Palm Desert City Council Vote Non Sleeping Dens vs a Bedroom
At the Palm Desert City Council meeting June 27, 2024, the hot debate was about occupancy and the classification of a non-sleeping den versus a bedroom.
During the 1970’s – 1980’s many Condominium Projects were built in the Desert. Developments such as Sunrise, Monterey and Palm Valley, The Lakes, and Chaparral Country Clubs, were built in Palm Desert, and many included floorplans featuring an interior Atrium and Den opening to the Atrium.
The CA Residential Code states in part that every sleeping room shall have not less than one emergency escape that shall open to a public way not less than 10 feet in height and width. The Atrium in these units does not meet this standard.
At issue;
November 2021, a homeowner purchased a three-bedroom condo in Monterey Country Club for the purpose of using it as a Short Term Rental, (STR). In January 2022, the owner obtained an STR permit for a three-bedroom unit and renewed it in January 2023. In July 2023, Palm Desert City Development Services created internal procedures to ensure regulations were being enforced. Enforcement was triggered at application for a permit, including an application for a short-term rental. City STR regulations require the city determine occupancy, by verifying the number of bedrooms.
In January 2024, the owner applied to renew the STR permit as they had done before, with an occupancy of 6. Staff, implementing the July 2023 guidelines for enforcement, researched public records which showed the property as a two-bedroom unit. The city reclassified the property as a 2 bedroom unit, with occupancy for 4 people, not 6. Cutting the income potential for this owner by 1/3. The owner appealed the decision, stating they should be Grandfathered in, with any new regulation going into effect from this point forward.
The issue is a hot topic; the city has received several letters from homeowners, concerned that this change negatively impacts their income due to lower occupancy, and potentially devalues their properties if they can no longer say 3 bedrooms, if the property has a non-sleeping Den.
STR owners say they’ve been singled out for this enforcement. The Council sites the Residential Code regarding emergency escape; rooms without an emergency egress may not be called a bedroom. After much debate, the Council agreed they are in alignment with the state that once a homeowner elevates the use of their property to a commercial enterprise, a disclosure can’t mitigate the risk to occupants in the case of a catastrophic event such as fire or earthquake, and that risk would ultimately land on the city’s doorstep.
In a 4-1 vote, the Palm Desert City Council voted to uphold their prior decision, A non-sleeping Den cannot be a Bedroom, and cannot be used to calculate the occupancy count. They included a note to address the issue in a future session to discuss ways to clarify this resolution going forward.
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