Sonoma will update its code enforcement plan
In an effort to better monitor and assure compliance with the City’s various ordinances and regulations, including those governing vacation rentals, Sonoma City Manager Carol Giovanatto is leading the development of a new code enforcement program for consideration by City Council.
Of course, not all code violations are intentional. Some residents may be unaware, for example, that their desire to turn their home into a hotel, store their 30-foot motor home on the public street or run a business out of their house are all matters governed by ordinances on the City books. Likewise, businesses can’t put merchandise tables in the middle of a public sidewalk, or flashing neon signs on their storefronts without the proper review. Certain activities require permits and violations can result in fines.
Enforcement of the City’s building code is done by the Building Department, whose review is usually triggered by proposed construction or alteration to a structure that requires a building permit. Policing other regulations, however, relies heavily on citizen complaints, most of which end up on the City Manager’s desk. With many other responsibilities and only three persons on her staff, there is scant staff time, for example, to monitor AirBnB and cross-check addresses to track down illegal vacation rentals and TOT scofflaws; shoo dogs off the Plaza; or check on a cow tethered in a neighbor’s back yard.
The City of Napa (est. pop: 79,000) currently has three code enforcement officers. According to Code Enforcement Officer, Jane Hamer, her office handles a wide variety of code enforcement issues, ranging from illegal signage to excessive garage sales. Storage of solid waste, vehicle repairs on private property, licensing for home-based businesses… all code issues come to her office.
And because Hamer’s office (unlike Sonoma) also handles building code enforcement, she believes it critical that her officers be certified building inspectors so they have the needed expertise should a building code case end up in court, where expert testimony is important.
Napa processes about 1,200 complaints a year, including vacation rental complaints, which Hamer said require considerable sleuthing — linking an AirBnB listing to a physical address, for example. Tips and complaints can be made via phone, email or website. While anonymous complaints are not accepted, the identities of those making complaints are kept confidential to protect their privacy and to avoid having a chilling effect on citizens’ willingness to report suspected violations.
Hamer noted that vacation rental complaints often come from owners of licensed vacation rentals upset that scofflaws are dodging the transit occupancy tax that all lodging establishments must pay.
“Our goal is not to punish people for infractions but to secure compliance,” she said. “Only if we get resistance, repeat offenders or a failure pay fees do we bring in the city attorney.”
In that regard, Napa recently filed three lawsuits in October against owners accused of running illegal vacation rentals, all allegedly repeat offenders. The cases are currently in the early stage of litigation.
St. Helena (pop: about 6,000) also actively enforces its ordinances. It recently secured a $57,260 settlement in a suit against owners of an unpermitted vacation rental. That included unpaid transient occupancy taxes, interest, penalties and reimbursement for the $29,143 in legal fees the city spent on the lawsuit. In 2006, it negotiated a $60,000 settlement of another such a suit, and won a $91,000 judgment in yet another case that involved other planning and building code violations.
Sonoma’s proposed new enforcement policy, which should be ready for Council review early next year, will likewise have compliance as a first priority and give offenders a first notice before imposing fines or initiating other legal action. In the meantime, suspected code infractions should continue to be referred to the office of the City Manager (707) 933-2213, e-mail: [email protected]
