CATHEDRAL CITY — Short-term vacation rentals are cash cows for some residents while simultaneously causing other residents a pain in butt as parties in some rental units. The dusk until parties in some rentals have produced for thee city a “barrage of complaints,” some of which were “egregious,” Mayor John Aguilar told Uken Report.

Noise complaints, physical altercations and more have affected the city’s quality of life, Aguilar said, especially in the Cove and Panorama neighborhoods. Between January and May 2019, the city received 36 noise-related calls from 22 rental properties. Six of those account for two-thirds of the complaints.

Nuisance issues include noise complaints, habitual party houses, trash, parking and debris.

It looks as though the City Council here has had enough.

It instructed the Short-term Vacation Rental Task Force during its March 11th Council meeting to draw up several plans to phase out the vacation rentals in non-HOA locations.  However, those reports/plans have not been finalized yet.  It has not been scheduled yet to come before the council.

Members of the Short-term Vacation Rental Task Force are:

  • Ed Emond-Worline, Landau Homes resident
  • Teri Hargreaves, Panorama resident
  • Pattie Hagedorn, Panorama resident
  • Bob Ohda, La Posada resident
  • Boris Stark, STVR Management
  • Chris Harami, Cove resident and STVR owner
  • Karyn McQueen, STVR owner
  • Ryan Dame, padzu.com
  • Amanda Hoffmann, STVR Management
  • Michelle Van Sickle, Date Palm CC resident
  • Conrad Corral, Cove resident
  • John Aguilar, Mayor, City Council representative

Aguilar said the plan will likely come before the City Council when residents can again attend City Council meetings to voice support or opposition.

The City Council voted unanimously in July 2019 to continue a moratorium on short-term vacation rental permits indefinitely until the Task Force created to study the issue had time to meet, review and offer additional suggestions.

At that time, there were currently more than 350 short-term vacation rentals in this community.

There are three exceptions to the moratorium:

1. All existing short-term vacation rentals can continue to operate.

2.  All existing short-term vacation rentals can renew their license

3.  The city will continue accepting short-term vacation rental applications within Homeowner Associations that specifically allow short-term vacation rentals.

Staff has been monitoring the issue on a state and local level for some time. What began as incidental use in residential neighborhoods has become a trend, which under certain circumstances can have an overall negative impact on the welfare of the community, according to City Manager Charles McClendon.

 

 

 

Image Sources

  • Vacation rentals: Shutterstock