Riverbank holds workshop on short‑term rental rules; staff to draft ordinance

City of Riverbank officials on April 22 held a workshop on a proposed short‑term rental ordinance and asked staff to prepare a draft for council review.

Joshua Mann, the city’s director of community development, opened the discussion and introduced David Niskin of JB Anderson Land Use Planning, who outlined key policy choices for council members and the public. Niskin defined short‑term rentals as “the use of any dwelling or portions thereof for dwelling, sleeping, or lodging purposes for 30 consecutive days or less,” and described how neighboring jurisdictions handle the use, from Modesto’s transient occupancy registration to Lodi’s home‑occupation approach.

The council’s central questions were whether to permit short‑term rentals only in single‑family zoning (R‑1) and PD plan‑development districts, whether to set a numerical cap on citywide rentals, whether to require occupancy limits, and whether permitting should be a staff‑level permit or a conditional‑use permit reviewed by the planning commission. Niskin said most nearby cities do not impose a strict cap and that Manteca is unusual in setting an occupancy rule (two adults and one child per room).

Councilmember Call said the rentals operating in Riverbank are “mostly in the R‑1 zoning district” and favored limiting initial permissions to single‑family and equivalent PD areas. Several council members and staff said they want staff to track counts and complaints over the summer before adopting strict limits. Vice Mayor Fosse supported staff‑level permitting with the option to require a conditional‑use permit later if problems continue, and councilmembers generally backed an annual renewal process.

Council discussion also touched on enforcement tools. Niskin described typical application submittal requirements—address, dwelling type, number of bedrooms, parking, proof of insurance—and noted that conditional‑use permits provide stronger revocation options if a unit generates repeated complaints. Councilmembers asked staff to coordinate with police on any proposed background‑check requirements and to research what major booking platforms (Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com) currently require of hosts.

Next steps: staff will prepare a draft ordinance that reflects council direction—initially limiting short‑term rentals to R‑1 and PD districts, creating an application and annual renewal process, and including permit‑level options—and return for a second workshop and then the formal planning‑commission and council adoption process.

Quotes from the meeting illustrate the approach: “If you decide to do a staff level right now and we have permits that come in and are approved, and then you come in and do require a conditional‑use permit, you can't go back and require those same permits to have it retroactive,” David Niskin said, describing how a later change would apply only to new permits.

The workshop drew clarifying questions from the public about caretaker‑presence, parking in downtown multifamily areas, and whether the downtown specific plan would allow rentals; staff said some site‑specific plan amendments might be required. No formal action or vote was taken at the workshop.

Councilmembers asked that staff collect six to eight months of local listings and complaint data, document how other cities define and enforce short‑term rentals, and return with a draft ordinance that includes recommended application materials and enforcement language.