2020-04-02 RIVCO STVR Restrictions AmendedAMENDED ORDER OF THE HEALTH OFFICER FOR THE COUNTY OF
RIVERSIDE
CLARIFICATION OF GOVERNOR'S "STAY-AT-HOME" ORDER AS RELATED TO
SHORT TERM LODGING FACILITIES
DATE OF ORDER: APRIL 2, 2020
Please read this Order carefully. Violation of or failure to comply with this Order is a crime
punishable by fine, imprisonment, or both. Violators are also subject to civil enforcement actions
including civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation per day, injunctive relief, and attorneys' fees
and costs. (California Health and Safety Code § 120295; County Ordinances 533 and 556.)
WHEREAS, a state of emergency has been declared by the State of California, and both a
local health emergency and local emergency has been declared in the County of Riverside (the
"County") in response to the virus COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, in the County as well as throughout California and the nation, there are
insufficient quantities of critical healthcare infrastructure, including hospital beds, ventilators and
workers, capable of adequately treating mass numbers of patients at a single time — should the
virus spread unchecked; and
WHE , m direct response to that lackoT hedliheare m rastructure, governments across
the nation are taking actions to slow the spread of COVID-19 in order to "flatten the curve" of
infection and reduce the numbers of individuals infected at any one time by minimizing situations
where the virus can spread; and
WHEREAS, in furtherance of this effort, on March 19, 2020, Governor Newsom issued
Executive Order N-33-20 requiring all persons residing in the State to remain in their homes or
places of residence, except as needed to maintain the continuity of operations for critical
infrastructure (the "Stay -at -Home Order"); and
WHEREAS, also on March 19, 2020, the State Public Health Officer ordered all
individuals Iiving in the State of California to stay home or at their place of residence except as
needed to maintain continuity of operations of the federal critical infrastructure sectors; and
WHEREAS, on March 20, 2020, the State Public Health Officer designated a Iist of
"Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers" to help state, local, tribal, and industry partners as they
work to protect communities, while ensuring continuity of functions critical to public health and
safety; and
WHEREAS, the State Public Health Officer further lists specific jobs and functions within
those critical infrastructure sectors that are deemed "necessary". This includes hotels and lodging
activities related to isolating or quarantining persons infected with or exposed to the COVID-19
virus, or housing workers performing jobs deemed essential to maintaining critical infrastructure;
and
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WHEREAS, the County Health Officer finds that the use of short-term lodging for non-
COVID-19 purposes is a direct violation of the Governor's Stay -at -Home Order as it: (1)
encourages an influx of persons into the County, thus increasing the potential for the spread of the
illness and adding strain upon the County health care system; and (2) is likely to impair efforts at
mitigating the spread of the illness both within the County and statewide; and
WHEREAS, the County Health Officer wishes to provide clarity to businesses, renters, and
property owners in the short-term lodging sector of the County regarding operations under the
Governor's Stay -At -Home Order and therefore issues the following:
NOW, THEREFORE, UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF CALIFORNIA HEALTH AND
SAFETY CODE SECTIONS 101040, 101085, AND 120175, TITLE 17 CALIFORNIA CODE
OF REGULATIONS SECTION 2501, AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY CODE SECTION 533.6,
THE HEALTH OFFICER OF THE COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE ("HEALTH OFFICER")
ORDERS as follows:
1. Short-term lodging facilities (including short-term rentals, vacation rentals, timeshares,
hotels, motels, and other short-term Iodgings) within the County of Riverside may remain
open for the following limited purposes:
a. To serve as short-term lodging facilities which are used for the following COVID-
19 mitigation and containment measures:
i. Lodging to protect the homeless population;
ii. Lodging for persons who have been displaced and cannot return to their
residence because there is a person residing at the residence that must isolate
or quarantine or is at a higher risk of severe illness;
iii. Lodging for persons who need to isolate or quarantine
b. Short-term lodging facilities (including short-term rentals, vacation rentals,
timeshares, hotels, motels, and other short-term lodgings) which are used to house
essential workers performing functions that are essential to maintain the continuity
of operations for critical infrastructure, as listed in the attached Guidance.
2. No homeowner, agent of the homeowner, marketing agent, listing agent, or real estate agent
shall engage in efforts to rent or lease any short-term rentals, vacation rentals, timeshares,
hotels, motels, and/or other short-term Iodging within the County of Riverside for any
purpose other than those identified in Paragraph 1 above.
3. For purposes of this Order, a "short-term lodging facility" shall be understood to refer to
any facility, including short-term rentals, vacation rentals, timeshares, hotels, motels, and
other short-term lodgings, which provides lodging or accommodation to persons for a time
period of six (60)_days or less. This definition shall supersede any definition, timeframe,
or day limitation, which may currently be in use by any city within the County of Riverside
to refer to "short-term lodging(s)" or "short-term rental(s)".
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4. This Order shall be effective immediately and will remain in effect until June 19 2020,
pending further Order of the Public Health Officer. This Order supersedes the prior Orders
of March 27, 2020 and March 30, 2020.
This Order shall be understood to apply immediately. However, in situations where short-
term lodgings have guests currently on -site that were physically present on the property
prior to March 27, 2020, guests may stay on -site through the end of their original booking
period. Bookings may not be extended beyond the original ending date unless guests fall
into those categories identified in Paragraph 1 above, namely guests are: (1) homeless; (2)
persons who have been displaced and cannot return to their residence because there is a
person residing at the residence that must isolate or quarantine or is at a higher risk of
severe illness; (3) persons who need to isolate or quarantine; or (4) essential workers.
5. In the event of a question or uncertainty as to whether a particular short-term lodging use
falls within the Public Health Officer's exemptions (i.e., whether it constitutes a mitigation
or containment measure, or involves an essential worker), a written determination from the
County of Riverside Health Officer, that the use is authorized, or a directive from the
Health Officer shall be adequate to authorize such use.
6. This Order is issued as a result of the worldwide pandemic of COVID-19 disease, also
known as "novel coronavirus," which has infected over one million individuals worldwide
in over 180 countries and is implicated in over 50,000 worldwide deaths, including over
400 cases and 13 deaths in Riverside County. These numbers increase significantly every
day.
7. This Order is issued based on evidence of increasing transmission of COVID-19 both
within the County of Riverside and worldwide, scientific evidence regarding the most
effective approach to slow transmission of communicable diseases generally and COVID-
19 specifically, as well as best practices as currently known and available to protect the
public from the risk of spread of or exposure to COVID-19.
8. This Order is intended to reduce the likelihood of exposure to COVID-19, thereby slowing
the spread of COVID-19 in communities worldwide. As the presence of individuals
increases, the difficulty and magnitude of tracing individuals who may have been exposed
to a case rises exponentially. Short-term lodging facilities which are utilized for housing a
frequently rotating clientele will likely impair efforts at mitigating the spread of the illness.
9. This Order is issued in accordance with, and incorporates by reference, the: March 4, 2020
Proclamation of a State Emergency issued by Governor Gavin Newsom; the March 8, 2020
Declaration of Local Health Emergency based on an imminent and proximate threat to
public health from the introduction of novel COVID-19 in Riverside County; the March
10, 2020 Resolution of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Riverside proclaiming
the existence of a Local Emergency in the County of Riverside regarding COVID-19; the
March 10, 2020 Resolution of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Riverside ratifying
and extending the Declaration of Local Health Emergency due to COVID-19; the guidance
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issued on March 11, 2020 by the California Department of Public Health regarding large
gatherings of 250 people or more; Governor Gavin Newsom's Executive Order N-25-20
of March 12, 2020 preparing the State to commandeer hotels and other places of temporary
residence, medical facilities, and other facilities that are suitable as places of temporary
residence or medical facilities as necessary for quarantining, isolating or treating
individuals who test positive for COVID-19 or who have had a high -risk exposure and are
thought to be in the incubation period; the guidance issued on March 15, 2020 by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the California Department of Public Health,
and other public health officials through the United States and around the world
recommending the cancellation of gatherings involving more than fifty (50) or more
persons in a single space at the same time; the March 16, 2020 order of the Public Health
Officer prohibiting all gatherings with expected presence above ten (10) individuals;
Governor Newsom's Executive Order N-33-20 of March 19, 2020 ordering all persons to
stay at home to protect the health and well-being of all Californians and to establish
consistency across the state in order to slow the spread of COVID-19; Governor Newsom's
Executive Order N-35-20 giving the state the ability to increase the health care capacity in
clinics, mobile health care units and adult day health care facilities and allowing local
governments more flexibility to utilize the skills of retired employees in order to meet the
COVID-19 surge; and Governor Newsom's Executive Order N-39-20 intended to expand
the health care workforce and recruit health care professionals to address the COVID-19
surge. The Governor and the County Public Health Officer continue to issue COVID-19-
related orders to mitigate the public health crisis.
10. This Order is made in accordance with all applicable State and Federal laws, including but
not Iimited to: Health and Safety Code sections 101030, et seq.; Health and Safety Code
sections 120100, et seq.; and Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations section 2501.
11. To the extent necessary, pursuant to Government Code sections 26602 and 41601 and
Health and Safety Code section 101029, the Health Officer requests that the Sheriff and all
Chiefs of Police in the County ensure compliance with and enforcement of this Order.
12. Copies of this Order shall promptly be: (1) made available at the County of Riverside
Health Administration office located at 4065 County Circle Drive, Riverside, CA 92503;
(2) posted on the County of Riverside Public Health Department's website (rivcoph.org);
and (3) provided to any member of the public requesting a copy of this Order.
IT IS SO ORDERED:
Dated: April 2, 2020
Dr. Cameron Kaiser, MD, MPH, FAAFP
Public Health Officer
County of Riverside
EMERGENCY REGULATIONS
As Director of Emergency Services for the County of Riverside, I am authorized to promulgate
regulations for the protection for life and property pursuant to Government Code section 8634 and
Riverside County Ordinances 442 and 53 3. The following shall be in effect for the duration of the
County of Riverside Health Officer's Order issued above which is incorporated in its entirety by
reference:
The County of Riverside Health Officer's Order shall be promulgated as a regulation for the
protection of life and property.
Any person who violates who violates or refuses or willfully neglects to obey this regulation is
subject to fine, imprisonment, or both, pursuant to Government Code section 8665. Violators are
also subject to civil enforcement actions including civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation per
day, injunctive relief, and attorneys' fees and costs.
/ f- /
Dated: April 2, 2020
Ge ge John n
County xecu ive Ofiricer
Director of Emergency Services
County of Riverside
Approved as to form and legality:
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Grego Priamos
County Counsel
County of Riverside
Dated: April 2, 2020