To the editor:
I’d like to share my perspective on Ballot Measure 21-303, the effort to restrict and eliminate short-term rentals in Lincoln County. I live in Eugene, so you can consider me an outsider if you wish … but please also consider the rest of my story when it comes to your vote on Measure 21-303.
My parents and I recently completed building a house between Yachats and Waldport. The house was mainly a way for our family to spend more time together. We are scattered from East Coast to West Coast but we all fell in love with this area in the late 1990s, when I worked in Newport and lived on Adahi Steet in Waldport. While I lived on the coast for only a few years I have worked there for over 20 and I feel like I love the coast and the vibe of its communities almost as much as anyone.
At first, we were going to build our house within the city of Yachats, but the city has restricted the number of short-term rental permits. Because we needed to rent the house part time to help pay for construction and upkeep, that would not work for us. We also understood why the city of Yachats would want to do this. We are not blind to the fact that there can be problems with short-term rentals.
We were told by the county that outside of the city limits there were no restrictions on short term rental permits, so, after several months of looking, we found a lot we liked in the spring of 2019. One of the many things we liked about the lot was that the majority of the houses in the neighborhood were short-term rentals, so we did not feel that our house would be disrupting the character of the neighborhood.
One of the first things we did was reach out to the year-round residents, exchanging contact information, so we could all communicate and express any concerns during the construction process. By sheer coincidence we had a friend in common with our closest neighbor. This was friend I met while living in Waldport — his brother ended up doing most of the construction on our house.
From the get-go we strove to get along with our neighbors and to listen to their opinions. We strove hard to build a house that would fit the character of the landscape and the neighborhood. About a year later, when we were within the construction process, the county’s moratorium on short term rental licenses went into effect. The house was completed this summer, but now we cannot rent it. We may not ever be able to rent it. We may lose it.
We are not poor, but we are not rich. We are solidly middle-class people who worked hard and saved money so we could do something like this. My dad was a machinist and my mom taught environmental education. I’m a biologist who worked two jobs for the first decade-plus of my career to make ends meet. I worked nearly every weekend for two years on this house to save costs.
We can’t afford this house if we can’t rent it a few nights a month. It seems like our only option under this ballot initiative, given that we don’t want to sell the house, is to rent it long term. In this case our family could not use the house unless it was not rented for a month or so each year, which does provide much stability for potential renters, which tends not to attract good renters, which tends not to be good for the house or the neighborhood.
I think my biggest problem with Measure 21-203 is that it is a pre-judgement on me, my family, and how well we would manage our house and be good citizens and neighbors. We all understand that there can be problems with short-term rentals. These problems can be regulated. The county needs to fine property managers and property management companies that don’t follow the regulations and cause problems. Revoke their rental permits if the problems persist.
Ballot initiative 21-303 is a nuclear option; sure, it would wipe out some of the problems associated with short-term rentals, but it will also wipe the good. It would wipe out people who try to be good neighbors, follow regulations, manage things well, and contribute to communities. It would wipe out the massive tax and job benefits to the county. It will cause unnecessary, expensive, and time consuming litigation if it does pass, which will further deplete county coffers.
I don’t think we need to wipe out the good to address the bad here.
— Ron Constable/Eugene