Sonoma

Operating rules

Primary residence

—

Min stay (nights)

—

Max nights / year

—

Max occupancy

Two persons per sleeping room/guestroom, plus two additional persons per unit

Zoning-restricted

Yes

Cap on licenses

De facto cap: no new vacation rental licenses are issued; the set is frozen to those licensed before the 2017 ordinance (grandfathered). No explicit numeric cap is stated by the City.

Grandfathering: yes

Zoning: New vacation rentals were already prohibited in Residential zones; as of the December 4, 2017 ordinance they are 'no longer a conditionally-permitted use in the Mixed Use and Commercial zones.' New vacation rentals are effectively prohibited in all zones except a narrow exception for 'adaptive re-use of a historic structure.' A vacation rental 'shall consist of no more than two complete residential units.' Standards are codified in Sonoma Municipal Code Title 19 (Integrated Development Regulations), Ch. 19.50 Special Use Standards (chapter title verified via sonoma.municipal.codes/SMC/19.50).

• New vacation rentals prohibited citywide; ordinance adopted Dec 4, 2017 and 'became effective 30 days later.'
• Existing licensed vacation rentals may continue only if they meet updated operating standards.
• Outdoor amplified sound is prohibited.
• Grandfathered online listings must display the Business License or TOT Certificate number.
• Occupancy cap, amplified-sound prohibition, property-manager requirement, and two-unit maximum are quote-anchored to the official City page; the Ch. 19.50 code-chapter title was additionally confirmed on the municipal code site.
• This record is for the INCORPORATED CITY of Sonoma only. Unincorporated Sonoma County (the parent jurisdiction) has a SEPARATE vacation rental license regime (e.g., Ord. Nos. 6386/6423/6427, with cap/exclusion zones) and a distinct county TOT — do not conflate.

Enforcement

Active enforcement

yes

Fines

Complaint-driven. On a violation, 'An Administrative Notice & Order is sent to the owner of the property in violation.' 'Within 45 days, the hearing officer files a written decision to either uphold or cancel the administrative notice and order.' 'The decision of the Administrative Hearing Officer can be appealed to Superior Court.' The City page references that notices provide information on penalties but does NOT state specific dollar fine amounts.

Notes

Detection: 'Code Enforcement staff relies on citizen complaints and a 3rd party vendor that uses software to identify potential short-term rental violations.' Contact: Code Enforcement (707) 938-3681 / codeenforcement@sonomacity.org. All enforcement facts here are quote-anchored to the official City vacation-rental page.