To the editor:
It’s been a busy summer in Lincoln County, with lots of visitors returning to the Oregon Coast and supporting so many of our locally owned small businesses while they vacation.
My colleagues and I in the vacation rental industry take pride in helping families and groups of friends enjoy their precious vacation days and make happy memories on the beach and around town and shops and restaurants in Lincoln County. It has been great to see our local shops and cafes full of visitors again.
I continue to hear conversations around affordable housing and blaming the vacation rental industry for causing it. I do not get that argument. I work for a local property management company and none of the homes in our program would be classified as affordable housing if they were not being used as vacation rentals. These are people’s vacation homes and will likely not be turned into long-term rentals if vacation rentals are banned in unincorporated Lincoln County. Even if they did become monthly rentals, they would cost well over $4,000 a month to rent, hardly affordable for most people.
When the affordable housing conversation comes up, nobody ever talks about the vacation industry workers. How are we supposed to afford our homes and provide for our families if we lose our jobs? I can afford my home because I have a great job and without it no home is affordable.
On behalf of so many of us who work in the tourism and hospitality industries in Lincoln County, I ask our county commissioners to come up with solutions that support local workers, local businesses, local jobs — and work to develop more affordable housing options. Good business practices, the support of local businesses and affordable housing can positively co-exist – and should – in Lincoln County.
— Jordan Grant, general manager, Meredith Lodging/Lincoln City