Petitioners, our 3rd District Planning Commissioner is Gary Thornhill and by all accounts he cares about our mountain community. He can be reached through his office at clink@rivco.org Please email him before the STR Hearing next Wednesday May 18th. 

Here are the two main issues with suggested verbiage: 

10% CAP ON THE TOTAL NUMBER OF STR'S IN THE 92549 ZIP CODE:

Commissioner Thornhill, as you know we are a small community of 3,600 homes which, due to county, state and federal land preservation and water scarcity, does not have the ability to grow. Thus, we must have a cap on STR’s. Right now there are approximately 350 registered and 250 non registered STRs in Idyllwild/Pine Cove . A 10% cap (360) is more than reasonable given that other communities such as Palm Springs with all their STR problems are at 6.6% and La Quinta’s most saturated neighborhoods are at 8%.

Because of our growth constraints every home we lose to an STR means exactly that, one less home that cannot be replaced. Less people to volunteer for the Friends of the Library, the Arts Council, Rotary Club, etc. We are a community that thrives and survives on volunteers as much as tourism. A cap is required to keep the balance between tourism and community intact. 

The real estate firm recently hired by the county to monitor and enforce STR activities can easily track the number of STR’s by zip code. This will not be difficult to administer. 
 

LOCAL "ON THE HILL" ENFORCEMENT: 

Given the number of STR’S in Idyllwild/Pine Cove (and the revenue generated to the county) we need to have a local enforcement office up here; without enforcement the new ordinance with has no teeth. Currently the county has office space available at 25380 Franklin Rd, Pine Cove/Idyllwild where enforcement can be housed. 

Please consider the special circumstances we face up here in Idyllwild in your deliberations next week. Thank-you.