The purpose of this chapter is to establish regulations governing
the short-term rental of residential property within the city of Sunnyvale.
The establishment of these regulations will help maintain adequate
housing stock for permanent residents while ensuring that short-term
rental activities do not become a nuisance or threaten the public
health, safety, or welfare due to excessive noise, disorderly conduct,
overcrowding, traffic congestion, illegal parking, the accumulation
of refuse, and other effects related to short-term rentals.
(Ord. 3059-15 § 1; Ord. 3192-22 § 1)
For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
means the person who is responsible for conducting the short-term
rental activity and who is identified as the host in the application
for approval submitted pursuant to this chapter.
means to provide transient lodging in a dwelling unit, for
compensation, for a period of thirty consecutive calendar days or
less, while the host resides on site throughout the lodger's stay.
"Hosted short-term rentals" do not include transient lodging in city-approved
hotels and motels.
means a marketplace in whatever form or format which facilitates
short term rentals through advertising, match-making or any other
means, using any medium of facilitation, and from which the operator
of the hosting platform derives revenues, including booking fees or
advertising revenues, from providing or maintaining the marketplace.
means to provide transient lodging in a dwelling unit, for
compensation, for a period of thirty consecutive calendar days or
less. "Short-term rental" does not include transient lodging in city-approved
hotels and motels.
(Ord. 3059-15 § 1; Ord. 3192-22 § 1)
The short-term rental of residential property is a prohibited
use in every zoning district in the city, with the exception of approved
hosted rentals permitted pursuant to this chapter.
(Ord. 3059-15 § 1; Ord. 3192-22 § 1)
(a)
Hosted short-term rentals are allowed in any zoning district where
residential uses are permitted subject to the following requirements:
(2)
A maximum of four overnight lodgers are allowed per night in any
single-family dwelling or any single dwelling unit in a multi-family
dwelling. The limit of four overnight lodgers does not include minor
children who are accompanied by an adult.
(3)
Rental to unaccompanied minors under the age of eighteen is prohibited.
(4)
The host shall reside on site throughout the lodgers' stay. To reside
on site means that the property being used for short-term rentals
is the host's primary residence and the host uses the property for
purposes of eating, sleeping, and other activities of daily living
during the time periods that lodgers are present. Lodgers may stay
in an accessory dwelling unit if the host resides in the primary dwelling.
Lodgers may also stay in one dwelling unit of a two-family dwelling
if the host resides in the other dwelling unit.
(5)
Accessory dwelling units approved on or after January 1, 2020 shall not be used for short-term rentals. An accessory dwelling unit that was approved prior to January 1, 2020 may be used as a short term rental if the host resides on the lot that contains the accessory dwelling unit. Any dwelling unit built pursuant to Chapter 19.78 shall not be used for short-term rentals.
(6)
The host shall comply with all permit conditions and applicable local,
state, and federal laws, including, but not limited to, health, safety,
fire, and building codes.
(7)
The host must provide all lodgers with facilities for sleeping, bathing,
and toileting inside of a permanent dwelling that is suitable for
human occupancy. Rental of sleeping space in or on balconies, porches,
tents, sheds, vehicles or outdoor areas is prohibited.
(9)
The host shall collect and remit transient occupancy tax, in coordination with any hosting platform if utilized, pursuant to Chapter 3.16 of this code.
(10)
The host is responsible for ensuring the property does not become
a nuisance due to the short-term rental activity.
(11)
The host shall not advertise or cause to be advertised any short-term
rental that does not comply with all provisions of this chapter.
(Ord. 3059-15 § 1; Ord. 3154-20 § 8; Ord. 3192-22 § 1)
(a)
No person shall undertake, maintain, authorize, aid, facilitate or
advertise any hosted or short-term rental activity that does not comply
with the provisions of this code.
(b)
The application for approval of short-term rental shall include the
following:
(1)
Name, address and contact information of the host.
(2)
Name, address and contact information of the owner of the property
where the short-term rental activity will occur. In the event that
the applicant is not the legal owner of the property, the application
shall be signed by the property owner consenting to the use of the
property for short-term rentals.
(3)
If the property is part of a common interest development, the application
shall include a letter of authorization from the homeowner's association
indicating that use of the property for short-term rentals meets the
property's requirements.
(4)
Any additional information or supporting materials to describe existing
property conditions and the proposed operations as required by the
director.
(c)
The director shall not approve the short-term rental application
unless he or she finds that the use will comply with the requirements
of this code and other applicable law. The decision of the director
shall be final.
(Ord. 3059-15 § 1; Ord. 3192-22 § 1)
(b)
Hosting Platforms shall take immediate action to notify the host
upon notification by the city of a violation of this chapter.
(c)
Hosting platforms shall take immediate action to deactivate an advertisement upon notification by the city of a revocation of approval pursuant to Section 19.76.070.
(d)
Hosting platforms shall keep and maintain records of all short-term
rentals and transactions taking place in the city for no less than
five years which shall be promptly made available to the city pursuant
to a lawful request.
(Ord. 3059-15 § 1; Ord. 3192-22 § 1)
The approval of short-term rental may be revoked or modified
by the director as follows:
(a)
Notice and Hearing. Notice shall be mailed to the host at the address
specified in the approval application. The notice shall specify the
reasons for the revocation and shall designate a time and place of
an administrative hearing with the director of community development
no sooner than the sixth business day following the mailing date of
the notice. The host shall be given the opportunity to present written
and oral evidence at the hearing. Failure to appear at the hearing
shall constitute a waiver of any objections to the proposed revocation.
(b)
Revocation. Following the hearing, the director may revoke the approval
if the director makes one or more of the following findings:
(1)
The approval was obtained by fraud;
(2)
The short-term rental activity has been or is being conducted in
violation of any provision of this code or other applicable law;
(3)
The conditions of approval have been or are being violated;
(4)
The short-term rental activity constitutes a public nuisance.
(c)
Notice of decision. A written notice of the director's decision shall
be prepared and mailed to the host at the address specified in the
application for approval. If the approval is revoked, the notice shall
contain a statement directing the host to immediately cease using
the property for short-term rental, and that failure to cease such
use may be subject to further legal action or enforcement.
(d)
Appeal. The decision of the director is final. The decision may be
appealed to the Superior Court.
(e)
A short-term rental in operation without approval is not subject
to this section.
(Ord. 3059-15 § 1; Ord. 3192-22 § 1)
The city council may establish and set by resolution all fees
and charges as may be necessary to effectuate the purpose of this
chapter.
(Ord. 3192-22 § 1; Ord. 3059-15 § 1)
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 which the city attorney
may seek to abate, remove, and enjoin in any manner provided by law.
Such remedies shall be in addition to any other remedies available
to the city under this code or under state law.
(Ord. 3192-22 § 1; Ord. 3059-15 § 1)
