TO: ADAM PIRRIE, CITY MANAGER
FROM: DAVID CRABTREE, INTERIM COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
DATE: OCTOBER 27, 2026
Reviewed by:
City Manager: AP
SUBJECT:
Title
INTRODUCTION OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 16.110 (SHORT-TERM RENTALS) OF THE CLAREMONT MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO HOMESHARING ELIGIBILITY, PERMIT SCOPE, AND SHORT-TERM RENTAL FACILITATOR REPORTING (FUNDING SOURCE: GENERAL FUND)
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SUMMARY
On May 13, 2025, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2025-04, adding Chapter 16.110 (Short-Term Rentals) to the Claremont Municipal Code (CMC) and establishing a one-year pilot program to regulate short-term rentals (STRs). The pilot program permitted only hosted homesharing rentals and capped the number of STR Permits at twenty per STR Zone, for a citywide maximum of one hundred permits. The ordinance took effect on June 12, 2025.
On June 23, 2026, staff presented the City Council with a one-year program evaluation required by CMC Section 16.110.140. Following that discussion, the City Council directed staff to prepare amendments to Chapter 16.110 to: (1) extend homesharing eligibility to qualifying primary-resident tenants with written landlord consent; (2) clarify the scope of what an STR Permit authorizes, including multi-room homesharing and eligible accessory structures on the same parcel; and (3) invoke Senate Bill 346 to authorize STR facilitator reporting and strengthen enforcement.
On September 15, 2026, the Planning Commission held a public hearing on the proposed code amendment and voted 6-0-1 (Commissioner Callaway absent) to recommend that the City Council adopt the proposed Ordinance.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommended Action
Staff recommends the City Council:
A. Introduce for first reading, and that reading be by title only AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING CHAPTER 16.110 (“SHORT-TERM RENTALS”) OF THE CLAREMONT MUNICIPAL CODE TO EXTEND HOMESHARING ELIGIBILITY TO QUALIFYING TENANTS, CLARIFY THE SCOPE OF SHORT-TERM RENTAL PERMITS, INCORPORATE SHORT-TERM RENTAL FACILITATOR REPORTING REQUIREMENTS UNDER SENATE BILL 346, AND MAKE RELATED CLARIFYING AMENDMENTS; and
B. Find this item is exempt from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
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ALTERNATIVE TO RECOMMENDATION
In addition to the recommendation, there is the following alternative:
• Request changes to the proposed ordinance. Per CMC Section 16.315.090(B), "The City Council shall not make any change or addition to the proposed amendment or Ordinance which has not been previously considered by the Planning Commission during its hearing until the proposed change or addition has been referred to the Planning Commission for a report." Approving changes that the Planning Commission considered but did not recommend generally requires a supermajority (4/5) vote of the City Council.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
During the first year of the pilot program, the STR Program generated $29,355 in Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) and $15,215 in STR Permit fees, for a total of $44,570 in revenue.
The City uses Rentalscape, a compliance consultant and software program, to identify STRs, track usage, provide an online portal for permits and TOT payments, and operate a 24/7 bilingual hotline. The cost of these services is approximately $14,000 per year. The staff cost to manage the program is estimated at $12,600 and is included in the operating budget of the Community Development Department. Total annual program expenses of approximately $26,600 are covered by TOT and permit fee revenue.
The proposed amendments are not anticipated to result in a significant change to program costs or revenues. Extending eligibility to qualifying tenants may modestly increase permit applications, and facilitator reporting under Senate Bill 346 is expected to improve the City’s ability to verify TOT remittance.
The staff cost to prepare this report and administer this program is estimated at $1,500 and is included in the operating budget of the Community Development Department.
ANALYSIS
Background
The City of Claremont maintained a long-standing prohibition on residential rentals of fewer than thirty consecutive days. In April 2019, the Future Financial Opportunities Committee (FFOC) recommended that the City Council consider regulating STRs to enhance transparency and accountability and to generate revenue to offset enforcement costs. Staff presented an overview of STR regulations to the City Council in October 2019 and proposed regulations in March 2020, but the ordinance development was delayed due to the pandemic.
In May 2024, the City Council reaffirmed STR regulation as a priority. The City conducted a community survey in August 2024, and the Planning Commission reviewed key regulatory decisions in September 2024 and a draft ordinance in November 2024. On February 4, 2025, the Planning Commission held a public hearing and recommended adoption of an ordinance regulating all STR types.
On April 22, 2025, the City Council held a public hearing and received 245 written public comments and extensive public testimony. The City Council voted 4-1 to introduce a revised ordinance that allowed only hosted homesharing rentals, capped permits at twenty per STR Zone (100 citywide), and structured the program as a one-year pilot. The City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2025-04 on May 13, 2025, and it took effect on June 12, 2025.
Pilot Program Evaluation
On June 23, 2026, staff presented the one-year evaluation required by CMC Section 16.110.140. The table below summarizes program activity through June 18, 2026.
|
Metric |
Result |
|
STR Permits Issued |
16 of 100 citywide cap |
|
Permits by STR Zone |
Zone 1: 2; Zone 2: 1; Zone 3: 6; Zone 4: 2; Zone 5: 5 |
|
Permit Applications Denied |
2 |
|
Hotline and Complaint Calls Received |
8 |
|
Notices of Violation Issued |
51 |
|
Administrative Citations Issued |
30 |
|
Unpermitted Listings Removed |
48 |
Notices of Violation were the primary enforcement tool and, in most cases, led to voluntary removal of unpermitted listings within about one week. However, staff lacked legal authority to compel hosting platforms to disclose information about hosts or properties.
The June report presented four policy discussion items. The City Council directed staff to prepare amendments for the first three: tenant eligibility, permit scope, and Senate Bill 346 facilitatory reporting. The City Council did not direct staff to pursue the fourth item, a limited unhosted rental category for primary residents who are temporarily absent; all unhosted rentals remain prohibited under the proposed ordinance.
Proposed Ordinance
The proposed ordinance (Attachment A) amends Chapter 16.110, with additions shown in underline and deletions shown in strikethrough. The key changes are summarized below.
Homesharing by Qualifying Tenants (new Section 16.110.045). A qualifying tenant may apply for and hold an STR Permit for a homesharing rental. A qualifying tenant is a natural person who occupies the dwelling unit as their primary residence under a written lease, is not in default under that lease, and has obtained written landlord consent. Primary residence means at least nine months of occupancy, documented by at least two of the following: a lease, vehicle registration, voter registration, utility bill, or government-issued identification.
• The landlord consent must be signed by both parties on a City-approved form, identify the unit and any eligible accessory structures, acknowledge the landlord has reviewed Chapter 16.110, and state that consent may be revoked in writing at any time.
• The permit automatically terminates if consent is revoked or the tenancy ends, and the tenant must notify the City within seven days.
• All obligations and penalties that apply to an owner apply equally to a qualifying tenant. The permit may not be subleased, assigned, or transferred.
• Tenant-held permits count toward the existing STR Zone cap of twenty permits per zone, and the one-permit-per-person limit continues to apply.
Scope of the Homesharing Permit (Sections 16.110.030 and 16.110.040). The homesharing rental definition and permit requirement are revised to state that a permit authorizes a host to rent one or more bedrooms of the host’s primary residence and/or one or more eligible accessory structures on the same legal parcel, such as an eligible accessory dwelling unit (ADU) or a permitted detached habitable structure like a guest house. The host must maintain and reside in at least one bedroom throughout each guest’s stay. This resolves questions raised during the pilot year about multi-room rentals and detached structures. Existing prohibitions on STR use of State-mandated ADUs under Government Code Section 66323(e), junior ADUs, and units funded through the City's ADU Grant Program remain unchanged.
New “Host” Definition and Terminology. A new definition of “Host” means the owner or qualifying tenant who holds the permit and resides in at least one bedroom throughout the guest’s stay. References to “Owner” are changed to “Host,” so obligations apply consistently to owner-hosts and tenant-hosts. New definitions are also added for “Applicant,” “Landlord Consent,” “Qualifying Tenant,” “Qualifying Tenant’s Primary Residence,” and “Short-Term Rental Facilitator.” The obsolete definition of “Homeshare Interest” is deleted.
Short-Term Rental Facilitator Reporting (new Section 16.110.150). This section invokes California Government Code Chapter 4.6 (commencing with Section 50990) and authorizes the Enforcement Official to require facilitators to report the physical address of each STR in the City for which the facilitator processes a reservation or collects payment. Facilitators that fail to report may be subject to administrative fines. This section also prohibits facilitators from interfering with direct communication between a host and guest.
Dedicated Appeals Procedure (new Section 16.110.085). A permit denial, suspension, or revocation may be appealed to the Director within ten calendar days. The Director's decision may be appealed to the Planning Commission, and the Planning Commission's decision to the City Council, each within ten calendar days. Each level of review is de novo, and the City Council's decision is final. This replaces the cross-reference to Chapter 16.321, which is not well suited to permit-level enforcement decisions.
Removal of the Pilot Program Provision (Section 16.110.140). The pilot program section is deleted because the required one-year re-evaluation occurred on June 23, 2026. The program would continue as an ongoing regulatory program. Section 16.110.020(C) continues to reserve the City's right to amend the regulations or discontinue issuing permits at any time.
Administrative Streamlining (Section 16.110.090(L)). The requirement that a host file a summary or abstract of each rental contract with the City before each occupancy is deleted. This requirement was a holdover from the original draft ordinance, which allowed unhosted vacation rentals, and staff has found it unnecessary for hosted stays. Hosts must still enter into a contract with a responsible person for each stay, collect guest and vehicle information, and retain contracts for four years.
Related Clarifying Amendments. The Agency (Section 16.110.070) and Application Requirements (Section 16.110.080) sections are revised to apply to qualifying tenants, and applicants who are tenants must submit their lease and landlord consent. The "Local contact person" definition is revised to include the host.
RELATIONSHIP TO CITY PLANNING DOCUMENTS
Staff has evaluated the agenda item in relationship to the City’s strategic and visioning documents and finds that it applies to the following City Planning Documents: Council Priorities, Economic Sustainability Plan, and the 2026-28 Budget.
CEQA REVIEW
It can be seen with certainty that the Code Amendment has no possibility of having a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, the adoption of this Ordinance is not a project subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations.
COMMISSION REVIEW
On September 15, 2026, the Planning Commission held a duly noticed public hearing on the proposed amendments. The Planning Commission voted 6-0-1 (Commissioner Callaway was absent) to adopt Planning Commission Resolution No. 2026-11, recommending that the City Council approve the amendments to Chapter 16.110.
PUBLIC NOTICE PROCESS
The agenda and staff report for this item have been posted on the City website and distributed to interested parties. If you desire a copy, please contact the City Clerk’s Office.
Submitted by: Prepared by:
David Crabtree Alex Cousins
Interim Community Development Director Senior Management Analyst
Attachments:
A - Proposed Short-Term Rentals Ordinance
B - Planning Commission 9/15/26 Meeting Minutes