This week, Yucca Valley is instituting a number of new policies related to short-term vacation rentals, with many of the new measures seeking to penalize problem rentals. Reporter Jef Harmatz has a complete breakdown of the new rules.
The Yucca Valley Town Council approved updates to their housing code, based on input from several months of public hearings. The town limited the number of short-term rentals to ten percent of the town’s total housing stock. The number of guests allowed at a short-term rental is limited to eight, though larger houses may seek a special permit to allow for more guests. All new vacation rentals must have an owner or agent available to respond to reasonable complaints against the rental within 15 minutes by phone or 30 minutes in person. Noise monitoring hardware must be installed in all new rentals. All outdoor lighting must be fully shielded. And disciplinary fines against problematic short-term vacation rentals have been increased, and range from $1500 to $5000, with the town still able to completely revoke permits. Finally, the town moved the section of code relating to vacation rentals out of the development section and into the general section, allowing for easier updates to the code as needed.
