At last night’s meeting of the Morongo Basin Municipal Advisory Council in Joshua Tree, County Code Enforcement Chief Andy Wingert spoke to a full house about the County’s plan to permit and regulate vacation home rentals. Reporter Mike Lipsitz was there …
Wingert assured the more than 60 people in attendance that the short-term or vacation rental ordinance coming before the county board of supervisors does not apply to Joshua Tree. He went on to say that before drafting any ordinance regulating vacation rentals in the unincorporated areas of Morongo Basin, the county would organize more opportunities for community input. Some of those meetings could begin as soon as next month. The ordinance currently under consideration is limited to mountain area communities such as Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead. That ordinance calls for restrictions on number of guests, requirements for parking, and prescribes a standard code of conduct. It also requires anyone operating a vacation rental to purchase a permit. And how does the county know who is operating such a business? Wingert said the county is very effective at “mining the Internet” for individuals who operate short-term vacation rentals without permits.
MORONGO BASIN MAC HEARS COUNTY PLANS TO REGULATE SHORT TERM RENTALS
