County commissioners extend vacation rental moratorium

Apr. 28—The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday night extended, for the second time, a moratorium on new vacation rental permits.

Last August, the board approved a moratorium to give the county time to figure out where and how to regulate short-term rentals, which in recent years have multiplied in unincorporated areas from Clatsop Plains to Cove Beach, Knappa to Jewell. An extension was approved in December.

The board's decision to extend the freeze by another 120 days — ending on Aug. 26 — came as the last extension was scheduled to end.

The board can lift the moratorium sooner if it resolves the most controversial issue: In which zones should vacation rentals be a recognized use?

At Wednesday's meeting, county commissioners tackled two pieces of the vacation rental issue.

They approved revisions to the operating standards for short-term rentals in the county code.

The standards address nuisances such as noise, litter and parking. Owners must post a good-neighbor flyer that spells out rules around campfires, speed limits, quiet hours, trespassing and other items. They must also display information about power outages and the possibility of disasters such as wildfires, tsunamis and landslides. The standards outlaw permit transfers; new owners must apply for new permits and have the unit reinspected.

If complaints arise, property agents or representatives must contact renters within 20 minutes. They must respond in person within an hour for serious complaints — such as a failing septic system or too many occupants on the grounds — and within 24 hours for milder ones, according to the county staff report.

People who make knowingly false or unsubstantiated complaints will face a fine, the staff report says.

As a housekeeping matter, commissioners also voted to move the operating standards for Arch Cape — the only zone where vacation rentals are an explicitly recognized use — from the Land and Water Development and Use Code to the county code, where the other operating standards live.

"It appears that we are eating this elephant one bite at a time," Commissioner Lianne Thompson said.

She noted on Wednesday that she heard more agreement on the issue among members of the public who spoke than in previous meetings. "I think our approach, while time-consuming, is the most effective for maintaining good neighbors and good neighborhood relationships," Thompson said.

Property owners have long rented their homes in the county's unincorporated areas, but the advent of online platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo has streamlined the activity.

In Clatsop County, as elsewhere on the Oregon Coast, rentals of 30 or fewer days have proven to be lucrative ventures, drawing tourists and their money to the region. But residents have alleged that some visitors do not respect the neighborhoods or the surrounding environment.

A 2018 ordinance addressed health and safety concerns and marked the first time the county had sought to regulate the rentals. Although rental permits were issued, the development code still omitted rentals as an explicitly allowed use except in Arch Cape.

County staff has recommended that the board make short-term rentals a recognized use in 16 additional zones: four commercial and 12 residential.

In March, the Planning Commission, in a split vote, offered a different recommendation: allow vacation rentals only in the four commercial zones and two multifamily residential zones, plus Arch Cape — a move that would effectively ban rentals in the other 10 residential zones.

Planning commissioners who voted in favor argued that most residential zones are inappropriate settings for commercial enterprises.

In addition, the Planning Commission recommended that vacation rentals be permitted only as a conditional use, which requires a public notice and a public hearing.

The Planning Commission's approach would eliminate more than half of the short-term rentals operating in unincorporated areas as existing permits can't get renewed. County staff estimates that the loss would cost the county about half a million dollars in lodging taxes.

The board originally planned to decide the issue this month. At the April 13 meeting, Thompson and Commissioner Pamela Wev said they would support a moratorium extension while the county gathers data on a key question: How does the vacation rental industry affect the local housing market in terms of prices and the availability of homes?

This data will be presented at a work session on May 18, Gail Henrikson, the county's community development director, said.

Commissioner Courtney Bangs voted in favor of a moratorium extension, but did so, she said, to honor her colleagues' request for more information. She wants to finish the vacation rental conversation — which has played out in more than 20 public meetings since late 2019 — by the end of the fiscal year in June.

Chris Delong, who lives in the Astoria area, said on Wednesday that he started paying his mortgage on a vacation rental in July. He applied for a permit in October, not realizing a moratorium was in effect.

"I've been paying on that mortgage since, with all of my investment sitting there, and I think it's really on you guys to put this to bed ...," he told the board. "This is real money to me. This isn't throwaway money. This is not disposable income. This is not me owning a big yacht or anything. This is real money that is affecting my life."