As of Tuesday, June 14, 2022, San Bernardino County issued a 45-day pause on new short-term vacation rental permits in county-controlled market areas, effectively immediately, which includes Joshua Tree.
During this time, the county will still accept new applications for STR permits, and they will be processed, however no permits will be issued before 45 days from the date of the pause. Generally, according to the county, it takes the Land Use Services department a little less than that amount of time to process applications anyway, so it should hopefully not negatively impact clients members currently have in escrow hoping to apply for a permit. The pause is just intended to allow county Code Enforcement department time to staff-up and to implement the additional changes made to the STR ordinance. The pause does not affect permit renewal applications.
In addition to the temporary pause on new permits, the supervisors also approved several amendments to the county’s short-term rental ordinance. These changes include a limit of one STR on parcels under 2 acres and two STRs on parcels over 2 acres in the mountain and desert regions, and occupancy limits of four people for a one-bedroom or studio unit, with two additional guests allowed for each additional bedroom up to a maximum of 12 total guests.
The supervisors also capped the number of STR permits for any individual person, corporation, personal or family trust, LLC or LLP at two permits — those with more than two STRs will be grandfathered in to keep their existing rentals. These changes to short-term rental rules will take effect July 28, 30 days after the ordinance is introduced on second- reading on June 28. A full list of changes to the ordinance that will take effect on July 28th is forthcoming.