The Mariposa County Planning Commission on May 2 reviewed proposed Article 4 of the county’s draft development code, focusing on new rules for vacation rentals and bed‑and‑breakfasts including how and how often their septic systems and fire safety measures would be inspected.

The discussion matters because the draft would change how vacation rentals are regulated, expand the maximum allowed bedrooms for vacation rentals from three to five, and set a reporting/inspection approach that county departments said is intended to protect life, health and safety while reducing administrative burden.

Planning staff presented the draft as an effort to update Title 17 and to streamline enforcement by replacing annual site‑plan reviews with rotational “health and safety checks” performed on a two‑to‑five‑year cycle. Staff said the change would allow departments to schedule inspections in a tiered, less burdensome way and limit repeated full site reviews.

Public commenter Robert Fox objected to certain recordation practices tied to accessory dwelling regulation but also urged caution on inspection burdens for property owners. Fox said, “I strongly object to having a — what amounts to a deed restriction — recorded on my property,” and argued the county should rely on existing transient occupancy (TOT) and tax‑certificate processes to control short‑term rentals rather than recording encumbrances.

The most extended debate centered on a staff recommendation that environmental health and other departments perform periodic checks of vacation‑rental septic systems. Planning staff said the recommendation grew from concerns observed during site‑plan reviews that some vacation‑rental owners, often out‑of‑area operators, might not maintain engineered systems as reliably as full‑time residents.

Commissioner Gray and several others pushed back on a prescriptive inspection interval. Gray said requiring broad invasive septic inspections every two to five years would be excessive and costly for owners and suggested the county rely on existing regulatory authority and targeted inspections when problems are evident. Citizen speaker Ken Melton suggested a simple visual inspection standard and asked the commission to define exactly what an “inspection” would include.

After extended discussion commissioners coalesced around directing staff to revise the draft so that: initial inspections occur at the time a TOT certificate or new property transfer is processed; ongoing oversight would rely on owner self‑certification biennially (including wildfire clearance and a declaration the septic is functioning to the owner’s knowledge); and any invasive or engineering inspections would be triggered by environmental health or other departments where their authority or evidence warrants further action.

Commissioners and staff agreed to remove the explicit 2–5 year mandatory septic inspection language from the development code and to instead add clear cross‑references that notify applicants and owners their continuing obligations to maintain life‑safety requirements and to comply with environmental health and fire regulations. Planning staff said they will return with redrafted language and citations to the specific health and safety codes that would support any targeted follow‑up inspections.

The commission also discussed clarifying that long‑term room rentals (30 days or more) are not subject to vacation‑rental/TOT regulations; staff agreed to make that distinction explicit in the draft. The commission requested staff produce clearer language about initial inspections at certificate issuance, the scope of “health and safety checks,” and a self‑certification form that will notify owners they are certifying compliance.

The commission did not take a formal vote on the inspection frequency during the May 2 meeting; staff will incorporate the direction into the next draft of Article 4 and bring it back for further review.

Ending: The Planning Commission left the vacation‑rental provisions in active revision, with staff instructed to remove the mandatory 2–5 year septic inspection language from the zoning text, to add explicit notice requirements for owners, and to coordinate with environmental health, county fire and the building department on a practical inspection and self‑certification program during the next draft.