Walnut Creek Council To Hear Airbnb-Style Short-Term Rental Appeal Tonight

WALNUT CREEK, CA — A years-long dispute over an unhosted short-term rental heads to the Walnut Creek City Council tonight, where council members will reconsider the Planning Commission’s decision.

The Planning Commission voted May 28 to deny the conditional use permit for the property at 635 Mandarin Lane and formally adopted the denial June 11.

The business operator representing the property owner, Hector Krauss, appealed the decision June 4.

He argued the city has inconsistently applied its bed and breakfast inn ordinance to short-term rentals.

The council will hear the matter de novo, meaning it will consider the application anew based on the record and information presented at tonight’s hearing.

The owners seek to operate an unhosted short-term rental in a four-bedroom, single-story home on a 12,000-square-foot lot. The property sits in a Single-Family Residential R-8.5 zone, where Bed and Breakfast Inn uses require a conditional use permit.

The operating plan calls for four off-street parking spaces, no advertising signage, and no special events. The plan also proposes remote noise monitoring and three cameras at the property. Krauss said he lives less than 10 minutes away and can monitor the house remotely.

The permit application followed a dispute with the city over the property’s operation. In September 2025, city staff told Krauss that rentals shorter than 31 days required a conditional use permit.

The city deemed his application complete in February 2026. The following month, Assistant Planner Steven Cook told Krauss that Code Enforcement had received several anonymous complaints about short-term rental listings and asked him to remove listings allowing short-term bookings.

On March 23, the city sent another notice saying it had received multiple reports of short-term rental advertising and guests at the property. The city said rentals shorter than 31 days without required permits and a business license violated the municipal code.

The Planning Commission later found that the property had operated as an unpermitted short-term rental since at least 2023 and continued operating despite city notices. Residents Jan Warren and Jim and Jane McCamish opposed the rental at the May 28 hearing.

Commissioners cited the operator’s compliance history, disturbances, and noise complaints in concluding they could not find that the proposed use would not harm public health, safety, or welfare.

Krauss disputes the city’s approach. His appeal argues Walnut Creek lacks an ordinance specifically regulating short-term rentals under Senate Bill 60 or Senate Bill 346 and instead applies its Bed and Breakfast Inn regulations. He also argues the city has applied those rules inconsistently to previously permitted properties.

City staff recommends the council deny Krauss’ appeal and uphold the Planning Commission’s decision. A draft resolution contains proposed findings supporting denial, but the council has not acted on the appeal.