Nearly a year after Marin County supervisors approved new regulations for short-term rentals, the planning staff is moving to implement them.
Under the new regulations, anyone who has a business license to operate a short-term rental in unincorporated Marin will have to apply for a new license. The Marin County Community Development Agency is accepting applications.
“Existing short-term rental operators have until July 1, 2025, to submit a complete application,” said Daisy Sanchez, who was hired at the end of September to coordinate the program. Short-term rentals are for 30 days or fewer.
Anyone seeking a license for the first time may also submit an application now, but no new licenses will be granted until after July 1.
The new rules cap the number of short-term rentals at 1,200, so county planners can’t grant new licenses until they know how many operators will seek renewals. Sanchez said at least 929 short-term rentals are operating in the unincorporated areas.
“I’m not sure if all the existing operators will apply,” she said.
New applicants who submitted their applications by Dec. 31 get to participate in a lottery to determine their order on the waiting list. Sanchez said the lottery will be conducted live by teleconference, but the date and time have not been determined.
The new license comes with several requirements. If the rental property is served by a private well, the owner must provide proof of water potability with a bacteriological test completed within the previous 12 months.
If the property is served by a local water provider, the owner must provide water bills or some other documentation of the usage amount. If the residence uses more than 250 gallons per day, the applicant must include strategies to reduce water use below that target during the next year. If water use is not reduced as required, the license will not be renewed.
Applicants must submit bills from an authorized waste collector that can handle the volume of garbage, recyclable materials and organic waste generated by the rental.
Applicants must submit a schematic site plan showing property lines, all buildings on the site, the driveway and the location and dimensions of onsite parking spaces.
Sarah Jones, the director of the Marin County Community Development Agency, said people who are legally operating a short-term rental currently won’t face a requirement to provide a certain amount of parking when they renew their license. However, there will be a parking requirement for new operators.
Jones said the requirement for new operators will be that they provide “parking on the property that’s consistent with what the department of public works requires at that location.”
“That can vary depending on factors like street width,” Jones added, “so there’s not a one-size-fits-all answer on the number of spaces.”
Applicants also must provide self-certified inspections for building safety and fire safety.
In addition, if the short-term rental is served by a private septic system, the applicant must provide an inspection report demonstrating proper operation of the system by an approved licensed professional completed within the previous 12 months.
“The thing that a lot of people are grappling with right now is the septic inspection,” said Sean Callagy, who operates a short-term rental in Inverness. “Just about all the properties in West Marin are on septic systems.”
“People are trying to figure out how to get a licensed person out here and what kind of report they need to prepare and what that is going to cost,” Callagy said. “Do you have to do a percolation test, or just prove that it works and isn’t overflowing into a nearby creek?”
Applicants who operate a short-term rental out of a building that serves as their primary residence at least six months a year must pay $300 for the license. Applicants who use a dwelling other than their primary residence must pay $600 for the license.
“There is just no end to the bureaucracy and the fees,” said Cecilia McGraw, who operates a short-term rental out of her home part of the year. “I’m so overtaxed. I’m exhausted by it.”
The new ordinance caps the number of short-term rentals allowed in 18 communities in western Marin. The communities — Bolinas, Dillon Beach, Fallon, Forest Knolls, Inverness, Lagunitas, Marshall, Muir Beach, Muir Woods Park, Nicasio, Olema, Petaluma, Point Reyes Station, San Geronimo, Stinson Beach, Tomales, Valley Ford and Woodacre — are allowed 682. There are 640 now.
In all the communities but one, the number of short-term rentals in operation either equals or exceeds the number allowed. The exception is Dillon Beach, which will be allowed to add another 29 for a total of 204.
The area with the second most short-term rentals, Stinson Beach, is being allowed to maintain 192.
Bolinas will have the biggest reduction. It will be allowed to operate 54 short-term rentals, but there 63 now.
Under the new ordinance, only one license will be issued per short-term rental property owner. Anyone currently operating more than one is eligible for a license for each, but only for the next two years. After that, they will be allowed only one license.
In an email sent to supervisors prior to their approval of the ordinance, Harold Hedelman, who operates short-term rentals in a floating fourplex, wrote, “If the new STR policies take away my ability to continue operating in the STR market place it will be a personal financial catastrophe, quite likely foreclosure.”
Hedelman said it cost him $2.3 million to purchase and renovate the fourplex.
“I had to mortgage our Woodacre home, take out a home equity line of credit and find private money to complete the project,” he wrote.
Hedelman said only short-term rental rates can provide him with the income he depends on to keep the project solvent.
