Permit,” which Magit said is similar to that used in other counties. Regulated either through Community Development or Finance, the permit has three main requirements: 1.) the unit must be in a Land Use Designated area that permits rentals. “We’re not opening new zones,” Magit stated. 2.) The rental home has to be inspected for general health and safety, in good condition, have adequate parking and a working landline phone. (It does not, however, have to be compliant with Americas With Disabilities Act mandates.) 3.) There has to be an owner or property manager available 24/7.
From the start, Magit acknowledged that one main sticking point, brought up during the very first discussions on the topic, is enforcement. “It’s difficult,” he said, citing South Lake Tahoe, where the El Dorado County Sheriff is charged with primary enforcement.
That in turn led to a discussion of fines, and the merits of using a dollar value (i.e. $1,000 for first offense, $2,000 for the second) or a percentage of the total rental amount collected by the homeowner. (Opinions varied as to which was more fair.)
County Code Compliance Officer Nick Criss, however, thought the problem was broader than that. He said that whatever they are the penalities have to have teeth to be effective. “Right now, I have to catch them in the act, and it’s $100 per offense, which is nothing to an owner charging $500 a night,” Criss advised the Board.
He also said a part of the problem is still what to do about illegal single-family home rentals, which aren’t confined to just Mammoth and June, but are prevalent countywide. “June is leading the charge [in the county area], but I’ve found them in Chalfant, Paradise, Walker, Coleville and Bridgeport,” Criss said. Renters in those areas apparently use the same sites as their Mammoth counterparts, typically Craig’s List and Vacation Rental By Owner (VRBO).
Bauer said she thinks current existing legally responsible rentals in use permit allowed areas should be grandfathered in, hoping to avoid penalizing those who have been playing by the rules from the get-go. Supervisor Tom Farnetti agreed. “You don’t want to make it restrictive to those who are zoned properly,” he said.
“The number of persons allowed in a home should be no more than six. At 12, you’ve got a party house,” commented Supervisor Hap Hazard, a former law enforcement officer. “I’ve been on calls with those kinds of numbers and trust me you don’t want to go there,” he said. Hazard also said that in Mammoth, you can have three officers on scene in minutes. “In the county, you’ll get maybe one deputy, and it could be a half-hour before you see another one. Maybe you’ll get a California Highway Patrol trooper if there’s one nearby,” he related.
Chair Bill Reid said he thought all roads lead to enforcement. “What are we really trying to accomplish here?” he asked rhetorically. “Maybe we can enact it on a trial basis and see. If the community wants it, then so be it, but right now it seems to me that the problems may outweigh the benefits.”
Supervisor Byng Hunt also wondered about including an appeals process in the ordinance, should a permit be denied or revoked. He and Hazard also were in favor a sunset clause to the ordinance, so the Board coould evaluate its effectiveness and decide whether or not it should be renewed.
“What’s great about this workshop is that it started out as one thing, but ended up coming back to enforcement, which is clearly a priority,” Bauer observed. “The ordinance’s goals are properly identified, but maybe it’s not to the point where all the opportunities can come fully forward. Maybe they will eventually, and then again maybe we’ll end up scrapping the whole thing,” she said.
The topic, particularly as applies to current renters and violators in June Lake will be taken up at the next adjourned meeting on Oct. 20 in the JL Community Center. For the time being, the Board put the rest of the ordinance on the back burner pending more community consensus either way.