To the editor:
When Dec. 31 arrives, how many Lincoln County residents will be newly unhoused? How many have been living on the edge of disaster for far too long? I fear it is many. Many of our friends and neighbors.
Add the recent fires where 300 structures were lost to the stresses many are facing as a result of the pandemic, and you see the predicament that Lincoln County and her residents will be in as 2021 arrives.
How can we fix this problem? We can begin by not overdeveloping for the rich. We can encourage the construction of the more affordable single-family dwellings that we need – modest-sized homes for Lincoln County residents earning family wages to live in full time. Until then, we can encourage the preservation of existing homes as long-term housing, rented or owned.
To accomplish this we need to stop allowing homes in residentially-zoned neighborhoods to be anything but long-term rentals or owner-occupied properties. No more nightly rentals in low-density neighborhoods. Our residents should come first.
Vacation properties in mixed use and commercially zoned areas, and hotels/motels are for renting nightly; Lincoln county needs them. Homes in single family residential zones are for families looking for a home for the whole year; our residents need them.
Curious about a solution? Please go to the website 15neighborhoods.com and read and sign our petition to help create a new a reality for residents in unincorporated Lincoln County. All registered voters are eligible to sign. The petition doesn’t affect cities.
— Michele Riley/Depoe Bay
But people needs money…and there’s limited ways nowadays to get some..