Sec. 26-88-120 does not set an annual cap on the number of nights a permitted vacation rental may operate; a vacation rental is simply any rental of 30 days or less. Instead, the County controls supply through density 'cap zones' (5% or 10% of single-family homes) and X Exclusion Combining Districts.
Sonoma County does not limit how many nights per year an individual permitted vacation rental may be rented. The code defines a vacation rental by rental duration (the rental of a whole private residence for 30 days or less), and Sec. 26-88-120 contains no per-property annual night or day cap. Instead, the County manages the overall number of vacation rentals geographically. Through ordinances adopted in 2022-2023 (including Ord. No. 6423), the Board created the Vacation Rental Exclusion (X) Combining District and density 'cap zones' for defined areas in the 1st, 4th, and 5th supervisorial districts. Cap zones limit vacation rentals to either 5% or 10% of single-family homes in the area; once a cap zone reaches its limit, no new permits are issued there. Per Permit Sonoma, as of early 2024 the cap zones had all reached their 5% density limits, effectively pausing new permits in those areas. In an X Exclusion Combining District, existing legally permitted vacation rentals may continue, but their permits expire upon sale or transfer and no new applications are accepted; hosted rentals remain allowed in exclusion zones. Sec. 26-88-120(b) confirms vacation rentals are barred on parcels where the X Combining Zone has been placed.
Because there is no annual night cap, there is no night-cap violation. However, establishing a new vacation rental in an X Exclusion Combining District, or in a cap zone that has reached its density limit, is not permitted, and operating without the required permit in those areas is subject to enforcement under Chapter 1.
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