The Board of Supervisors is slated Tuesday to consider amendments to Riverside County’s short-term rental ordinance, including strengthening compliance provisions, raising fees for certificates and ending a nearly yearlong moratorium on permits in Thousand Palms and the nearby community of B Bar H Ranch.
“The proposed minor revisions to the county’s Short-Term Rental Ordinance are intended to provide additional protections and safeguards to communities from potential impacts related to STRs, while also providing a pathway for homeowners to operate an STR,” according to a Transportation & Land Management Agency statement posted to the board’s agenda.
The board implemented a slate of countywide regulations tied to STRs under Ordinance No. 927 in October 2022. The ordinance has been generally untouched since that time.
Short-term rentals are defined as residential dwellings leased for a maximum of 30 days and a minimum of two days and one night. Prior to the ratification of Ordinance No. 927, the county had a somewhat informal process for permitting short-term rentals, which were not closely tracked.
Officials said there are now roughly 1,100 verified and certificated STR properties countywide.
The amendments under board consideration include a new provision enabling the director of the Department of Code Enforcement, head of TLMA or the director of the Department of Planning to declare an “urgent circumstance” that grants authority to immediately order the abatement of a public nuisance at an STR.
The ordinance’s proposed new language also specifies that any “responsible operator” of an STR may be denied a certificate of renewal if he or she received three notices of violation in a six-month span, or five notices over the entire duration of an STR certificate.
Another amendment stresses that STRs cannot be used for hours-long commercial events, especially any that increase occupancies beyond the maximum permitted, which vary according to property size and location. The changes also mandate that all trash accumulating at an STR “not be stored within public view” and be retrieved by an “authorized waste hauler.”
When an operator receives a complaint notification, the party must correct “the violation promptly” and be available to confer with a code enforcement officer, sheriff’s deputy or other appointed authority within an hour to demonstrate good faith in making the required correction, according to the proposed new language.
The slate of amendments further calls for an increase in the initial STR application fee from $740 to $1,040, and elevating the annual renewal fee from $540 to $750, most of which will go into a revenue account that helps pay for code enforcement investigations. The Planning Commission voted 4-0 last month recommending that the board find funds to expand the county’s STR Enforcement Team.
The last TLMA recommendation to the board concerns the moratorium established in April 2025 halting the issuance of all STR certificates in Thousand Palms and the B Bar H Ranch. That suspension followed a surge in boisterous parties at vacation rental properties throughout the communities.
TLMA officials said about 2.8% of residences in Thousand Palms are STRs, while 11% in the ranch subdivision were apparently being used for short-term rentals, though that figure hasn’t been verified. Officials confirmed complaints continued in both areas after the moratorium was invoked, but the number over the last six months totaled less than 40.
“The number of complainants in both communities appear to represent a smaller subset of residences,” according to an agency statement. “More importantly, the number of properties which are subject to the complaints is a small number.”
TLMA is recommending an end to the moratorium, effective Feb. 28.
Countywide, anyone applying for a certificate must be 21 years old. The ordinance includes a 500-foot separation requirement, mandating that any newly certificated STRs be at least that distance from the nearest residence.
The ordinance mandates that “responsible operators” and “responsible guests” at short-term rental properties can be held liable for paying penalties in the event a property is determined to be a nuisance because of parties or other disturbances.
Other regulations focus on occupancy limitations, noise controls, parking designations and health and safety requirements.
Tighter regulations were established for Idyllwild-Pine Cove and the Temecula Valley Wine Country in November 2023 in response to increasing challenges with enforcement, and to ensure that the “unique character” of the locations wasn’t drastically impacted by rentals.