The ordinance caps the housing stock that can be used as STRs in unincorporated Humboldt County. It also limits the number of STR permits that can be owned by a business or individual to three.
The ordinance process has brought up sentiments from STR operators, neighbors and advocates for housing, who say that short term rentals are taking the place of permanent housing amid a housing crisis. Five meetings have been held so far to collect input on the ordinance, with Associate Planner Keenan Hilton noting hundreds have attended with over a hundred written comments submitted to the commission.