Planning commissioners continue review of contested Ukiah-area short‑term rental; direct staff to draft denial

Mendocino County planning commissioners voted April 16 to continue consideration of a use permit for a large inland residence near Ukiah that applicants want to operate as a short‑term rental, directing staff to prepare a resolution recommending denial and to seek further information from CalFire and Environmental Health.

The item, U_2025-00006, concerns a 15.2-acre parcel addressed as 2401 Booneville Road about five miles southwest of Ukiah. Planning staff said the primary residence is approximately 5,000 square feet with multiple additions and accessory structures and that several additions appear to be unpermitted. "Condition 19" in the staff recommendation requires the owner to obtain any after-the-fact permits prior to issuance of a business license, staff said.

Russ Ford, planning staff, told the commission that Mendocino County currently lacks an inland short‑term rental ordinance and that the department has been using Mendocino County Code §20.164.015 (the county's room-and-board classification) together with a 2010 planning director memo as a permitting pathway for inland short‑term rentals. Ford also…