Sonoma Co. Fires: Emergency Housing Ordinances Approved

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Tuesday afternoon unanimously adopted emergency ordinances geared toward providing immediate and emergency housing for residents displaced by the wildfires in the county this month. The ordinances include prohibiting the issuance of new vacation rental permits for 45 days, subject to an extension for up to two years. The ordinance aims to temporarily preserve the county's existing single-family residences and accessory dwellings for permanent residential and long-term use.

The board also approved an ordinance allowing residential use and occupancy of recreational vehicles and travel trailers inside and outside fire-damaged sites without county approval for 45 days, as long as they have
adequate septic holding capacity.

Also included in the 5-0 approval vote are ordinances extending seasonal farmworker housing to 365 days a year, allowing the temporary rental of existing guest houses, pool houses and other residential accessory
structures for rent to fire victims and allowing safe parking programs at county-owned facilities and privately owned sites in certain zones.

Fires in the county since Oct. 8 have consumed 102,785 acres and destroyed an estimated 6,700 homes, most of them in the Santa Rosa area.

• SEE ALSO: 'Largest Wildfire Cleanup In California History' Launched In Sonoma County

By Bay City News Service

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