Continued Hearing from 10/7/2026 CC Meeting: Public Hearing to Consider ... Page 358 of 373 Interior Properties Amendment — draft ordinance text Attorney-Client Privilege · Confidential City of Indio · Office of the City Attorney · Page 2 of 7 (4) "Access Distance" means the length, in feet, of the portion of the Access Route that lies on one or more Residential Streets, measured along the street centerline from the point at which the Access Route leaves the Arterial or Secondary Highway to the point at which it enters the Property. (5) "Interior Property" has the meaning given in § 4.28.02: a Property that holds, or is the subject of an application or Registration for, a Covered Permit and whose Access Distance is five hundred (500) feet or more.
(6) "Monitoring Device" means a sound level monitoring device that meets subsection (D)(2) and the specifications of the Chief under subsection (D)(3). "Live Uplink" means the continuous transmission of the data logged by a Monitoring Device to the Police Department, in real time, by the method the Chief specifies under subsection (D)(3).
(7) "Shuttle" means a passenger vehicle, with a driver, operated by or under contract with the permittee or a third-party to carry attendees the Property. A rideshare vehicle, taxi, limousine, or other vehicle hired by an attendee, and an attendee's private vehicle, may be a Shuttle. (8) "Event Logistics Activity" means any of the following when performed in connection with a Covered Event, whether on the Property or on the Access Route: (a) the delivery, removal, loading, or unloading of equipment, furnishings, tents, canopies, stages, sound or lighting equipment, portable sanitation facilities, generators, food, beverages, rental items, or other goods or supplies; (b) the arrival, departure, movement, backing, or idling of a commercial vehicle, truck, trailer, bus, or event-production vehicle, including the sounding of a back-up alarm; (c) the pick-up or drop-off of equipment or of vendor, production, or service personnel; (d) set-up; and (e) breakdown, take-down, dismantling, and striking. Attendee arrival and departure by Shuttle in compliance with subsection (E) within the hours permitted by § 4.28.06(B)(1) is not Event Logistics Activity.
(9) "Chief" means the Chief of Police or the Chief's designee. (C) Applicability; determination of Interior Property status. (1) This Section applies to every Interior Property and to every Covered Event, in addition to, and not in place of, every other provision of this Chapter, the Covered Permit and its conditions, and Chapters 37 and 95C of the Indio Municipal Code. Where this Section is more restrictive than another provision of this Chapter or of a Covered Permit, this Section controls.
(2) Determination. The Director shall determine, from the Mobility Element, the recorded or Assessor's parcel map, and the approved or proposed parking and transportation plan, whether a Property is an Interior Property, and shall state the determination and the Access Distance in every Covered Permit for the Property. The determination is ministerial. An applicant or permittee may submit a measurement prepared by a licensed surveyor or civil engineer, which the Director shall accept if prepared in accordance with subsection (B)(4). An omission of the determination from a permit does not affect the application of this Section to a Property whose Access Distance is five hundred (500) feet or more. (3) Permits in effect. This Section applies by operation of law to every Covered Permit in effect on the effective date of the ordinance adding this Section. Within thirty (30) days after that date the Director shall serve on the permittee of each such Covered Permit a written notice stating the determination under paragraph (2), and compliance with subsections (D), (E), (F), and (G) is required for every Covered Event. No amendment of the Covered Permit, hearing, or finding is required, and the conditions of the Covered Permit not displaced by this Section remain in effect.
(4) Change in classification. If a street on the Access Route is reclassified by amendment of the Mobility Element, or a new Access Route becomes available, the Director shall redetermine the Access Distance and serve written notice of the redetermination, which takes effect for Covered Events conducted after service. (D) Active sound monitoring; Live Uplink to the Police Department. (1) Requirement. During every Covered Event the permittee shall operate, at the permittee's expense, a Monitoring Device with a Live Uplink to the Police Department. No amplified sound shall be produced, and no
Continued Hearing from 10/7/2026 CC Meeting: Public Hearing to Consider ... Page 359 of 373 Interior Properties Amendment — draft ordinance text Attorney-Client Privilege · Confidential City of Indio · Office of the City Attorney · Page 3 of 7 outdoor event activity shall commence, at a Covered Event unless the Monitoring Device is operating and the Live Uplink has been confirmed in the manner the Chief specifies. (2) Performance floor. A Monitoring Device shall, at a minimum: (a) be a Class 1 instrument under IEC 61672- 1, or its successor, A-weighted, set to slow response, fitted with a windscreen; (b) log one-minute and fiveminute Leq and Lmax continuously; (c) be time-synchronized to a reference clock and record a time stamp with each value; (d) be tamper-evident; (e) be located at the property line of the Property in a location the Chief specifies in writing; (f) be field-calibrated with an external acoustic calibrator before each Covered Event, with calibration records retained with the data; and (g) record and transmit no audio, speech, or video. A Monitoring Device may be permanently installed or deployed for each Covered Event. (3) Device and method of uplink determined by the Chief. The Chief shall determine, and may from time to time revise, by written specifications published on the City's website: (a) the makes, models, or performance class of acceptable Monitoring Devices; (b) the method of Live Uplink, including the transmission medium, data format, and dashboard or interface, with a transmission interval; (c) the alert thresholds and recipients under paragraph (4); (d) the procedure by which the permittee confirms before each Covered Event that the Monitoring Device is operating and the Live Uplink is established; and (e) the procedure for the retention of and access to data. The specifications shall be no less protective than paragraph (2), shall identify at least one commercially available configuration that complies with them, and shall be technology-neutral where feasible. The Chief may approve in writing an alternative device or method that the Chief determines to be equivalent. The specifications are administrative standards for the implementation of this Section, are not conditions of approval, and may be revised without amendment of any Covered Permit; a revision applies to Covered Events conducted more than ninety (90) days after its publication, except that the Chief may apply a revision to a Property sooner upon a substantiated violation relating to noise. (4) Alerts. The Monitoring Device shall alert the Police Department, the Code Enforcement Division, and the event contact under § 4.28.06(G) when a one-minute Leq is within three (3) dBA of, or a five-minute Leq exceeds, the limit applicable to the Covered Event under § 95C.03A(B) of the Indio Municipal Code, under §
4.28.11(F)(2) during a Festival Period, or under any more restrictive limit of the Covered Permit. Upon an alert the permittee shall immediately reduce the sound level so that no exceedance occurs. (5) Operating window. The Monitoring Device and Live Uplink shall operate from one (1) hour before the first scheduled arrival of attendees until the later of one (1) hour after the last attendee has departed the Property, and during any Event Logistics Activity conducted on the day of the Covered Event. (6) Data gaps and tampering. A loss of logging or of the Live Uplink exceeding ten (10) cumulative minutes during the operating window, and any tampering with the Monitoring Device or its data, is a violation of this Section independent of any exceedance. Upon a loss of logging or Live Uplink, amplified sound shall cease until logging and the Live Uplink are restored; if they are not restored within thirty (30) minutes, the Chief of Police may order that amplified sound shall cease for the remainder of the Covered Event. (7) Evidentiary effect; records; no City duty. Data logged by a Monitoring Device are data recorded by a Cityapproved, time-stamped sound-level monitoring device for purposes of § 95C.03A(D) of the Indio Municipal Code and § 4.28.12(K)(1)(b), and are admissible in any administrative proceeding under this Code to establish or rebut a violation. The permittee shall retain the data and calibration records for two (2) years and shall furnish them to the City within five (5) business days after request; data received by the City are public records. The City's access to the Live Uplink creates no duty on the City to monitor, respond to, or give notice of any value or alert, and the permittee's duty to comply with this Chapter, the Covered Permit, and Chapter 95C of the Indio Municipal Code is independent of any alert given or not given. (8) Relationship to § 4.28.11(G)(1). A Monitoring System operated under § 4.28.11(G)(1) that includes a Live Uplink conforming to the Chief's specifications satisfies this subsection, and a Monitoring Device operated under this subsection that is permanently installed and meets § 4.28.11(G)(1)(a) satisfies that paragraph. No Property shall be required to operate two systems.
(E) Attendee arrival and departure by Shuttle only.
Continued Hearing from 10/7/2026 CC Meeting: Public Hearing to Consider ... Page 360 of 373 Interior Properties Amendment — draft ordinance text Attorney-Client Privilege · Confidential City of Indio · Office of the City Attorney · Page 4 of 7 (1) Prohibition. No attendee, guest, invitee, or other person attending a Covered Event, other than a person excepted by paragraph (5), shall arrive at or depart from the Property by any vehicle other than a Shuttle; shall park a vehicle on the Access Route, or on any Residential Street within one thousand (1,000) feet of the Property; or shall be dropped off at, or picked up from any point on the Access Route. The permittee shall provide on-site attendee parking and/or on-site attendee drop-off or pick-up for a Covered Event. (2) Shuttle service. The permittee shall provide, at the permittee's expense, Shuttle service for all attendees of each Covered Event between a remote staging location and the Property, in a number and at a frequency sufficient to complete arrivals and departures within the hours permitted by § 4.28.06(B)(1), with attendants at the Remote Staging Location and at the Property. A Shuttle shall not exceed twenty-five (25) passengers or thirty (30) feet in length unless the Chief approves a larger vehicle in writing for the Access Route. Shuttles shall load and unload only on the Property or at a point the Chief approves in writing, shall not stage, queue, or idle on a Residential Street, and shall travel only on the Access Route unless the Chief approves another route in writing.
(3) Remote Staging Location. The remote staging location shall be approved by the Chief in the parking and transportation plan and shall (a) have direct vehicular access from an Arterial or Secondary Highway with four or more travel lanes, and not from a Residential Street; (b) be an off-street location with capacity for the vehicles of the maximum attendance of the Covered Event, using the City's parking ratios for assembly uses as the default basis for estimating demand; (c) be held under a written agreement with its owner for the dates and hours of use, a copy of which shall be furnished to the Chief; (d) be lighted, staffed, and provided with traffic control sufficient for safe arrival, departure, and boarding; and (e) not be within a residential zone unless the Chief determines in writing that its use will not route event traffic onto a Residential Street.
Rideshare, taxi, and private-vehicle drop-off and pick-up of attendees shall occur only at the Remote Staging Location.
(4) Management of the Access Route. The permittee is responsible for the management of event-related traffic from its entry onto the Access Route until its exit, including attendants and signage at the Property and at the point where the Access Route leaves the Arterial or Secondary Highway, and shall not confine traffic management to the Property. No event-related vehicle other than a Shuttle, a vehicle excepted by paragraph (5), or a vendor vehicle operating in compliance with § 4.28.06(D)(1) and subsection (F) shall travel on the Access Route or on any Residential Street within [one thousand (1,000)] feet of the Property. (5) Disclosure. Every invitation, ticket, contract, listing, advertisement, and rental agreement for a Covered Event, and the informational form required by § 37.012 of the Indio Municipal Code for a Property that is a short-term rental, shall state that attendees must arrive and depart by Shuttle from the Remote Staging Location and that no attendee drop-off, or pick-up is permitted on the neighboring streets serving the Property.
(6) Attribution to the permittee. A violation of paragraph (1) by an attendee is a violation of this Section by the permittee where the permittee caused, permitted, or allowed it, or failed to take the measures required by paragraphs above to prevent it. The unpermitted pedestrian arrival at the Property, or pickup/dropoff on the Access Route, of three (3) or more attendee vehicles during a single Covered Event is prima facie evidence of such a violation.
(F) Event Logistics Activity prohibited during Quiet Hours. (1) Prohibition. No Event Logistics Activity shall occur on the Property or on the Access Route during Quiet Hours, as defined in clause (i) of the definition of that term in § 95C.02 of the Indio Municipal Code or as made more restrictive by the Covered Permit. Without limiting the generality of this paragraph, during Quiet Hours no person shall, in connection with a Covered Event, make or receive a delivery; remove, load, or unload any item described in subsection (B)(10)(a); cause a commercial vehicle, truck, trailer, bus, or eventproduction vehicle to arrive at, depart from, move on, back up on, or idle on the Property or the Access Route; sound a back-up alarm; pick up or drop off equipment or vendor, production, or service personnel; set up; or break down, take down, dismantle, or strike any tent, canopy, stage, sound or lighting equipment, furnishing, portable sanitation facility, generator, or rental item.
Continued Hearing from 10/7/2026 CC Meeting: Public Hearing to Consider ... Page 361 of 373 Interior Properties Amendment — draft ordinance text Attorney-Client Privilege · Confidential City of Indio · Office of the City Attorney · Page 5 of 7 (2) Exceptions. Paragraph (1) does not prohibit (a) action necessary to respond to an emergency or to comply with an order of an enforcement official; (b) switching off equipment, lighting, or a generator; (c) the carrying by hand, without amplified sound and without the use of carts or vehicles, of food, beverages, and tableware into the dwelling; or (d) attendee departure by Shuttle in compliance with subsection (E) within the hours permitted by § 4.28.06(B)(1).
(3) Scheduling; vehicles remaining on the Property. All Event Logistics Activity shall be scheduled and completed between 8:00 a.m. and the beginning of Quiet Hours on the day of the Covered Event or on a day before or after it, and shall be conducted on the Property and not on the Access Route except for the arrival and departure of vehicles. A vendor or production vehicle that is on the Property at the beginning of Quiet Hours shall remain stationary on the Property, with its engine and all auxiliary units off, until 8:00 a.m. A refrigeration unit may operate during Quiet Hours if it is not Plainly Audible at the property line of any Receiving Residential Property. No vehicle shall be staged on the Access Route at any time. (4) Relationship to § 4.28.06(B)(2). For an Interior Property, this subsection applies in place of the sentence of § 4.28.06(B)(2) that permits breakdown and vendor load-out after the end of an event, to the extent that the breakdown or load-out would occur during Quiet Hours. Breakdown and load-out outside Quiet Hours remain subject to § 4.28.06(B)(2).
Part 2. Conforming amendments
The companion ordinance shall include the following amendments Amendment of § 4.28.02 (Definitions). Section 4.28.02 is amended by adding, in alphabetical order: "ACCESS DISTANCE. Has the meaning given in § 4.28.13(B)(4)." "ACCESS ROUTE. Has the meaning given in §
4.28.13(B)(3)." "COVERED EVENT. Has the meaning given in § 4.28.13(B)(1)." "COVERED PERMIT. Has the meaning given in § 4.28.13(B)(1)." "EVENT LOGISTICS ACTIVITY. Has the meaning given in § 4.28.13(B)(10)." "INTERIOR PROPERTY. A Property that holds, or is the subject of an application or Registration for, an Administrative Use Permit, a Conditional Use Permit, a Deemed Approved Permit, [or a Temporary Use Permit under § 4.28.10 or § 4.28.11(D)(3),] and whose Access Distance, as defined in § 4.28.13, is five hundred (500) feet or more." "LIVE UPLINK. Has the meaning given in § 4.28.13(B)(7)." "MONITORING DEVICE. Has the meaning given in § 4.28.13(B)(7)." "REMOTE STAGING LOCATION. Has the meaning given in §
4.28.13(B)(8)." "RESIDENTIAL STREET. Has the meaning given in § 4.28.13(B)(2)." "SHUTTLE. Has the meaning given in § 4.28.13(B)(9)."
Amendment of § 4.28.05(A)(3)(h) and (D)(1)(d)–(e). Section 4.28.05(A)(3)(h) is amended by adding at the end: ", and, for an Interior Property, the Shuttle and Remote Staging plan required by § 4.28.13(G)(1)." Section 4.28.05(D)(1)(d) is amended by adding at the end: ", and, for an Interior Property, the Monitoring Device and Live Uplink required by § 4.28.13(D)." Section 4.28.05(D)(1)(e) is amended by adding at the end: "; for an Interior Property, the requirements of § 4.28.13(E) apply in every case." Amendment of § 4.28.06(B)(2), (C)(4), and (D)(1)–(2). Section 4.28.06(B)(2) is amended by adding at the end:
"For an Interior Property, breakdown and vendor load-out are further governed by § 4.28.13(F)." Section
4.28.06(C)(4) is amended by adding at the end: "For an Interior Property, a Monitoring Device with a Live Uplink is required by § 4.28.13(D) for every Regulated Residential Event." Section 4.28.06(D)(1) is amended by adding at the end: "For an Interior Property, all attendee vehicles shall be parked at the Remote Staging Location and attendees shall arrive and depart by Shuttle as § 4.28.13(E) requires." Section 4.28.06(D)(2) is amended by adding at the end: "For an Interior Property, the parking and transportation plan shall conform to § 4.28.13(E) and (G)."
Amendment of § 4.28.08(F) and (I). Section 4.28.08(F) is amended by adding a new paragraph (18): "(18) A violation of § 4.28.13, of a plan approved under § 4.28.13(G), or of a specification of the Chief of Police under § 4.28.13(D)(3), at an Interior Property." Section 4.28.08(I) is amended by adding, after clause (5): "(5A) At an Interior Property, is being conducted without an operating Monitoring Device and confirmed Live Uplink, without the Shuttle service required by § 4.28.13(E), with attendee vehicles arriving at the Property or on the Access Route, or with Event Logistics Activity occurring during Quiet Hours, as provided in § 4.28.13(H)(3);".
Continued Hearing from 10/7/2026 CC Meeting: Public Hearing to Consider ... Page 362 of 373 Interior Properties Amendment — draft ordinance text Attorney-Client Privilege · Confidential City of Indio · Office of the City Attorney · Page 6 of 7 Amendment of § 4.28.11 (Festival Period Event and Occupancy Standards). The amendments of §
4.28.11(B)(6), (B)(7), (G)(1), and (G)(3) formerly set out here are incorporated in the Festivals Amendment, which defines "Interior Property" by reference to § 4.28.02 and this Section, applies § 4.28.13(D) and (E) to every Festival Period Event at an Interior Property, and provides in § 4.28.11(F)(2) that the Quiet Hours established for a Festival Period govern for purposes of subsections (E) and (F) of this Section. No separate amendment of § 4.28.11 is made by this document.
Amendment of § 4.28.12(G) and (H)(1). Section 4.28.12(G) is amended by adding a new paragraph (10): "(10) Interior Properties. For a Deemed Approved Property that is an Interior Property, the standards of §
4.28.13(D), (E), (F), and (G), as that Section provides." Section 4.28.12(H)(1) is amended by adding at the end:
"The standards of § 4.28.13 apply to a Deemed Approved Property that is an Interior Property by operation of that Section and are not conditions imposed under this subsection." Amendment of IMC § 95C.03A(D) and (F). Section 95C.03A(D) of the Indio Municipal Code is amended by inserting ", or by a Monitoring Device operated pursuant to Section 4.28.13 of the Unified Development Code," after "Chapter 4.28 of the Unified Development Code". Section 95C.03A(F) is amended by adding at the end: "For an Interior Property as defined in Chapter 4.28 of the Unified Development Code, a Monitoring Device with a Live Uplink to the Police Department is required by Section 4.28.13 of that Code during every Regulated Residential Event, and the specifications of the Chief of Police under that Section govern the device and the method of transmission."
Amendment of IMC § 37.012(B). Section 37.012(B) of the Indio Municipal Code is amended by adding at the end: "For a short-term rental on an Interior Property as defined in Chapter 4.28 of the Unified Development Code, the informational form and the rental agreement shall state the Shuttle and Remote Staging Location requirements of Section 4.28.13(E) of that Code for any Regulated Residential Event at the property." Amendment of Section 6 of Ordinance No. 1851 (Annual Implementation Report). Section 6 of Ordinance No. 1851 is amended by inserting, after "by tier;", "the number of Interior Properties determined under §
4.28.13, the Covered Events conducted on them, Monitoring Device alerts and exceedances, data-gap violations, Shuttle and Remote Staging Location compliance, and Event Logistics Activity violations, with the Chief of Police's recommendations on the specifications under § 4.28.13(D)(3) and the Access Distance threshold;".
Part 3. Legislative findings for the companion amendment (Interior Properties Amendment)
General Plan consistency (UDC § 6.06.01(I)(1); Gov. Code § 65860). The City Council incorporates the findings of Section 1 of Ordinance No. 1851 and further finds that § 4.28.13 implements the Mobility Element's street hierarchy, under which Local/Neighborhood Streets and Collectors serve the residences along them and Arterials and Secondary Highways carry through traffic, by keeping event traffic, deliveries, and load-out off the residential streets that provide access to Interior Properties; implements Noise Element Policies NE-1.1, NE-3.1, and NE-3.3 and Table 11-2, Programs 1 and 5, by requiring continuous objective measurement of event noise available to the Police Department while the event is in progress and by prohibiting the logistics activity that accompanies an event during Quiet Hours; implements Land Use Policies LU-1.1, LU-6.5, and LU-6.7 and the direction at page 3-47 to keep neighborhoods stable by buffering residences along the access route from the operations of the event use; and implements Safety Element Policies SE-2.5 and SE-3.8 by keeping the access route clear of attendee and vendor vehicles during the event and Policy SE-1.9 by recovering the cost of public-safety review.
Rational basis for the Interior Property classification. The City Council finds that a Regulated Residential Event on a Property reached by five hundred (500) feet or more of Residential Street imposes on the residents along that street impacts of traffic, noise, and disturbance that an event on a Property with direct access to an Arterial or Secondary Highway does not impose on any resident; that the record before the Council, including the testimony received at the Planning Commission hearings of July 22 and August 12, 2026, the City's enforcement history, and the written comments of residents along the streets serving the City's event properties, documents those impacts; that five hundred (500) feet is a distance beyond which
Continued Hearing from 10/7/2026 CC Meeting: Public Hearing to Consider ... Page 363 of 373 Interior Properties Amendment — draft ordinance text Attorney-Client Privilege · Confidential City of Indio · Office of the City Attorney · Page 7 of 7 event traffic necessarily passes multiple residential frontages; and that the additional standards of § 4.28.13 are reasonably related to those impacts and apply uniformly to every Property that meets the objective test.
Internal consistency (UDC § 6.06.01(I)(2)); zone boundaries (§ 6.06.01(I)(3)). Section 4.28.13 is placed in Chapter 4.28 following § 4.28.12, uses the permit, condition, compliance review, suspension, revocation, immediate-action, and appeal procedures of §§ 4.28.05, 4.28.06, 4.28.08, 4.28.11, and 4.28.12 and of Chapter 12 of the Indio Municipal Code, and is made consistent with §§ 4.28.02, 4.28.05, 4.28.06, 4.28.08,
4.28.11, and 4.28.12 and with Chapters 37 and 95C of the Indio Municipal Code by the conforming amendments adopted with it. The amendment changes no zone boundary.
California Environmental Quality Act. On each of the following independent and alternative grounds, the adoption of § 4.28.13 is not subject to, or is exempt from, CEQA: (A) it is not a project under Public Resources Code § 21065 and Guidelines § 15378, because it imposes additional operating standards on an accessory use already regulated by Chapter 4.28, approves no event at any location, and commits the City to no course of action with respect to any specific Property (Guidelines § 15060(c)(2)–(3)); (B) it is exempt under Guidelines § 15061(b)(3), because, measured against the existing-conditions baseline and against Chapter 4.28 as adopted, continuous monitoring, the elimination of attendee traffic from residential streets, and the prohibition of logistics activity during Quiet Hours can only reduce the noise and traffic impacts of permitted events, and it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility of a significant effect on the environment; and (C) it is categorically exempt under Guidelines §§ 15307 and 15308 as an action by a regulatory agency, authorized by state and local law, to assure the maintenance and protection of the environment, which relaxes no existing standard, involves no construction, and imposes standards that do not exist under current law, and no exception under Guidelines § 15300.2 applies. The Council has considered the comments asserting that the ordinances adopting and amending Chapter 4.28 will increase noise, traffic, and wastewater impacts and finds, as it found in Section 7 of Ordinance No. 1851, that they describe potential impacts of future events conducted under permits, each of which remains subject to the operating standards and enforcement provisions of this Chapter as supplemented by § 4.28.13.
Continued Hearing from 10/7/2026 CC Meeting: Public Hearing to Consider ... Page 364 of 373 City of Indio · Office of the City Attorney · Page 1 of 9
O F F I C E O F T H E C I T Y A T T O R N E Y
City of Indio
Steven G. Pacifico, City Attorney · (909) 230-4209 · [email protected] D R A F T A M E N D M E N T · C O M P A N I O N T O U D C C H A P T E R 4 . 2 8 · D E E M E D A P P R O V E D Deemed Approved Amendment
Proposed UDC § 4.28.12 (Deemed Approved Permits for Existing Event Properties), New UDC § 4.28.12
4.28.12. Deemed Approved Permits for Existing Event Properties. (A) Purpose and findings. The City Council finds that certain residential properties within the City have, for a period of years before the City gave public notice of its intent to adopt this Chapter, conducted Regulated Residential Events as an accessory use of a lawfully established single-family dwelling under Temporary Use Permits lawfully issued by the City, that those properties have an operating history the City can verify from its own records, that the standards, conditions, compliance review, and enforcement provisions of this Chapter can be applied to those properties by operation of this Section without a discretionary application, and that confirming existing accessory event uses at documented intensity, on large lots within place types the General Plan identifies for hospitality and recreational secondary uses, subject to every operating standard of this Chapter, is consistent with the General Plan and with the purposes of this Chapter. This Section is a transitional measure adopted in the exercise of the City's legislative discretion. It confers no right on any Property that does not satisfy its terms, and it does not authorize any use other than a Regulated Residential Event accessory to a lawful residential use.
(B) Definitions. For purposes of this Section:
(1) "Deemed Approved Permit" means the permit issued by the Director under subsection (D)(5) upon a Registration that satisfies subsection (C).
(2) "Deemed Approved Property" means a Property for which a Deemed Approved Permit is in effect. (3) "Existing Event Property" means a Property that satisfies each criterion of subsection (C). (4) "Registration" means the filing described in subsection (D)(2), and "Registration Date" means the date on which a complete Registration is filed.
(5) "Registration Deadline" means February 1, 2027. or the thirtieth (30th) day after the effective date of the ordinance adding this Section, whichever is later.
(6) "Objective Noise Strike" has the meaning given in subsection (K)(1). (7) "Confirmed Issue" has the meaning given in subsection (H)(2). (8) "Tier AUP Cap" means the maximum attendance that may be authorized by Administrative Use Permit for the Property's tier under § 4.28.04(B).
(C) Eligibility. A Property is an Existing Event Property only if the Director confirms each of the following from the Registration and the City's records, without the exercise of discretion:
(1) The Property is located in a residential zone and has a Net Lot Area of not less than one (1) acre.
Contiguous parcels under common ownership or control operated as a single estate constitute one Property
Continued Hearing from 10/7/2026 CC Meeting: Public Hearing to Consider ... Page 365 of 373 Deemed Approved Amendment — draft ordinance text Attorney-Client Privilege · Confidential City of Indio · Office of the City Attorney · Page 2 of 9 under § 4.28.02. Regardless of size, each Existing Event Property shall be deemed qualified for Tier 2 status under this Chapter.
(2) The Property contains a lawfully established single-family dwelling, including a legal nonconforming dwelling, occupied or maintained as the primary use of the Property. (3) Regulated Residential Events were conducted on the Property under not fewer than three (3) Temporary Use Permits issued by the City under § 4.27.04(B)(8) for events held on or before July 22, 2026 and within the thirty-six (36) months preceding that date.
(4) During the period described in paragraph (3) and through the Registration Date, no Temporary Use Permit or short-term rental permit issued for the Property was revoked. (5) All City taxes, fees, fines, and penalties assessed against the Property or its owner, including transient occupancy tax where applicable, are paid current.
(6) If the Property is operated as a short-term rental, it holds a valid permit under Chapter 37 of the Indio Municipal Code.
(D) Registration.
(1) Who may register. A Registration may be filed only by the owner or owners of record of the Property, and every owner of record shall sign it. An entity owner shall identify its authorized signatory and shall disclose each person holding a controlling interest in the entity in the manner required of a short-term rental applicant under Chapter 37 of the Indio Municipal Code. (2) Contents. The Registration shall contain the following: the information required by § 4.28.05(A)(1); the site plan required by § 4.28.05(A)(2); a description of the event program stated as the maximum attendance; a security and crowd-management plan submitted for the approval of the Chief of Police; a parking and transportation plan sized to the claimed maximum attendance; a sanitation plan where the Property is not connected to public sewer; the neighborhood management plan with the twenty-four (24) hour event contact telephone number required by § 4.28.05(A)(4); proof of the insurance required by § 4.28.05(A)(6); and the indemnity agreement required by § 4.28.05(A)(7). The Registration shall also contain a copy of each Temporary Use Permit relied upon under subsection (C)(3), with the date, authorized attendance, and hours of the event it covered.
(3) Fee. The Registration shall be accompanied by the registration fee established by resolution of the City Council or, until if that that resolution has not been adopted, the fee established for an Administrative Use Permit application under this Chapter.
(4) Completeness. Within ten (10) days after a Registration is filed, the Director shall determine whether it is complete and, if it is not, shall identify in writing each item that is missing. The registrant may supply the missing items within thirty (30) days after the Director's notice, and a Registration so completed retains its original filing date. A Registration not completed within that period is deemed withdrawn. (5) Determination. Within thirty (30) days after a Registration is complete, the Director shall issue a written determination that either (a) confirms that the Property is an Existing Event Property and issues a Deemed Approved Permit stating the performance standards under subsection (G), and any conditions imposed under subsection (H)(1); or (b) denies the Registration, stating each criterion of subsection (C) that is not met and the record relied upon. The Director's determination is ministerial as to eligibility and scope. (6) Appeal of a denial. A denial of a Registration is a decision of the Director on an initial approval and may be appealed as provided in § 6.03.13 and § 4.28.08(N). An owner whose Registration is denied may file an application for an Administrative Use Permit or Conditional Use Permit under this Chapter at any time.
Continued Hearing from 10/7/2026 CC Meeting: Public Hearing to Consider ... Page 366 of 373 Deemed Approved Amendment — draft ordinance text Attorney-Client Privilege · Confidential City of Indio · Office of the City Attorney · Page 3 of 9 (E) Registration periods and level of status.
(1) Timely Registration. Registration opens on the effective date of the ordinance adding this Section. A Deemed Approved Permit issued on a complete Registration filed on or before the Registration Deadline confers the status of a Tier 2 Conditional Use Permit as provided in subsection (F)(1). (2) Late Registration. A Property that does not register by the Registration Deadline proceeds under § 4.28.10 and the other provisions of this Chapter.
(F) Scope of the Deemed Approved Permit.
(1) Status conferred. A Deemed Approved Permit issued on a timely Registration under subsection (E)(1) is a Tier 2 Conditional Use Permit for every purpose of this Chapter and the Indio Municipal Code, including but not limited to, §§ 4.28.06, 4.28.08, 4.28.09, and 4.28.11, of Chapter 37 of the Indio Municipal Code, and of Chapter 95C of the Indio Municipal Code. The status is conferred by this Section upon the Director's confirmation under subsection (D)(5) and does not depend on the validity of any Temporary Use Permit previously issued for the Property.
(2) Maximum attendance. The maximum number of persons present on the Property at any one time during a Regulated Residential Event, counted as attendance is counted under § 4.28.02, is the highest attendance authorized by a Temporary Use Permit relied upon under subsection (C)(3), plus a tolerance of thirty percent (30%), and in no case more than the occupancy that the Building Official and the Fire Chief determine the Property can safely accommodate.
(3) Hours and operating standards. The hours of operation established by § 4.28.06(B) and every other operating standard of § 4.28.06 apply to a Deemed Approved Property without modification. Nothing in a Deemed Approved Permit relaxes any hour, sound limit, or Quiet Hours as defined in § 95C.02 of the Indio Municipal Code, and the findings described in § 95C.03A(E) of the Indio Municipal Code are not available for a Deemed Approved Permit.
(4) Runs with the land. The Deemed Approved Permit runs with the land and terminates only upon revocation or the cessation of Regulated Residential Events on the Property for twelve (12) consecutive months.
(5) No vested right; no nonconforming use. A Deemed Approved Permit is a conditional authorization under this Chapter. It is not a vested right and does not establish a legal nonconforming use. Section 4.28.10(D) applies to a Deemed Approved Property except to the extent of the authorization the Deemed Approved Permit confers, and applies without exception to any Property that is not a Deemed Approved Property. (6) Chapter 37 safe harbor. A Regulated Residential Event conducted at a short-term rental under, and in compliance with, a Deemed Approved Permit constitutes express authorization under Chapter 37 of the Indio Municipal Code to the same extent as an event conducted under a Conditional Use Permit. (7) Changes in scope. No increase in the maximum attendance, hours, or event areas authorized by a Deemed Approved Permit may be made except by an Administrative Use Permit or Conditional Use Permit issued under this Chapter and Article 6, for which the owner may apply at any time. A Deemed Approved Permit continues in effect until an Administrative Use Permit or Conditional Use Permit for the Property takes effect, and thereupon merges into it.
(G) Performance standards. Every Deemed Approved Permit is subject, by operation of this Section and as restated in the permit, to each of the following, and a violation of any of them is a ground for action under subsection (K):
Continued Hearing from 10/7/2026 CC Meeting: Public Hearing to Consider ... Page 367 of 373 Deemed Approved Amendment — draft ordinance text Attorney-Client Privilege · Confidential City of Indio · Office of the City Attorney · Page 4 of 9 (1) Hours. Regulated Residential Events, including guest arrival and departure, food and beverage service, entertainment, and use of outdoor amenities, shall be conducted only within the hours established by §
4.28.06(B)(1), and breakdown and load-out shall comply with § 4.28.06(B)(2). (2) Noise. No amplified sound or outdoor event activity shall be plainly audible beyond the property line during Quiet Hours, as provided in § 4.28.06(C)(1), and every Regulated Residential Event shall comply at all times with the exterior noise limits of § 95C.03A(B) of the Indio Municipal Code measured at the property line of any Receiving Residential Property under the protocol of § 95C.03A(C). The exemption of § 95C.09(C) of the Indio Municipal Code does not apply to a Deemed Approved Property. (3) Parking. All guest and vendor vehicles shall be parked on the Property or removed by valet or shuttle to the off-site location identified in the approved parking and transportation plan, shall not be parked in front of any other residence or any community facility, and shall not obstruct any driveway, fire hydrant, or public right-of-way, as provided in § 4.28.06(D).
(4) Security. Every Regulated Residential Event shall be conducted in accordance with the security and crowdmanagement plan approved by the Chief of Police under § 4.28.06(F)(2), including any on-site manager, licensed security personnel, or City public-safety personnel the plan or the Chief of Police requires under §
4.28.06(F)(2) and (3), at the permittee's expense.
(5) Sanitation and safety. Emergency access, fire access, fire safety, restrooms, handwashing facilities, and waste service shall be provided as required by § 4.28.06(F)(1) and the approved sanitation plan. (6) Event contact. The permittee shall maintain the event contact telephone number and shall respond to City personnel within the times required by § 4.28.06(G). (7) Records. The permittee shall maintain the records required by § 4.28.09 and shall, in addition, record each Regulated Residential Event before it begins, stating the date, the expected attendance, the hours, and whether the notice required by paragraph (8) was given, and shall produce the record on request and at each compliance review under subsection (J).
(8) Standard conditions. The conditions listed in § 4.28.05(D)(1)(a) through (i), as the Director states them in the Deemed Approved Permit on the basis of the Registration, including a setback of not less than one hundred (100) feet for amplified sound sources where the Property adjoins a parcel designated for a higher residential density.
(H) Additional conditions.
(1) At Registration. In issuing a Deemed Approved Permit, the Director may attach property-specific conditions drawn from § 4.28.05(D)(1), including a City-approved time-stamped sound-level monitoring device at the property line or third-party monitoring under § 95C.03A(F) of the Indio Municipal Code, speaker placement and setbacks, parking and shuttle requirements, and the Chief of Police may require the measures authorized by § 4.28.06(F)(2) and (3) as conditions of the security and crowd-management plan, and such other measures as may be necessary for the public welfare and safety. Each condition imposed under this paragraph shall be supported by a written statement of the facts in the Registration or in the City's records for the Property, including any complaint and response history, conditions of prior Temporary Use Permits, site configuration, and proximity of Receiving Residential Properties, that warrant it, and shall be limited to a condition of a kind that would be imposed on an Administrative Use Permit or Conditional Use Permit for a comparable Property. A condition imposed under this paragraph may be appealed by the applicant together with the determination as provided in subsection (D)(6). (2) Limits. No condition imposed under this subsection shall reduce the maximum attendance or annual frequency fixed under subsection (F), shorten the hours established by § 4.28.06(B), or suspend or revoke the
Continued Hearing from 10/7/2026 CC Meeting: Public Hearing to Consider ... Page 368 of 373 Deemed Approved Amendment — draft ordinance text Attorney-Client Privilege · Confidential City of Indio · Office of the City Attorney · Page 5 of 9 Deemed Approved Permit; those actions are available only under subsection (K). A condition imposed under this subsection is a condition of approval enforceable under § 4.28.08(B). (I) Neighbor notice.
(1) Notice of Registration. Within fifteen (15) days after issuing a Deemed Approved Permit, the City shall mail notice to the owners and occupants of all parcels within five hundred (500) feet of the Property stating the scope of the permit, including the maximum attendance and the hours; the conditions imposed; the event contact telephone number; the Indio Police Department non-emergency telephone number; how to lodge a complaint; and how to be placed on the list of persons to be notified of the compliance review under subsection (J). The City shall list each Deemed Approved Property, with the same information, on a registry of Deemed Approved Properties published on the City's website. (2) Determination is ministerial. The Director's determination under subsection (D)(5) is ministerial and may be appealed only by the applicant. Owners and occupants of neighboring parcels participate through the complaint record, the notices required by this subsection and subsection (G)(8), the compliance review under subsection (J), and any proceeding under subsection (K), at which they may testify. (3) Notice of compliance review. Not less than thirty (30) days before the close of the review window under subsection (J)(1), the City shall mail notice of the review to the owners and occupants described in paragraph (1), inviting written comments within twenty-one (21) days and stating where the Property's event record and complaint history may be inspected.
(J) Compliance review.
(1) Timing. The Director shall conduct the first compliance review of each Deemed Approved Permit within the window beginning eleven (11) months and ending thirteen (13) months after the Registration Date, and thereafter on the twelve-month cycle established by § 4.28.08(E). (2) Record reviewed. The review shall consider the record maintained under subsection (G)(7); every substantiated violation at the Property under this Chapter and Chapters 37 and 95C of the Indio Municipal Code, distinguishing Objective Noise Strikes from other substantiated violations; responses to the Property by the Police Department, the Fire Department, and the Code Enforcement Division; data from any monitoring device required for the Property; written comments received; and the permittee's written response, which may be filed within the comment period.
(3) Outcomes. Within thirty (30) days after the comment period closes, the Director shall issue written findings that (a) confirm the Deemed Approved Permit; (b) confirm it with additional conditions imposed under subsection (H)(2), treating the review record as the Confirmed Issue; or (c) initiate suspension or revocation under subsection (K) on the grounds the record supports. The findings shall be served on the permittee and mailed to each person who submitted comments or asked to be notified. Findings under clause (b) are appealable as provided in subsection (H)(2); findings under clause (c) proceed under subsection (K).
(4) Effect. The compliance review is not a renewal and confers no vested right, and the City's failure to complete a review within the window stated in paragraph (1) does not invalidate the Deemed Approved Permit or limit any later enforcement action.
(K) Strikes, suspension, and revocation.
(1) Objective Noise Strike. An "Objective Noise Strike" is a second violation of the exterior noise limits of § 95C.03A(B) of the Indio Municipal Code at the property line of a Receiving Residential Property within a 30-
Continued Hearing from 10/7/2026 CC Meeting: Public Hearing to Consider ... Page 369 of 373 Deemed Approved Amendment — draft ordinance text Attorney-Client Privilege · Confidential City of Indio · Office of the City Attorney · Page 6 of 9 day period, attributable to an Event or Assembly Use on the Property, that are established by (a) a soundlevel measurement made by an enforcement official in substantial compliance with § 95C.03A(C) of the Indio Municipal Code, or (b) data recorded by a City-approved monitoring device described in § 95C.03A(D) of the Indio Municipal Code, and that is either not contested or upheld on review. Not more than one Objective Noise Strike accrues per calendar day. Objective Noise Strikes are counted per Property on a rolling twelve (12) month basis, are disregarded twelve (12) months after the date of the incident, and shall be recorded in the permit file together with the measurement record required by § 95C.03A(C) or the device data. (2) Violations that are not strikes. A noise violation established only by an enforcement official's observation under § 95C.03(A) of the Indio Municipal Code, under the plainly audible standard of § 95C.03A(A) of the Indio Municipal Code, or by the sworn statements of complaining witnesses under § 95C.10(C)(5)(d) of the Indio Municipal Code is not an Objective Noise Strike and is not, by itself, a ground for suspension or revocation of a Deemed Approved Permit.
(3) Override of § 4.28.08(F)(3) and (F)(4) as to noise. Notwithstanding § 4.28.08(F)(3) and (F)(4), with respect to a Deemed Approved Permit: (a) a noise violation is a ground for suspension or revocation only as an Objective Noise Strike under this subsection; and (b) the Property's entry into Enhanced Enforcement Status is not itself a ground for suspension or revocation, provided that the City may rely on any Objective Noise Strike that contributed to that status. Section 4.28.08(F)(4) continues to apply to substantiated violations that are not noise violations. Nothing in this paragraph affects the grounds for suspension, modification, or revocation of a short-term rental permit under § 37.016 of the Indio Municipal Code. (4) Strike thresholds. Two (2)] Objective Noise Strikes within a rolling twelve (12) month period are a ground for the Director to immediately add a condition requiring a City-approved monitoring device under § 95C.03A(F) of the Indio Municipal Code if one is not already required. Three (3) Objective Noise Strikes within a rolling twelve (12) month period are a ground for suspension or revocation. (5) Other grounds. Each of the following is a ground for suspension or revocation of a Deemed Approved Permit, and the Director and, on appeal, the Designated Hearing Officer shall consider the factors stated in §
4.28.08(G), except that a ground under subparagraph (a) supports revocation without regard to those factors: (a) fraud, a material misstatement, or a material omission in the Registration, a re-registration, or any certification; (b) a Regulated Residential Event at which attendance exceeded the maximum fixed under subsection (F)(2) by more than ten percent (10%) or twenty-five (25) persons, whichever is less; (c) a Regulated Residential Event conducted outside the hours required by subsection (G)(1); (d) failure to provide the security personnel, City public-safety personnel, parking controls, sanitation facilities, or insurance required by the Deemed Approved Permit; (e) a serious incident described in § 4.28.08(F)(5); (f) loss of the residential primary use of the Property, or the dwelling ceasing to be occupied or maintained as a residence; and (g) failure to comply with a condition imposed under subsection (H) or with a corrective directive issued under § 4.28.08(H).
(6) Procedure. Suspension and revocation of a Deemed Approved Permit shall follow the procedure of §
4.28.08(H), including written notice of the proposed action and its factual and legal grounds, a period of not fewer than ten (10) days to respond in writing, and a stay pending a timely appeal. The authority of the officials named in § 4.28.08(I) to suspend a permit immediately or to order an event to cease applies to a Deemed Approved Property without modification, including the ground stated in § 4.28.08(I)(4), and operates independently of paragraphs (1) through (5). An appeal shall be filed with the City Clerk within ten (10) calendar days after service of the decision and shall be heard by the Designated Hearing Officer under §
4.28.08(J), who shall hear the matter de novo; the City bears the burden of establishing the grounds for the action by a preponderance of the evidence; an expedited appeal of an immediate order shall follow §
4.28.08(K); and the Designated Hearing Officer may make any disposition available under § 4.28.08(J),
Continued Hearing from 10/7/2026 CC Meeting: Public Hearing to Consider ... Page 370 of 373 Deemed Approved Amendment — draft ordinance text Attorney-Client Privilege · Confidential City of Indio · Office of the City Attorney · Page 7 of 9 including the substitution of conditions for suspension or revocation. The structure for hearing appeals that the City Council selects under § 4.28.08(J) applies to appeals under this subsection. (7) Effect of suspension and revocation. During a suspension, no Regulated Residential Event shall be advertised, booked, conducted, permitted, allowed, or facilitated at the Property under the Deemed Approved Permit, as provided in § 4.28.08(L). Upon revocation, the Deemed Approved Permit terminates, all advertising and marketing relying upon it shall be removed, and no application for an Administrative Use Permit or Conditional Use Permit under this Chapter may be submitted for the Property for twelve (12) months after the effective date of revocation, or for such longer period not exceeding twenty-four (24) months as the Designated Hearing Officer establishes under § 4.28.08(L). After that period the owner may apply for an Administrative Use Permit or Conditional Use Permit under this Chapter and Article 6. A Property whose Deemed Approved Permit has been revoked shall not again be registered under this Section.
Revocation of a Deemed Approved Permit does not by itself affect a permit issued under Chapter 37 of the Indio Municipal Code, which is governed by § 37.016 of that Code. (L) Relationship to § 4.28.10 and other provisions.
(1) Active Application. A Property for which a complete Registration is on file is treated as having an Active Application for purposes of § 4.28.10(C) from the Registration Date until the Director's determination under subsection (D)(5) and any appeal of it are final, and Temporary Use Permits may be issued for the Property during that period as provided in § 4.28.10(C)(3). Upon issuance of a Deemed Approved Permit, the Deemed Approved Permit governs.
(2) Concurrent applications. The owner of a Deemed Approved Property may file an application for an Administrative Use Permit or Conditional Use Permit under this Chapter at any time. The Deemed Approved Permit and the application coexist until the Administrative Use Permit or Conditional Use Permit takes effect, and the Deemed Approved Permit then merges into it as provided in subsection (F)(8). (3) Other provisions. Except as expressly provided in this Section, every provision of this Chapter applies to a Deemed Approved Property and to a Deemed Approved Permit as it applies to a Property holding, and to, an Administrative Use Permit or Conditional Use Permit. In the event of a conflict between this Section and any other provision of this Chapter, this Section controls as to a Deemed Approved Permit.
Part 2. Conforming amendments
The amendment also includes the following conforming amendments.
Amendment of § 4.28.02 (Definitions). Section 4.28.02 is amended by adding, in alphabetical order:
"CONFIRMED ISSUE. Has the meaning given in § 4.28.12(H)(2)." "DEEMED APPROVED PERMIT. Has the meaning given in § 4.28.12(B)(1)." "DEEMED APPROVED PROPERTY. Has the meaning given in §
4.28.12(B)(2)." "EXISTING EVENT PROPERTY. Has the meaning given in § 4.28.12(B)(3)." "OBJECTIVE NOISE STRIKE. Has the meaning given in § 4.28.12(K)(1)." "REGISTRATION. Has the meaning given in §
4.28.12(B)(4)." The definitions of "Large Residential Event" and "Small Residential Event" are amended by inserting ", or a Deemed Approved Permit issued under § 4.28.12," after each reference to an Administrative Use Permit or Conditional Use Permit as the authorization under which the event is conducted.
Amendment of § 4.28.01(C)(3). Section 4.28.01(C)(3) is amended by inserting ", or under a Deemed Approved Permit issued under § 4.28.12, or under a Temporary Use Permit issued under § 4.28.10," after "Conditional Use Permit issued under this Chapter," so that the safe harbor of that paragraph and of §
37.015(M) of the Indio Municipal Code extend to the same authorizations.
Amendment of § 4.28.03(A)(2) and § 4.28.10(A)(3). Section 4.28.03(A)(2) is amended by inserting "or a Deemed Approved Permit issued under § 4.28.12" after "Conditional Use Permit issued under this Chapter."
Continued Hearing from 10/7/2026 CC Meeting: Public Hearing to Consider ... Page 371 of 373 Deemed Approved Amendment — draft ordinance text Attorney-Client Privilege · Confidential City of Indio · Office of the City Attorney · Page 8 of 9 Section 4.28.10(A)(3) is amended to read: "On and after the AUP/CUP Compliance Date, no Regulated Residential Event shall be conducted except (a) under an AUP or CUP issued under this Chapter, (b) under a Deemed Approved Permit issued under § 4.28.12, or (c) under a Temporary Use Permit issued under subsection (C) for a property with an Active Application, including a property treated as having an Active Application under § 4.28.12(L)(1)."
Amendment of § 4.28.04(B). Section 4.28.04(B) is amended by adding at the end: "A Deemed Approved Permit issued under § 4.28.12 is a Conditional Use Permit or an Administrative Use Permit for purposes of this subsection as § 4.28.12(F)(1) provides, and the maximum attendance and annual number of Regulated Residential Events under a Deemed Approved Permit are fixed by § 4.28.12(F)(2) and (3) rather than by conditions of approval."
Amendment of § 4.28.08(F), (N), and (O). Section 4.28.08(F) is amended by adding at the end: "With respect to a Deemed Approved Permit issued under § 4.28.12, paragraphs (3) and (4) of this subsection apply as modified by § 4.28.12(K)(3)." Section 4.28.08(N) is amended by adding at the end of the first sentence: ", and the suspension and revocation of a Deemed Approved Permit issued under § 4.28.12 and the imposition of conditions under § 4.28.12(H)(2)"; and by adding after the sentence preserving Article 6 for initial approvals:
"The denial of a Registration under § 4.28.12(D)(6), and a condition imposed under § 4.28.12(H)(1), are decisions on an initial approval for purposes of this subsection." Section 4.28.08(O) is amended by inserting "or a Deemed Approved Permit issued under § 4.28.12" after "Temporary Use Permit" in the sentence describing discrete violations.
Amendment of § 4.28.10(D). Section 4.28.10(D) is amended by inserting "Except as provided in § 4.28.12," at the beginning of the sentence providing that no prior event activity constitutes a lawfully established use, and at the beginning of the sentence providing that a Temporary Use Permit, Administrative Use Permit, or Conditional Use Permit is the exclusive means of conducting a Regulated Residential Event.
Amendment of § 4.27.04(B)(9) and Table 2.02.02-1, Note 4. Paragraph 9 of § 4.27.04(B), as added by Ordinance No. 1851, is amended by inserting "or § 4.28.12" after "except as provided in Section 4.28.10(C)." Note 4 to Table 2.02.02-1, as added by Ordinance No. 1851, is amended by inserting ", or a Deemed Approved Permit issued under § 4.28.12," after each reference to an Administrative Use Permit or Conditional Use Permit.
Amendment of § 4.28.11 (Festival Period Event and Occupancy Standards). The amendment of §
4.28.11(B)(6) formerly set out here is incorporated in the Festivals Amendment, which defines "Eligible Property" to include a Deemed Approved Permit issued under § 4.28.12 and provides for Deemed Approved Permits throughout that Section. No separate amendment of § 4.28.11 is made by this document.
Amendment of IMC § 37.015(M). Section 37.015(M) of the Indio Municipal Code is amended by inserting ", a Deemed Approved Permit issued under Section 4.28.12 of that Code," after "Conditional Use Permit issued under Chapter 4.28 of the Unified Development Code."
Amendment of IMC § 12.11.01(A)(3). Section 12.11.01(A)(3) of the Indio Municipal Code, as added by Ordinance No. 1853, is amended by inserting "a notice of suspension, revocation, or additional conditions under Section 4.28.12 of the Unified Development Code," after "a notice of suspension, modification, or revocation of any permit, license, registration, or authorization issued under this Code,".
Amendment of Section 6 of Ordinance No. 1851 (Annual Implementation Report). Section 6 of Ordinance No. 1851 is amended by inserting, after "by tier;", "the number of Registrations filed, Deemed Approved Permits issued, denied, conditioned, suspended, and revoked under § 4.28.12, and the number of Objective Noise Strikes recorded;".
Continued Hearing from 10/7/2026 CC Meeting: Public Hearing to Consider ... Page 372 of 373 Deemed Approved Amendment — draft ordinance text Attorney-Client Privilege · Confidential City of Indio · Office of the City Attorney · Page 9 of 9 Part 3. Legislative findings for the Deemed Approved Amendment General Plan consistency and accessory use (UDC § 6.06.01(I)(1); Gov. Code § 65860). The City Council incorporates the findings of Section 1 of Ordinance No. 1851 and further finds that § 4.28.12 confirms existing accessory event uses of lawfully established single-family dwellings on lots of one acre or more, within the Desert Estates, Desert Estates Transition, and other neighborhood place types for which the General Plan identifies hospitality and recreational secondary uses (General Plan pp. 3-12, 3-17, 3-18; Goal LU-8; Policies LU-8.1, LU-8.2), at an intensity tied to each Property's documented history and capped by the tiers of § 4.28.04(B), and subject to every operating standard of § 4.28.06; that a Regulated Residential Event conducted under a Deemed Approved Permit is an accessory use within the meaning of Article 7 and the accessory-use finding of Ordinance No. 1851, and not a principal, commercial, or lodging use; and that §
4.28.12 therefore reflects the character, allowed uses, and intensity of the applicable place types as Policy LU-8.2 directs, while implementing the neighborhood-protection policies of the General Plan (Policies LU-1.1, LU-6.5, LU-6.7; p. 3-47) through the performance standards, conditions, notices, compliance review, and enforcement provisions of the Section.
Internal consistency (UDC § 6.06.01(I)(2)); zone boundaries (§ 6.06.01(I)(3)). Section 4.28.12 is placed in Chapter 4.28 following § 4.28.11, uses the permit, condition, compliance review, suspension, revocation, and appeal procedures of §§ 4.28.05, 4.28.06, and 4.28.08 and of Chapter 12 of the Indio Municipal Code, and is made consistent with §§ 4.28.01, 4.28.02, 4.28.03, 4.28.04, 4.28.08, 4.28.10, and 4.28.11, § 4.27.04(B)(9), Table 2.02.02-1, and Chapters 12 and 37 of the Indio Municipal Code by the conforming amendments adopted with it. The amendment changes no zone boundary.
California Environmental Quality Act. On each of the following independent and alternative grounds, the adoption of § 4.28.12 is not subject to, or is exempt from, CEQA: (A) it is not a project under Public Resources Code § 21065 and Guidelines § 15378, because it confers a regulatory status on Properties on which Regulated Residential Events already occur under permits issued by the City, approves no event at any location, and commits the City to no course of action with respect to any specific Property (Guidelines § 15060(c)(2)–(3)); (B) it is exempt under Guidelines § 15061(b)(3), because, measured against the existingconditions baseline of events conducted under Temporary Use Permits without attendance limits, numeric noise standards, or continuing accountability, the attendance ceiling of § 4.28.12(F)(2), the frequency cap of §
4.28.12(F)(3), and the performance standards of § 4.28.12(G) can only maintain or reduce the frequency, intensity, and impacts of such events, and it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility of a significant effect on the environment; and (C) it is categorically exempt under Guidelines §§ 15307 and 15308 as an action by a regulatory agency, authorized by state and local law, to assure the maintenance and protection of the environment, which relaxes no existing standard, involves no construction, and imposes standards that do not exist under current law, and no exception under Guidelines § 15300.2 applies. The City Council has considered the comments asserting that the ordinances adopting and amending Chapter 4.28 will increase noise, traffic, and wastewater impacts and finds, as it found in Section 7 of Ordinance No. 1851, that they describe potential impacts of future events conducted under permits, each of which remains subject to the operating standards and enforcement provisions of this Chapter.
Transitional measure. Section 4.28.12 is a transitional measure adopted in the exercise of the City's legislative discretion.
Continued Hearing from 10/7/2026 CC Meeting: Public Hearing to Consider ... Page 373 of 373