Coos Bay puts moratorium on short-term rentals

Aug. 13—The Coos Bay City Council voted unanimously to put a moratorium on short-term vacations rentals after hearing from close to a dozen people opposed to the idea.

The council vote will block any new short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods while the city's Planning Commission and City Council look deeper into the idea and create new regulations to monitor short-term rentals in the city.

The city has regulations in place that require homeowners to register with the city, have a public hearing, pay a registration fee and pay hotel occupancy taxes. The city currently has 10 homes that have gone through that process, but a search in Airbnb.com for a four-day stay in September revealed 82 properties available in the general area. Since there are no addresses connected to the listings, it is impossible to determine which homes are in the city limits.

At the meeting, people lined up to ask the council to stop the vacation rentals, arguing they damage neighborhoods and cause grief to permanent residents.

"We feel as though this is something that's not needed for our community," John Perry told the council. "It doesn't bring any value to us."

James Behrends, who has fought short-term rentals for several years, said a previous rental in his neighborhood proved the city should act.

"We as a neighborhood have opposed short-term rentals, vacation rentals, in our neighborhoods three times since I've lived up there, which is close to 20 years," Behrends said. "We have no interest in what the city seems to think should go on up there. They're empty in the offseason. They crank in the summer time, but they're not fun to be around. They're loud, parking is difficult. It's time for us to stand up. Not next year after we have 15 around town. You need to get it right before it's too late."

Emily Gardner, an attorney who lives in Coos Bay, also opposed short-term rentals and volunteers to help the city draft regulations to control them.

"I believe there should be a moratorium in place at least until we can figure out what those regulations are going to look like," she said. "This is not something we can copy and paste from another jurisdiction. This is an industry that is booming, and we need to get ahead of it."

Several speakers argued that with the city's housing shortage, allowing short-term rentals removes housing that could be used for residents. They claimed businesses are buying up property to use for rentals, taking them away from permanent residents.

"Our members overwhelmingly disapprove of the short-term rentals anywhere near our neighborhoods," said Chad Putnam, president of the Pacific Crest HOA. "We're going to fight them one by one. Our HOA is going to amend our rules to block them in our neighborhoods."

Tony Donato, who represents homeowners in Empire, also said his neighborhood was opposed.

"Overwhelmingly, every is against STVRs, they just are," Donato said. "It's not good for neighborhoods. If the city continues to allow STVR permits, anytime someone4 sells their house, someone else will buy it and turn it into an STVR. STVRs are not a good idea."

Only one person spoke in favor of short-term rentals, asking the council to allow them in commercial districts.

"Two years ago, we did buy a commercial property with the intent of creating a short-term rental," Sue Lee said. "We put a lot of money into the community and the home to make it nice. We're just about done and now people are talking about a moratorium. It is zoned commercial, so I would ask that be taken into consideration if you put in a moratorium."

Carolyn Johnson, the city's community development administrator, told the council the discussion is not new. The idea of regulations was first discussed in 2019 and has been ongoing. She said the city has had no complaints about the 10 homes that have been registered. Another unit, a four-plex, is in the application stage. She said the city has struggled trying to determine who is renting without a permit.

"We have gone on to Airbnb to try to root out folks who do not have a license," she said.

Janice Langlinais, the director of the Coos Bay-North Bend Visitor and Convention Bureau, said he agency is also trying to determine who has vacation rentals offered online. She said her organization has hired AirDNA to do a search to find homes listed online.

"It will give the city the opportunity to look and see where they are located," Langlinais said.

After hearing from the people, the council briefly discussed the issue. Councilor Drew Farmer then made a motion to put a moratorium on short-term rentals in all residential units citywide until the Planning Commission and City Council can work on new regulations. The motion passed unanimously.

The Coos Bay Planning Commission is scheduled to discuss regulations for short-term vacation rentals October 12 with a work session with the council planned October 26.