Arcadia, CA Short-Term Rentals: Short-Term Rental Permits (2026)

Table 2-1 (Allowed Uses and Permit Requirements for Residential Zones) is the governing instrument. Its legend uses letters for permitted (P), accessory (A), Minor Use Permit (M) and Conditional Use Permit (C) uses, and then states that a dash designates uses that are not permitted. The Short-Term Rental row carries a dash under each of the six columns: R-M, R-0, R-1, R-2, R-3 and R-3-R. No zone in the table offers a P, A, M or C for the use, so there is no Minor Use Permit or Conditional Use Permit route to legalize a rental.

The Development Code defines Short-Term Rental in § 9109.01.200 as a dwelling, or portion of one, rented for tourist or transient purposes for compensation for a period of less than twenty-eight consecutive calendar days, with the renter given exclusive use. The definition also reaches any arrangement where the term can be reduced below 28 consecutive days, or where the dwelling is rented multiple times within 28 consecutive days. Residential care facilities and group homes operated under the Community Care Facilities Act are carved out because they are exempt from local zoning.

The last column of the table sends readers to § 9104.02.300, and the Home Sharing row is treated the same way. That section opens with the City Council's finding that short term rentals of dwelling units and home sharing are not permitted in the city. Section 9102.01.020(B) adds that land uses not listed in the table, or not found substantially similar to a listed use, are prohibited. The Downtown zones use table repeats the same advertising restriction with the same cross-reference.

The practical result is that a host in the City of Arcadia has nothing to file: no application, no registration and no license category exists in the code for a rental under 28 days.