Changes To Riverside County's Short-Term Rental Policy Unlikely To Give Neighbors The Peace They Seek

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — The Board of Supervisors Tuesday tentatively approved a series of adjustments to the Riverside County ordinance regulating short-term rentals in unincorporated communities, as well as formally ending a roughly 16- month moratorium on the issuance of STR certificates in B-Bar H Ranch and Thousand Palms.

The board on Tuesday held the first of two public hearings on amendments sought by the Transportation & Land Management Agency to Ordinance 927. After taking public testimony over a nearly two-hour span, the supervisors voted 5-0 to accept most of the modifications — and directed TLMA to make several other revisions that they wanted regarding citations after listening to speakers.

"This has taken to long. I'm really just out of patience," Supervisor Chuck Washington said before casting his vote. "Here we are still trying to find the recipe for the magic sauce. People have trusted us to get them the peace and quiet they deserve in their communities. Now we're tweaking this ordinance more. We've got to be results-oriented."

Until Tuesday, the STR ordinance hadn't undergone significant changes since it was formally implemented in 2022.

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 number about 1,100 in unincorporated communities countywide.

During the board's previous hearings, numerous people complained that the Department of Code Enforcement had not taken a proactive approach to stopping problem STRs, where all-night parties, blight from mounds of trash and extensive parking violations had occurred. Many of the same complaints were presented to the board Tuesday.

"With this, you have still not created an ordinance that assures tranquility and quality of life for residents," Eve Petrella, a Temecula-area resident, told the board. "I haven't seen anything in here that says if you destroy the lives of residents, your STR certificate will be revoked."

John Hunter said he doubted that expanding Department of Code Enforcement officers' hours of operation in several districts would make much of a difference.

"It assumes officers leave for locations where they're called immediately," Hunter said. "The response time from when they receive the call and get on-site may be too late."

Jonathan Seal and most other complainants pointed out the proposed ordinance revisions allowed for the issuance of too many citations before an STR certificate suspension or revocation could be implemented.

"If any of our kids did five or more bad things and repeated the same behavior, we'd beat them and wouldn't let them eat. This is pathetic!" Seal said.

Moreno Valley resident Roy Bleckert said he couldn't understand why the board loved "to be verbally water-tortured" by streams of complaints about STRs without moving to establish firmer penalties.

"You're just kicking around the edges of this issue," he said.

TLMA initially proposed a stipulation that if an STR owner receives five notices, or citations, in a 12-month period, the STR certificate could be subject to suspension. Seven notices would trigger a revocation. Washington and Supervisor Manuel Perez agreed with those testifying, declaring the numbers too lenient.

"Enforcement, accountability and stop the nuisance," Washington said, describing the real teeth in any law. "If we can't achieve those, then this ordinance will be worthless."

On his and Perez's motion, the board voted to revise the numbers to three citations leading to suspension, and five citations triggering revocation proceedings. They also directed TLMA to model the publicly accessible electronic complaint platform to match what San Bernardino County has, enabling people to view locations of STR complaints and read what, if any, actions have been taken by officers.

The approved change to officers' hours of service and deployment to handle STR complaints will ensure two code representatives are on duty at the agency's Palm Desert and San Jacinto offices 7 a.m. to midnight Thursday to Sunday, when complaint volume is highest. Previously, officers were off the clock by 10 p.m.

Another change eliminates the current "60-minute self-correction window" that has, up to now, permitted STR owners to address complaints themselves within an hour. Instead, TLMA now will have enforcement officers go directly to locations where complaints have been lodged and attempt "knock and talk" tactics that immediately make parties aware of noise, obstruction and related problems.

Notices, or administrative citations, will be issued where complaints are documented under the new changes. This will establish a gradual process for ticketing violators. However, under an "urgent circumstance," where there's a public health or similar issue, the noticing will be dispensed with in preference to immediate suspension of an STR certificate and a cease-and-desist order mandating that actions be taken to correct the offense forthwith.

The last part of Tuesday's hearing involved termination of a temporary moratorium on STR issuances within the eastern Coachella Valley communities of B-Bar H Ranch and Thousand Palms. The moratorium was declared in April 2025, after a surge in boisterous parties at vacation rental properties throughout the areas, where there are a combined total of 59 STR properties.

However, during the Coachella Valley's most popular fests -- Coachella Music & Arts Festival and Stagecoach Music Festival, both in April -- and in the two months following, less than a dozen complaints were fielded, and only one citation was issued, TLMA said, adding that the data supported a proposal to end the moratorium. The board agreed.

A vote to formally adopt the revisions is slated for Aug. 25.