By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com
NEWPORT — Friends and foes of vacation rentals filled a Lincoln County courthouse hearing room Thursday night to defend and bemoan the proliferation of homes turned into short-term rentals in unincorporated parts of the county.
To applause of agreement, supporters and owners of short-term rentals said they provided steady jobs, supported local businesses and generated millions in lodging taxes to local governments.
“We’re paying our bills and doing our best to be good neighbors,” said Mary Austin, who lives in Idaho and owns a vacation rental in the Bayshore area northwest of Waldport, as she detailed the measures she takes – screening, a rule book and even security cameras to monitor guests.
Opponents were also applauded as they argued that in some popular beachside areas, vacation rentals have over-run permanent residents and are really businesses that have changed the nature of once-quiet residential neighborhoods. They advocated for stricter limits on occupancy and a cap on licenses.
“Unless you live next door to one you have no idea of the impact a short-term rental has on your neighborhood,” said Tracy Burks, who lives in the Beverly Beach area north of Newport.
The more than 50 people who crowded into the commissioners’ meeting room were using the last of two workshops the county organized to give comments on vacation rentals and react to a list of proposed changes in its regulations.
County Counsel Wayne Belmont led the workshops and is crafting tweaks and major changes to county regulations. While seeking comments on proposed changes, the two workshops really turned into testimonies about the benefits or failings of short-term rentals.
After listing seven ideas that have been implemented or are being considered, Belmont said he may propose that commissioners enact a “hard but temporary cap” on licenses “while we deal with these issues.”
Those issues are ones that tourist communities across the country are wrestling with.
Lincoln County has 560 licensed vacation rentals in unincorporated areas – land outside cities like Yachats, Waldport, Newport and Lincoln City. And, like Yachats and Newport, it is wrestling with how to manage the proliferation of short-term rentals as homeowners and investors seek income property and take advantage of on-line or local companies to book and manage guests.
But commissioners are also reacting to homeowners in popular areas complaining long and hard about how rentals are changing residential neighborhoods.
Before accepting comments Thursday night, Belmont walked the audience through changes the county has already made and ones it will likely consider. So far the county has:
- Notified 36 licensees who do not have records for their septic systems that they must have their systems inspected and approved or repaired. Belmont said the county may consider requiring all license holders to get periodic septic inspections. “We’re the first to admit that we weren’t paying enough attention to this in unincorporated areas,” Belmont said.
- Has identified a software provider who can collect data – including locations — on anyone advertising a vacation rental in the county to make sure rentals are properly licensed and paying lodging taxes. It can also use the program for people to apply for licenses, for owners to update personal or management information, and for neighbors to lodge complaints. “We’re not sure we have everyone in place who is out there renting,” Belmont said. “We think this will be a tool that will be very, very good for us.”
- Will propose revising the county’s more liberal occupancy rates. It currently allows three people per bedroom or sleeping area and two additional occupants, which Belmont said is much higher than most communities. He will propose dropping that to two people per bedroom, but is unsure what the number of additional occupants should be. “There’s a tremendous impact to surrounding homes if we go from 10 to six in a house,” Belmont said.
- May propose a cap on the number of visitors to vacation rentals to be the same as the number allowed to sleep there. That is intended to discourage large gatherings like reunions, weddings or parties that can overwhelm neighborhoods. “The amount of people there at any one time has a direct bearing on the impact to the neighborhood,” Belmont said.
- Is in the process of hiring a second code enforcement officer for the sheriff’s department to deal exclusively with vacation rentals. Belmont said one of the job requirements will be to work nights and weekends when most complaints are received.
- Will propose that the current $225 yearly license fee be raised to $400 to pay for increased enforcement and data collection costs.
But most of the evening was spent with Belmont and county staff listening to the familiar pros and cons of short-term rentals.
Jamie Michel, vice president of operations for Sweet Homes Rentals In Yachats, urged the county to hold off on any more regulation changes until a new coastal vacation rental coalition finishes an economic analysis.
“Short term rentals contribute $22 million to the economy and create 300 jobs” on the coast, she said.
But Jim Peterson argued that many license holders don’t live in Lincoln County.
“Their profits leave the community but we are left with paying for services,” he said. “Money talks loud, but it’s not everything. It’s also about quality of life.”