Corte Madera Municipal Code Ch. 5.34 Short-Term Rental License

The Town of Corte Madera Short-Term Rental License Program benefits the general public by allowing property owners to mitigate housing costs by supplementing their income from their residences, while minimizing potential adverse impacts on the housing supply and on persons and households of all income levels resulting from the loss of residential units through their conversion to residential units to transient and tourist use, minimizing potential adverse impacts on the use and enjoyment of surrounding properties by owners and residents, and to provide visitors with a variety of safe short-term lodging options.

(Ord. No. 1031, § 2, 11-7-2023)

Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, all short-term rentals as defined and regulated by Title 18 (Zoning) of this code, must obtain a short-term rental license and comply with the requirements set forth in this chapter in order to engage in the business of short-term rentals of property.

(Ord. No. 1031, § 2, 11-7-2023)

For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:

"Booking service" means any reservation and/or payment service provided by a person or entity that facilities a short-term rental transaction between an owner or business entity and a prospective tourist or transient user, and for which the person or entity collects or receives, directly or indirectly through an agent or intermediary, a fee in connection with the reservation and/or payment services provided for the short-term rental transaction.

"Business entity" means a corporation, partnership, or other legal entity that is not a natural person that owns or leases one or more residential units.

"CMMC" means the Corte Madera Municipal Code.

"Complaint" means a complaint submitted to the department and/or the town's third-party contractor alleging a violation of the Corte Madera Municipal Code and/or this program and that includes the residential unit's address, date(s) and nature of the alleged violation(s), and any available contact information for the owner and/or resident of the residential unit at issue.

"Conversion" or "convert" means a change of use from residential unit to tourist or transient use, including, but not limited to, renting a residential unit as a tourist or transient use.

"Department" means the Community Development Department of the Town of Corte Madera.

"Director" means the director of the community development department, or designee.

"Dwelling unit" for purposes of this program means one or more rooms designed, occupied or intended for occupancy as separate living quarters, with a kitchen, sleeping facilities, and sanitary facilities for the exclusive use of one household, but not including any such unit occupied in whole or in part by the property owner or the property owner's family members, including parents, children, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, nieces, and/or nephews.

"Good standing" means maintaining good standing on the registry by being in compliance with all program requirements set forth in this program.

"Host" means a person or business entity that participates in the short-term rental business by providing a short-term rental.

"Hosting platform" means a person or business entity that participates in the short-term rental business by providing and collecting or receiving a fee for booking services through which a host may offer a residential unit for tourist or transient use. Hosting platforms usually, though not necessarily, provide booking services through an online platform that allows a host to advertise the residential unit through a website provided by the hosting platform and the hosting platform conducts a transaction by which potential tourist or transient users arrange tourist or transient use and payment, whether the tourist or transient pays rent directly to the host or to the hosting platform.

"Interested party" means a resident of the building in which the tourist or transient use is alleged to occur, any homeowner association associated with the residential unit in which the business entity property in which the tourist or transient use is alleged to occur, a resident or owner of a property within one hundred feet of the property containing the residential unit in which the business entity property in which the tourist or transient use is alleged to occur, the Town of Corte Madera, or any non-profit organization exempt from taxation pursuant to Title 26, Section 501 of the United States Code, which has the preservation or improvement of housing as a stated purpose in its articles of incorporation or bylaws.

"Local emergency contact" means an individual with responsibility for the operation of the short-term rental and authorized by the property owner to respond to complaints and requirements from the town, the town's subcontractor or any interested party and quickly rectify any violation of the program. The local emergency contact shall be available to receive phone calls or messages at any time when the short-term rental is occupied and shall reside within a thirty-mile distance of the short-term rental property.

"Owner" means any natural person or business entity who is the owner of record of the real property or has a financial interest in said owner of record.

"Recreational vehicle" means a motorhome, house car, travel trailer, truck camper, or camp trailer, with or without motive power, designed for human habitation or other occupancy.

"Residential unit" means a room or rooms within an existing legally permitted single-family residence or portion thereof, which are designed, built, rented, leased, let or hired out to be occupied for residential use as defined and regulated by the Corte Madera Municipal Code.

"Short-term rental" means any rental of all or a portion of a residential unit for thirty consecutive days or less.

"Short-term rental license registry" or "registry" means a database of applications received and licenses issued by the department of properties that may be offered for short-term rental. The registry shall be available for public review to the extent required by law.

"Transient" means any person who exercises occupancy or is entitled to occupancy by reason of concession, permit, right of access, license or other agreement for a period of thirty consecutive calendar days or less, counting portions of calendar days as full days. Any such person so occupying space in a hotel shall be deemed to be a transient until the period of thirty days has expired unless there is an agreement in writing between the operator and the occupant providing for a longer period of occupancy.

"Travel trailer" means a vehicle designed for recreational purposes to carry persons or property on its own structure and constructed to be drawn by a motor vehicle, as defined in California Vehicle Code § 242 or California Vehicle Code § 324.

"Tourist and transient use" means any use of a residential unit for thirty days or less, including any occupancy by employees or guests of a business entity for thirty days or less where payment for the residential unit is contracted for or paid by the business entity.

(Ord. No. 1031, § 2, 11-7-2023)

(a) Eligible Properties. Only properties where all of the following conditions are met are eligible to obtain a short-term rental license:

(1) The residential unit is offered for tourist or transient use by the owner of the residential unit;

(2) The owner of the residential unit does not currently own another property within the Town of Corte Madera that has a valid short-term rental license; and

(3) The owner has registered the residential unit with the department, complied with the requirements of the short-term rental license, and has no outstanding code violations or violations of the license, fees or taxes.

(b) Ineligible Properties. The following property types are not eligible for a short-term rental license:

(1) An accessory dwelling unit or junior accessory dwelling unit as defined by CMMC Title 18 (Zoning);

(2) A unit created pursuant to Section 65852.21 of the California Government Code (Senate Bill 9);

(3) A unit created pursuant to Section 66411.7 of the California Government Code (Senate Bill 9);

(4) Income-restricted or deed-restricted affordable housing units, including below-market-rate (BMR) units and public housing;

(5) Student housing and dormitories;

(6) Multifamily dwelling units;

(7) Non-residential areas within buildings, such as garages, storage areas or accessory structures that do not meet residential occupancy requirements and were not permitted for such occupancy;

(8) Motorized recreational vehicles (RVs), including non-motorized travel trailers;

(9) Boats or house boats;

(10) Teepees, yurts, tents, and treehouses;

(11) Sleeping quarters in vans or cars; and

(12) Properties with outstanding code violations.

(Ord. No. 1031, § 2, 11-7-2023)

(a) Duration. A short-term rental license shall not be construed as providing property rights or vested interests and entitlements in continued operation of a short-term rental. A short-term rental license is a revocable license, which expires annually. A short-term rental license shall not run with the land.

(b) Occupancy Limits. Occupancy for any short-term rental is limited as follows:

(1) A short-term rental is limited to two occupants per bedroom, as defined in the California Building Code. An additional two occupants are allowed in short-term rentals that provide a separate living space. In no instance may a short-term rental provide a total occupancy that is greater than the capacity of the number of vehicles which can be accommodated by the off-street parking requirements of this chapter.

(2) All intended occupants shall be listed on the rental agreement for each short-term rental occurrence. Only occupants listed on the rental agreement shall be present on the property containing the short-term rental between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

(3) A short-term rental shall be rented for no more than seventy-five days in any calendar year.

(c) Off-Street Parking Requirements.

(1) Properties offered as short-term rentals shall meet the requirements of Title 18, including, but not limited to, Chapter 18.20 (Off-Street Parking and Loading) and Chapter 18.32 (Nonconforming Uses, Structures and Sites) of the CMMC. Additional parking, complying with the standards of Section 18.20.050, shall be required for short-term rentals that allow more than eight occupants, at a ratio of one additional off-street parking space for each additional four occupants, with any fractional number rounded up. In no instance can the total occupancy of a short-term rental exceed the number of designated off-street parking required pursuant to this section.

(2) Parking Plan Required. All applications for a short-term rental license shall include a parking plan which demonstrates that all off-street parking spaces comply with all requirements of this program and the CMMC. The parking plan shall include an accurately dimensioned map depicting the location and size of the designated parking space(s) and how they are accessed.

(3) Properties with Privately Maintained Shared Vehicle Access. In addition to the requirements for submittal of a parking plan above, short-term rental applications where vehicle access to the property and associated designated parking is shared with multiple owners and is privately maintained, shall include a description of the methods in which the presence of the short-term rental will avoid encumbering parking or access to properties with shared access, proposed text and placement of signage identifying designated off-street parking spaces to be used by the short-term rental, and documents establishing the short-term rental's entitlement to use the required number of parking spaces.

(d) Safety. The short-term rental shall comply with the following safety requirements:

(1) Operable smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in accordance with the requirements of the currently adopted California Building Standards Code.

(2) An operable fire extinguisher on every floor of the residence and in the garage having a minimum fire rating of 2A:10BC.

(3) For properties within the adopted wildland urban interface (WUI), maintenance of areas surrounding the residence in compliance with Cal Fire Code Sections 4901.1 to 4907.4 and as required by the Central Marin Fire Department.

(4) The department shall provide a list of all short-term rentals to the neighborhood response group (NRG) coordinator each year on January 1 st , provided that an NRG coordinator exists for the area of town in which the STR is located. This information will be disseminated by the NRG coordinator to the applicable block captains. The NRG coordinator may provide the town written notice requesting that the town cease providing such information to the NRG.

(5) For all properties, the name and phone number of the emergency contact shall be provided to the Central Marin Police Authority.

(e) Interior Signage. Properties offered as short-term rentals shall have a clearly visible and legible notice posted adjacent to the inside of the front door, containing the following information:

(1) Twenty-four-hour emergency contact person and contact information.

(2) Maximum number of occupants.

(3) Maximum number of vehicles and location of off-street parking for the short-term rental.

(4) Garbage/recycling/compost disposal instructions.

(5) Emergency phone numbers for police and fire departments.

(6) For properties within the adopted wildland urban interface (WUI), the contact information, including phone number, for the local neighborhood response group (NRG), should one exist.

(7) Diagram of the floorplan of the residence showing egress routes out of the building(s).

(8) Map of the vicinity of the subject property showing the most direct vehicular evacuation route out of the area.

(9) Information on signing up for local emergency alerts (www.nixle.com) and local weather forecasts (www.weather.gov/mob/forecast).

(10) Name, address and phone number of nearest emergency medical facility that is open all hours.

(11) Information on the Corte Madera Noise Ordinance citing the relevant nighttime noise regulations in Section 9.36.050 of the Corte Madera Municipal Code.

(12) For properties that share access with other properties, an advisory that under no circumstances may the short-term renter block the shared access.

(f) License Applications.

(1) The department shall develop a license application containing property information to ensure compliance with the requirements of this chapter or other information that the department deems necessary for the ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the program. The required property information shall be listed on prescribed forms developed by the department.

(2) The application shall contain the following language: "A Short-Term Rental License shall not be construed as providing property rights or vested interests and entitlements in continued operation of a Short-Term Rental. A Short-Term Rental License is a revocable license, which expires annually, and cannot be transferred. A Short-Term Rental License shall not run with the land."

(3) Registration and Term. A short-term rental license shall have a maximum term of one-year ending on December 31 st of the calendar year when issued. A host may reapply for a license for the next calendar year by filing a completed renewal application at least thirty days, but no more than ninety days, prior to expiration of the previous license. The department shall determine, in its sole discretion, the completeness of an application. Upon successful completion of the registration, the town will issue an individual short-term rental license number and Corte Madera Business License number for the property for that calendar year.

(4) Transferability. A short-term rental license is non-transferrable. if a property with an approved short-term rental license is sold or transferred to any other person or owner, the short-term rental license is void.

(5) Fees. The town is authorized to collect fees as necessary to ensure that the program recovers all costs for administering and enforcing the licensing program. Annual application and/or registration fees for this program shall be no higher than necessary to recover the cost of the short-term rental license program and shall be paid at the time of application or renewal. These fees shall be set by the town council by resolution.

(6) Transient Occupancy Tax Collection and Remittance. If the short-term rental is not booked through a hosting platform, the host shall collect and remit transient occupancy taxes to the town as required under CMMC Chapter 3.08 on a monthly basis for each short-term rental. If the hosting platform fails to collect and remit the transient occupancy taxes as required by Section 5.34.060(b), the host shall be responsible for said collection and remittance.

(7) Reporting Requirement. As a condition of obtaining and maintaining a license, the host shall submit a semi-annual report to the department by January 1 and July 1 of each year, regarding the number of days the residential unit or any portion thereof has been rented as a short-term rental since either initial registration of the last report, whichever is more recent, and any additional information the department may require to demonstrate compliance with the program.

(8) Annual Audit. Each calendar year, the town will select approximately ten percent of licensed properties to audit to ensure license compliance. This audit will include:

(A) Review of compliance with program requirements;

(B) Property inspection; and

(C) Transient occupancy tax payment review.

If a short-term rental is deemed non-compliant, the department shall follow the administrative enforcement procedures outlined in Section 5.34.070.

(9) Program Evaluation. The director shall provide a report to the town council within two years of the initiation of the program, including information on the number of licensed short-term rentals, their location, average length of stay, all enforcement actions related to the program, and fiscal impacts including revenue and program management costs.

(Ord. No. 1031, § 2, 11-7-2023)

(a) All hosting platforms shall notify hosts listing a residential unit through the hosting platform's service that (i) CMMC Chapter 5.34 regulates short-term rental of residential units in the town; (ii) Chapter 5.34 requires the host to obtain a town license under said chapter; and (iii) short-term rental of residential units are subject to the town's transient occupancy tax under CMMC Chapter 3.08. This notice shall be provided prior to the host listing the residential unit on the hosting platform.

(b) A hosting platform shall comply with the requirements of CMMC Chapter 3.08 (Transient Occupancy Tax) and Chapter 5.04 (Business Licenses), among any other applicable requirements, collecting and remitting all required Transient Occupancy Taxes, and this provision shall not relieve a hosting platform of liability related to an occupant's, resident's, business entity's, or owner's failure to comply with the requirements of CMMC Chapters 3.08 and 5.04. A hosting platform shall maintain a record demonstrating that the taxes have been remitted to the town.

(c) A hosting platform may provide, and collect a fee for, booking services in connection with short-term rentals for residential units located in the town only when the hosting platform exercises reasonable care to confirm that those residential units are lawfully registered on the town's short-term rental registry at the time the residential unit is rented for short-term rental. The hosting platform shall contact the short-term rental license program town contact to confirm that the residential unit is lawfully registered on the short-term rental registry.

(d) For each short-term rental transaction for which a hosting platform has provided a booking service, the hosting platform shall maintain records, which the hosting platform provides to the town upon request. Said records must contain the following information:

(1) The name of the owner or business entity who offered a residential unit for tourist or transient use,

(2) The address of the residential unit,

(3) The dates for which the tourist or transient use procured use of the residential unit using the booking service provided by the hosting platform, and

(4) The registration license number for the residential unit.

(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, nothing in this program shall relieve an individual, business entity, or hosting platform of the obligations imposed by any and all applicable provisions of state law and the Corte Madera Municipal Code including, but not limited to those obligations imposed by CMMC Chapters 3.08 and 5.04. Further, nothing in this program shall be construed to limit any remedies available under any and all applicable provisions of state law and the Corte Madera Municipal Code including, but not limited to, CMMC Chapters 3.08 and 5.04.

(Ord. No. 1031, § 2, 11-7-2023)

(a) Town Contact. The Department shall designate and post on the town website, a contact person for members of the public who wish to file oral or written complaints under this program or who otherwise seek information regarding this program or short-term rentals. This contact person shall also provide information to the public upon request regarding quality of life issues, including, for example, noise violations, vandalism, or illegal dumping, and shall direct the member of the public to forward any such complaints to the appropriate town department. All complaints filed with the town shall be forwarded to the host/property owner within two business days.

(b) Determination of Violation. Upon the filing of a written complaint that an owner, host or hosting platform has violated this Chapter 5.34, the director shall take reasonable steps necessary to determine the validity of the complaint. The director shall have discretion to determine whether there is a potential violation of this Chapter 5.34. To determine if there is a violation of this chapter, the director may initiate an investigation of the subject property or the allegedly unlawful activities. This investigation may include, but is not limited to, an inspection of the subject property and/or a request for any pertinent information from the owner, host or hosting platform, such as leases, business records, or other documents. If the Director finds there is no violation of this chapter or basis for an investigation for an unlawful activity, the director shall so inform the complainant within sixty days of the filing of any complaint.

(c) Violations of this chapter shall be an infraction except as provided in this section. The director shall also have discretion to enforce this chapter by one of the methods set forth in this section.

(1) If the director finds that conditions at the subject property constitute a danger to health and safety, that person shall take the following actions:

(A) Issue an order to the owner, host and hosting platform suspending their short-term rental license, notifying them of the unsafe conditions, describing the steps necessary to cure said conditions and advising them of their right to contest the order by requesting a hearing pursuant to Section 9.05.060 of the Corte Madera Municipal Code.

(B) Refer the matter for administrative enforcement.

(C) In cases of violations threatening public health and safety, the director may elect to issue an immediate citation and suspend the license during the pendency of any enforcement procedures.

(2) By Civil Action. The town may institute civil proceedings for injunctive and monetary relief, including civil penalties, against an owner, host or hosting platform for violations of this chapter under any circumstances, without regard to whether a complaint has been filed or the director has made a determination of a violation. If the town is the prevailing party in any civil action under this subsection, an owner, host and hosting platform in violation of this chapter 41A may be liable for civil penalties of not more than one thousand dollars per day for the period of the unlawful activity. Interested parties other than the town may not seek or obtain civil penalties. The prevailing party shall be entitled to attorneys' fees.

(3) By Administrative Citation. The director shall issue an administrative citation as provided in Chapter 9.05. Any person receiving a citation shall have the right to contest the citation at a hearing as set forth in Chapter 9.05.

(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 9.05.050(a), if the same host has been cited three or more times in the prior 12 months, and the director determines that the violations pose a threat to public health and safety, the fines, for subsequent violations shall be as follows:

(A) For the first citation issued under this subdivision, up to one thousand five hundred dollars.

(B) For the second citation issued under this subdivision, up to three thousand dollars.

(C) For the third citation issued under this subdivision and for every citation thereafter, up to five thousand dollars.

(5) If the same owner, host or hosting platform has violated this chapter three or more times in the prior twenty-four months, the third violation and any subsequent violations shall constitute a misdemeanor.

(d) Private Right of Action. An interested party, as defined in Section 5.34.30, may institute a civil action for injunctive and monetary relief against an owner, host or hosting platform if all of the following criteria are met:

(1) The interested party has filed a complaint with the department;

(2) The director has not made a written determination pursuant to subsection 5.34.070(b) that there is no violation of this chapter or basis for an investigation for an unlawful activity;

(3) An administrative hearing officer has not issued a final determination pursuant to subsection 9.05.080(e) regarding the complaint within one hundred thirty-five days of the filing of the complaint;

(4) After such one hundred thirty-five-day period has passed, the interested party has provided thirty days' written notice to the director and the town attorney of their intent to initiate civil proceedings;

(5) The town has not issued a final determination pursuant to subsection 9.05.080(e) or initiated civil proceedings by the end of that thirty-day notice period; and

(6) Under this subsection 5.34.070(d), the prevailing party shall be entitled to the costs of suit, including reasonable attorneys' fees, pursuant to an order of the court.

(e) Revocation of License. The director shall revoke a short-term rental license issued under this chapter if that person concludes any of the following:

(1) The short-term rental is not current on transient occupancy taxes and has not paid all such taxes to the town in full by the date upon which such taxes became due.

(2) There have been three or more upheld citations for violations of the Corte Madera Municipal Code at the short-term rental property within a twenty-four-month period. For the purposes of this subsection, "upheld citations" means citations that were neither overturned after contest or appeal nor dismissed.

(3) The short-term rental applicant has submitted a short-term rental application containing a material misrepresentation or omission of material facts.

(4) There has been a transfer or an attempt to transfer a short-term rental license to another person, entity, or property.

Revocation decisions by the director shall be in writing and are subject to appeal through the process set forth in Section 9.05.095 (Right to Judicial Review). The owner of a short-term rental license that has been revoked for any reason shall be permanently ineligible for future consideration of a short-term rental license on the property that was the subject of the revocation.

(f) Public nuisance violations; penalties, nuisance abatement, and other remedies. Any short-term rental operated, conducted, or maintained contrary to the provisions of this chapter shall be, and the same is hereby declared to be, unlawful and a public nuisance, and the town attorney may, in addition to or in lieu of prosecuting a criminal action hereunder, commence an action or actions, proceeding or proceedings, for the abatement, removal and enjoinment thereof, in the manner provided by law. Such remedies shall be in addition to any other judicial and administrative penalties and remedies available to the town under Section 1.04.030 (Public Nuisances), Chapter 9.04 (Nuisances) and Chapter 9.05 (Administrative Citation) or under state law.

(Ord. No. 1031, § 2, 11-7-2023)

Short-term rental licenses shall not be construed as providing property rights or vested interests and entitlements in continued operation of a short-term rental. Short-term rental licenses are revocable licenses that expire as provided by the short-term rental licensing program. Short-term rental licenses do not run with the land.

(Ord. No. 1031, § 2, 11-7-2023)