Riverside County Registrar of Voters has notified the City Clerk of Cathedral City that they will begin mailing out absentee ballots starting on February 1, 2021 for the Citywide Special Election regarding Short-Term Vacation Rental Regulations entitled Measure B that will be held on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. For those who vote at the polls, this election will have actual polling locations throughout Cathedral City. The polling locations will be released at a later date. Measure B will be the only item on your March 2, 2021 special election ballot.
If approved by Cathedral City voters, Measure B would uphold the City’s adopted Short-Term Vacation Rental regulations and restrictions, which were developed after a year of community engagement and feedback to address identified resident priorities including:
- Improving neighborhood safety
- Reducing criminal activity associated with short-term vacation rentals
- Reducing noise impacts of short-term vacation rentals
- Preserving neighborhood character
Between October 1, 2019 and November 30, 2020, the City received over 1800 complaints and calls for service related to STVRs. A wide range of residents have complained about disruptive — and in some cases illegal – behavior of STVR guests including loud, late night parties, multiple people coming in and out of residential neighborhoods, and increased criminal activity at STVR properties, including an incident with multiple stabbings last year.
Measure B was placed on a special March 2021 ballot following the submission of petitions by a real-estate investor backed effort to overturn the regulations in Ordinance 842, Cathedral City’s short-term vacation rental ordinance adopted unanimously in 2020.
A “yes” vote on Measure B — known as the Cathedral City Short-Term Vacation Rental Regulation Measure — would uphold the short-term rental regulations in Ordnance 842, to address the public safety, noise, and other community complaints associated with STVR’s made to the City over the past several years.
A “no” vote on Measure B would repeal all short-term rental regulations in Ordinance 842, reverting regulations to less stringent ones adopted when STVR’s were first allowed in the City.
For information on Measure B and the March 2, 2021 special election, visit www.cathedralcity.gov/Measure-B.
