MONO SUPES APPROVE STR POLICY OVERHAUL
Published in the Nov. 22, 2025 issue.
The Mono County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to approve a major policy overhaul of short-term rental (STR) policies in June Lake, closing the debate once and for all between realtors, residents and political heads.
“As imperfect as it may feel at the moment, it is now voted on and approved,” Board Chair Lynda Salcido said after the vote, offering only a lukewarm consolation to those who had voiced concerns about the package earlier in the meeting.
Supervisor Jennifer Krietz was the sole dissenting vote on the policy package, which removed the proposed cap on the total number of STRs permitted in the County, and set a “waiting period” for new STRs, which prevents buyers from immediately applying for an STR permit.
A new incentive program also won approval. It offers favorable consideration to projects that provide three deed-restricted housing units affordable to households earning less than 120% of the Area Median Income (AMI) for each STR unit sought.
The decision caps a process that began in 2022, when the Board imposed an 18-month moratorium on new STR permits in single-family homes to allow time for study and public engagement.
Since then, the county completed a STR housing study, conducted a large-scale public survey, held workshops with Regional Planning Advisory Committees in every planning area, and gathered testimony at Planning Commission and Board meetings.
Perhaps the most understated and yet meaningful change in the policy package is a change to set forth a uniform regulatory structure for condominium complexes. Under the new system, all condos seeking STR approval must obtain both a Use Permit and a STR Activity Permit.
These units would then be subject to the same one-year waiting period after construction or sale as single-family homes (unless they are exempt), and STR permits will no longer transfer automatically to new owners when units are sold.
Though the Board generally agreed this would resolve some ambiguity about administering permits, local realtors disagreed.
“With the changes you’re preparing to vote on, all sorts of rental permits would be required to go through the planning commission with any appeals going directly to the board supervisors,” Heidi Vetter, a realtor in June Lake said at the meeting “This will only create more work, more process, and more strain on the County’s staff.”
The realtors in June Lake have largely opposed any restriction on STRs, and believe the market will “self-regulate,” if it hasn’t already.
In its most recent letter to the Board of Supervisors, dated Nov. 17, it opined that the authorization of a waiting period “deprives […] individuals of a core right of property ownership,” and pleaded that the County delay its ruling on the policy package further.
And though the Realtors’ wish was not granted in that regard, the Board of Supervisors did cede to some requests.
There are three exemptions to the “waiting period” rule:
1. If the STR was properly permitted and continuously operating for the past two years
2. If the property includes a deed-restricted housing unit less than 120% AMI owned by the applicant (a nod to the incentive program)
3. If the owner has a long-term rental on the same parcel.
Krietz, who opposed the package, took great issue with the first exemption.
“It really makes it so that home is a commodity,” she said. “When will it ever have an opportunity to not be a STR if, every time it sells, it doesn’t have to wait?”
Supervisor Paul McFarland, whose district includes June Lake, agreed, but only in sentiment.
“Where I fall – which perhaps is less than logical, but definitely less than perfect – is that this is an exemption borne of compromise,” he said.
Krietz pushed back: “We’re compromising away the health and vitality of our community for the sake of a strong realtor body that is pushing for sales for the use of STRs.”
McFarland ultimately admitted he was “done with” spending Board time and staff time on the item, and that he had no intention of furthering the conversation beyond the meeting at hand.
“I support the package as presented,” he said. “Do I wish it was stronger? Yes. But we are where we are, and I think we have other work we need to focus on.”
The Interlaken condominium complex was explicitly removed from the exemption list.
In its last public hearing on June Lake STRs, the Board voted to modify Interlaken’s zoning so that it may continue to operate STRs, although it was technically not allowed to operate any STRs under the County’s zoning laws.
Seeing that Interlaken is essentially made up entirely of STRs, the County’s Planning Commission recommended the complex be exempt, in entirety, from the waiting period.
Not being granted that exemption in the final policy package was a great grievance to many owners in the complex, and seven Interlaken owners wrote to the Board ahead of the meeting to voice their concerns.
“The Planning Commission’s recommendations reflect the longstanding use patterns at Interlaken, provide clarity for owners, and support continued economic stability in the area,” one owner-family wrote.
“The Planning Commission’s recommendation accurately reflects long-standing use patterns at Interlaken and provides clarity and predictability for current and future owners,” another wrote.
In practice, the approved exemptions would still give most Interlaken owners a path to individual relief, even without a complex-wide carve-out.
Krietz and McFarland had plenty to say about that, but Supervisors Rhonda Duggan, John Peters, and Lynda Salcido remained mostly on the sidelines, with Peters and Duggan briefly noting that the matter held little relevance to their districts.
The package adopted Tuesday took effect immediately, and County staff said they would prepare updated permit guidance and outreach materials to assist current and prospective STR operators comply with the new rules.
