FAQS

A short-term or vacation rental is defined by the county as a stay in a home by a guest for less than 30 days.

Each city has the jurisdiction to create their own rules regarding vacation rentals. This can include limitations on how many are allowed, what the operational standards should be, and where they are allowed. Outside of the cities, in unincorporated areas, Clatsop County has the jurisdiction to establish those same set of guidelines.

Renting vacation homes on the Northern Oregon Coast has been happening for decades. Many current owners have been renting their properties and paying transient tax to the county for many years, even before it officially was permitted. In 2018 Clatsop County officially created a permit system and instituted guidelines to formally manage what had already been the status quo.

Yes, all properties that are vacation rentals are required to apply for a permit with Clatsop County, pay a permit fee ($550) and ensure that a variety of requirements are met, including a house inspection that ensures that homes comply with basic safety and operational standards. The full Clatsop County permit packet can be found here: https://www.co.clatsop.or.us/media/1671 This permitting structure has been in place since July 1, 2018. There are currently 181 licensed rentals in unincorporated Clatsop County that have followed this process.

As reported by Clatsop County on Page 13——"The 181 licensed short-term rentals in unincorporated Clatsop County represent 2.77% of the unincorporated housing stock and 0.80% of the total housing stock”. So less that 1% of the available housing in unincorporated Clatsop County is currently permitted as a STR.

Ordinance 22-03, contains the operating standards for vacation rentals in unincorporated Clatsop County (outside of Arch Cape) which was updated to address community concerns and passed by Clatsop County Board of Commissioners on April 27, 2002

Ordinance 22-01 This amendment moved the current Arch Cape vacation rental regulations to the Clatsop County Code. No policy change was made. This ordinance was created so that all vacation rental operating standards within unincorporated Clatsop County were located in the same code (Clatsop County Code). This amendment was passed on April 27, 2002.

On June 22 the Board of Commissioners, unanimously voted to adopt Ordinance 22-05. This ordinance amends the Land and Water Development and Use Code (LAWDUC) to include short-term rentals as a Type I permitted use in 16 zoning designations.

For more information, including all the county research and presentations, video calls and public testimony you can review materials on the county website: https://www.co.clatsop.or.us/landuse/page/short-term-rental-ordinance-revisions

The county recently updated their Ordinance 22-03 to address some evolving concerns from residents and ensure good quality of life for residents and safety for guests. There are many guidelines that owners must follow, and there is the ability for residents to issue complaints if properties or guests have non-compliance issues. This includes ensuring there is sufficient parking, sanitary services, garbage services and adherence to quiet times as small examples.

According to recent research by Clatsop County, on page 14 of Ordinance 22-03 3 “Since the adoption of Ordinance 18-01 (the original STR ordinance) Code Compliance staff have logged 88 complaints against short-term rentals as of July 18, 2022. Many of the complaints contained reports of multiple violations” and on page 15 “It should be noted that 25% of the 88 complaints received were generated against two specific rental units. Those 22 complaints included a total of 29 possible violations. Of those 29 violations, 15 (51.72%) were either determined not to be violations; were resolved before Code Compliance staff arrived at the site; were outside the scope of Code Compliance; or were unable to be verified by staff.

What this implies is that while there are some complaints, most are coming from a few “bad apples”. Most vacation rental home owners strive to diligently resolve issues and also create a peaceful and responsible experience for both full-time residents, owners and guests.

In some cities in Clatsop county there are limitations and density regulations. The county is working on establishing similar limits and density regulations on the unincorporated areas as well. Materials on the recent working session can be found here: http://video.co.clatsop.or.us/?v=55_i7YNaBw8

This question recently came up when the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners was deciding how to handle vacation rental homes in the county. There was an extensive report on real estate sales and prices that was put together to answer that question. On page 244 of that document it states: “The data provided below demonstrates that there is not a correlation between the issuance of short-term rental permits and housing prices. The data illustrates that the increased housing prices have occurred and continue to occur for both short-term rental properties and non short-term rental properties.” We encourage you to review the data to get the full picture of impacts of STRs to local real estate.

Per recent research gathered by Clatsop County (page 16) says:

“The Astoria-Warrenton Chamber of Commerce released information in 2020 regarding the economic impacts of travel and tourism in Astoria and Warrenton (Appendix D). The study noted the following:

• visitors who stayed in paid lodging spent on average $121 per person per day on lodging, food, recreation, transportation and shopping

• $63.5M of travel spending in 2020 resulted in a $97.5M impact to the local economy

• $115.8M of travel spending in 2019 resulted in a $177.7M impact to the local economy

• prior to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, travel spending in Astoria and Warrenton had been increasing since 2007”

It goes without saying that tourism, including guests from STRs, have a major financial impact on our local communities.

Page 21 of the same report states “Assessment and Taxation staff have estimated that if all short-term rental units outside of Arch Cape were to be eliminated, the resulting loss of transient room tax would be approximately $700,000” Registered STR properties pay a transient tax—taken from https://www.co.clatsop.or.us/at/page/transient-room-tax

“Effective January 1, 2019, the rate for the Clatsop County Transient Room Tax is:

· Unincorporated Clatsop County = 10.5.% (9.5% + 1% County-wide)

· Incorporated (within City limits) = 1%”

Clatsop County is a tourism destination, and the economy is driven by these tourism dollars. This can include; All retail stores, restaurants owners and workers, construction workers/builders, housekeepers, other household services; landscapers, plumbers, HVAC, window washers, property management companies and more.