Sonoma, CA Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Parking Rules (2026)

Sonoma Municipal Code Section 19.48.040, Number of parking spaces required, lists 'Vacation rental' in its Table 4-4 use-parking schedule with a required ratio of one off-street parking space per bedroom in the rental unit. That parking obligation applies to every vacation rental permitted under Section 19.50.110, which the code defines as the rental of up to two complete residential units, containing bedrooms, kitchens, and bathrooms, for stays of less than 30 days. A vacation rental operator must also satisfy the operating rules in Section 19.50.110(A): a maximum of two complete units per property, occupancy limited to two persons per sleeping room plus two additional persons per unit, a property manager reachable 24 hours a day while the property is rented, and a valid business license with transient occupancy tax registration under SMC 3.16.060.

The bedroom-based parking count is fixed at the table ratio regardless of whether the operator also markets the property for events; internet listings for a vacation rental must display the unit's maximum occupancy and its business license or transient occupancy tax certificate number under Section 19.50.110(A)(6), which the city uses to cross-check enforcement against the parking and occupancy limits. Existing vacation rentals that already held a valid business license and were registered to pay transient occupancy tax as of November 3, 1999 are allowed to continue as legal nonconforming uses under Section 19.50.110(B), but they still must meet the parking, noise, and safety standards that apply to every other vacation rental in the city.