To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Molly Rattigan, Community Resources and Development Director
Prepared By: Michael Walker, Principal Planner
TITLE:
Title
Short Term Rental Facilitator (SB 346)
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Approve the first reading and introduction of an ordinance adding Section 3.20.065 titled “Short Term Rental Facilitator Reporting” to the Napa Municipal Code to require reporting in accordance with SB 346; and finding that the Recommended Action does not qualify as a Project subject to CEQA under State CEQA Guidelines Section 15378 and is otherwise exempt from CEQA under State CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(B)(3).
Body
DISCUSSION:
The City regulates Short Term Vacation Rentals (“Vacation Rentals”) through Section 17.52.515 of the Napa Municipal Code (“NMC”). Operators of permitted Vacation Rentals must obtain and maintain a Vacation Rental Permit and comply with program requirements, including transient occupancy tax (“TOT”) remittance, pursuant to Chapter 3.20 of the NMC.
In 2025, the California Legislature enacted Senate Bill 346, adding Government Code section 50990 et seq., known as the Short-Term Rental Facilitator Act of 2025. The Act authorizes cities to adopt local provisions making the Act operative within the City’s jurisdiction. If adopted, a city may require short-term rental listing platforms and other facilitators to provide specified property identification information to the City for TOT administration and enforcement and to display City-issued permit identifiers within listings.
The proposed Ordinance would formally implement the Act locally and establish reporting and listing-credential requirements for short-term rental facilitators operating within the City of Napa.
The proposed ordinance adds Section 3.20.065 to the NMC to:
• Adopt and apply the Short-Term Rental Facilitator Act of 2025 within the City of Napa;
• Require short-term rental facilitators, upon request, to provide the City with:
o The physical address and nine-digit ZIP code of each listed short-term rental; and
o If needed to confirm a location, the assessor parcel number, listing URL, and limited additional identifying details; and
o Require short-term rental facilitators to display the City-issued Vacation Rental Permit number in each listing.
The information provided under the ordinance will support:
• TOT administration and enforcement
• Verification of permitted versus unpermitted listings
• Improved transparency in the short-term rental marketplace. Failure to comply with the reporting or display provisions may result in administrative citation under Chapter 3.20 of the NMC.
The Ordinance does not alter the City’s existing Vacation Rental permitting framework or TOT requirements. Rather, it improves the City’s ability to ensure lawful operation and equitable tax compliance among Vacation Rental operators and facilitators
Subsection D of the Ordinance establishes that violations to the Ordinance are punishable by criminal misdemeanor and are also subject to an administrative citation and assessment of administrative fines as established by resolution of the City Council. Staff will return to the Council at a future date so that the City Council can impose citation and fine amounts.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
The Ordinance is expected to improve the accuracy and efficiency of TOT administration and compliance monitoring.
CEQA:
The Community Services & Development Director has determined that the Ordinance does not qualify as a Project subject to CEQA under State CEQA Guidelines Section 15378 and is otherwise exempt from CEQA under State CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(B)(3).
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
ATCH 1 - Ordinance
NOTIFICATION:
Legal notice of the public hearing was published in the Napa Valley Register on July 6, 2026.