Vacation rental owners challenge May ballot measure

Mar. 9—Vacation rental owners are asking a judge to remove a referendum from the May ballot that, if approved by voters, would make vacation rentals in nearly all of unincorporated Clatsop County illegal.

In a lawsuit filed in Circuit Court this week, Everyone For The North Oregon Coast, which was formed last year to support the rights of vacation rental owners, argues that the referendum is unlawful.

Last summer, the county Board of Commissioners tried to fix a mistake the county made in 2018.

The county began regulating vacation rentals that year, but failed to add the use in the development code, which means they were never formally recognized. Arch Cape is an exception, since vacation rentals were added as a use to that zone and regulated by a separate ordinance since the early 2000s.

After realizing the problem, county commissioners tried to solve it by approving an ordinance in June recognizing vacation rentals as an outright use in 16 unincorporated zones in the development code.

Competing groups

It was not long until homeowners in the wealthy enclave of Cove Beach and the gated community of Surf Pines — some of whom have a history of battling vacation rentals in their neighborhood — challenged the ordinance.

North Coast Neighbors United collected enough signatures to require the ordinance to be referred to voters in the May election.

If the referendum is successful, the ordinance will be repealed, and the more than 100 vacation rentals outside of Arch Cape would gradually disappear as licenses expire. Failure of the referendum would allow the county to move forward with recognizing vacation rentals as an allowed use.

Everyone For The North Oregon Coast has challenged the referendum. Also listed as plaintiffs are Brian Olson and William Moore, leaders of the group.

Olson is a partner in Beachcomber Vacation Homes, which manages 13 vacation rentals in the unincorporated parts of the county. Moore owns a vacation rental in Surf Pines and works for Vacasa, a Portland-based vacation rental property management company.

Because the ordinance approved by county commissioners in June was a land use decision, the lawsuit argues it should not be referred to voters. The appropriate channel to challenge the ordinance would have been through the state Land Use Board of Appeals, the group argues.

The suit also argues, and asks the judge to declare, that the ordinance approved last summer is currently in effect and that vacation rental permits issued by the county since 2018 are lawful.

Marie Gwydir-Moore, a leader of Everyone For The North Oregon Coast who owns WeHerdCats RV & Vacation Rentals with her husband, told The Astorian that the group tried to work the issue out with the county. Ultimately, she said, the court needed to decide.

"The referendum is procedurally improper and a lawsuit was only way to stop it," Gwydir-Moore said in a statement. "The commissioners and staff at the county are just doing their jobs and the case is nothing personal.

"(Everyone For The North Oregon Coast) is protecting rights of property owners that they have had for more than a century. We are protecting the jobs, careers and businesses of locals who work in the industry servicing (short-term rentals). We are protecting open access to the Oregon Coast for the public. We are protecting the substantial investments that property owners have made in their properties believing they would be able to continue to operate. Most importantly we are protecting the community from the loss of the revenue that we bring to the county."

The county declined to comment on pending litigation.

Jeff Davis, a co-petitioner of the referendum, called the lawsuit disappointing.

"Wealthy, out-of-town investors and vacation rental corporations know that Measure 4-221 will win big at the ballot, and that's the only reason they have filed this meritless lawsuit," he said in a statement. "It's incredibly disappointing that they would rather stop an election altogether than hear the concerns of Clatsop County residents about the damage their vacation rentals are causing to residential neighborhoods throughout our region.

"We hope the court sees it for what it is: a gross abuse of the voters, our democracy, and our legal system."

Moratorium lifted

Meanwhile, the county Board of Commissioners, in a 4-1 vote Wednesday night, lifted a moratorium on new vacation rental permits.

The county imposed the moratorium in August 2021 to allow the county time to revise regulations for vacation rentals. The moratorium was extended four times, most recently in December by six months.

County commissioners approved the last extension under the assumption the ordinance would remain in effect pending the outcome of the May election.

After further review, the county counsel told county commissioners that it is the county's position that since the ordinance is not in effect pending the election, the moratorium only has the effect of blocking new vacation rental permits in Arch Cape, where they are regulated by a separate ordinance.

By rescinding the moratorium, the county will be able to process new applications and renewals for permits in Arch Cape.

Commissioner Pamela Wev was the sole vote against lifting the moratorium.

Kathleen Larsen, who owns a family beach house in Arch Cape with her siblings, said that people should be good neighbors but have the right to do what they want with their property.

Cove Beach residents Charles Dice and Jeff and Denise Davis, who are behind North Coast Neighbors United, spoke against lifting the moratorium.

Denise Davis said that prior to the moratorium being lifted, she would want to see commissioners put limits on the number of vacation rentals allowed in unincorporated zones.

Dice said residents have suffered with vacation rentals since 2018.

"I really don't understand why the Board of Commissioners is so intent on extending the (short-term rental) permits that were illegally issued," he said. "If the (short-term rental) permit was illegally issued, wouldn't it also be illegal to extend such a permit?"

Commissioner Lianne Thompson, who represents South County, including Cove Beach and Arch Cape, noted that lifting the moratorium will only allow new permits and renewals in Arch Cape. She said the process to lift the moratorium was diverted after the referendum was filed.

Thompson said she has been looking into obtaining the services of an independent economist to give county commissioners accurate data about the impact of vacation rentals on the availability and affordability of housing. She said she also wants independent data on how a reduction in vacation rentals will affect the local economy.

She said she has approached other county commissioners along the coast to see if they would be interested in engaging in the project.

"Let's look at valid data," Thompson said. "Let's not engage in community warfare. Because that's what this has turned into."

The county completed a housing study in 2019 that found that while there is adequate housing stock, much of the inventory is eaten up by vacation rentals and second home owners, particularly in beach communities in the southern part of the county.

The study recommended that nonresidential uses of housing, including vacation rentals, should be discouraged.

A separate report by county staff last year found no correlation between the recent growth of the vacation rental industry and the rise in housing prices.

Commissioner Courtney Bangs said homes have been operating as vacation rentals on the North Coast for decades. She said to call them illegal seems "disingenuous."

"I want our coast to be accessible to all and not just those who can afford the hotel costs," she said.

As of November, there were 177 vacation rental permits in unincorporated areas. Of those, 110 were located outside of Arch Cape.