Napa County Reaches Settlement Over Illegal Vacation Rental

NAPA COUNTY, CA — A settlement reached between the county of Napa and the owner of a Calistoga-area vacation rental that for years has been illegally operated permanently bars short-term rental of the property for periods less than 30 days, county officials said in a news release.

Calistoga Wine, LLC and its sole managing member, identified by county officials as Linda Fotsch, must also pay up to $250,000 in penalties, taxes and fees under the terms of the settlement.

Under an ordinance adopted in 2010 by Napa County, the advertising, negotiation and rental of dwelling units on a short-term basis — periods of less than 30 consecutive days — became prohibited.

After the local law went into effect, the county began receiving complaints about short-term rental activities at 4099 Silverado Trail in unincorporated Calistoga.

In response, the county began an investigation that led to the issuance in April 2017 of a Notice of Violation. Calistoga Wine LLC and Fotsch were ordered to cease all advertising and negotiating of short-term commercial occupancies of the property.

"But Calistoga Wine, LLC, and Linda Fotsch continued to advertise and negotiate the short-term rental of the property," county spokesperson Noel Brinkerhoff said in a Dec. 3 news release.

So in November 2018, the county filed a civil action suit in another attempt to "compel the owner to comply with the county code and to pay civil penalties for their unlawful rental activities as well as pay Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) that should have been collected from short-term renters, along with penalties and interest on the unpaid TOT, enforcement costs and attorney’s fees," Brinkerhoff said.

A year later, on Nov. 27, a settlement agreement was reached in Napa County v. Calistoga Wine, LLC, and Linda Fotsch. The agreement places a permanent injunction that requires the owner and operator to permanently cease and desist from engaging in any short-term rental activity on the property; and to pay the county up to $250,000 in civil penalties, investigative costs, TOT, and attorney’s fees as a result of their violations.

"They will be required to pay $100,000 over the course of 18 months and pay an additional $150,000 if they are found in the future to have engaged in any further unlawful rentals on the property," Brinkerhoff said.

Further, the injunction prohibits using rental arrangements or artifices designed to make illegal short-term rentals appear lawful on their face. For example, the use of a lease that appears to be for 30 consecutive days or more—which is allowed under the County Code— but limits the tenant to an occupancy for a shorter term, is prohibited by the settlement agreement.

Such action would constitute a violation of the ordinance even if the property was not occupied by any other tenants in a month, county officials said.

"This settlement was reached after more than a year of focused efforts by Code Compliance and County Counsel staff," said David Morrison, director of Planning Building and Environmental Services for Napa County. "The result is a clear demonstration that the County aggressively enforces against illegal short-term rentals and that owners will pay a heavy penalty for their violations."

Fotsch did not return Patch's requests for comment.