Jessica Cejnar Andrews / Friday, April 7, 2023 @ 12:17 p.m. / Local Government, Oregon
Curry Commissioners Reverse Earlier Decision to Extend Short-term Rental Permit Deadline
Friday's special meeting
Previously:
• Curry County Residents Petition Land Use Board of Appeals to Reverse New Vacation Rental Regulations
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Curry County commissioners on Friday rescinded a previous decision to extend the timeframe people have to apply for the permit needed to operate a vacation rental.
County Counsel Ted Fitzgerald said his recommendation to the Board of Commissioners at a special meeting March 31 to extend the deadline landlords have to obtain a land-use permit to operate a vacation rental -- also known as a short-term rental or STR -- to Aug. 1 was a mistake.
When asked how that will affect people who have applied for a permit over the last week, Fitzgerald told the Wild Rivers Outpost that “actions the Planning Department may take will be determined by them.”
“I wanted to make sure anything the Board did wasn’t construed as a land-use decision,” he said. “Land-use decisions are generally handled differently.”
Friday’s meeting lasted less than five minutes. There was no public comment.
The Board’s decision comes after the Oregon Coast Alliance filed a petition with the state Land-Use Board of Appeals and the Department of Land Conservation on behalf of Curry County residents Peg Reagan, a former commissioner, and Penny Suess on March 23.
An appeal to Curry County's new vacation rental regulations refer to the potential impacts to Port Orford's urban growth boundary outlined on this map in purple. | Map courtesy of the Curry County Planning Department
That petition seeks to reverse an updated zoning ordinance the Board of Commissioners approved in August 2022 that includes regulations for vacation rentals. The petitioners argued that the zoning ordinance updates conflicted with the county's comprehensive plan and cited opposition from Port Orford area residents in addition to the Port Orford City Council.
Commissioners on March 31 extended the permit deadline in response to that petition, though the ordinance’s original intent in August was to cap the number of vacation rentals in the county’s unincorporated areas.
According to Fitzgerald, the Board of Commissioners is “well aware of the petition” and is being updated on the county’s response.
Curry County’s planning department has received several applications for short-term rental permits over the past week, including two Friday morning, Planning Director Becky Crockett told the Outpost. The county will continue to accept permit applications, she said.
“There will not be any changes in the county’s acceptance of applications,” she said. “We most certainly would like to have everyone operating a STR to have a permit and comply with the requirements. This would likely resolve many of the neighbor complaints we get including parking, late-night parties, noise, trespassing, garbage, dogs off leash relieving themselves in neighbor’s yards, etc.”
Once the regulations take effect, the county could take “enforcement action” against those operating vacation rentals without a permit. This includes prohibiting a building from future use as a vacation rental.
Last week Crockett said she expected the number of vacation rentals in unincorporated Curry County to be capped at about 400. She said she expected to receive up to 200 more permit applications to be submitted before the Aug. 1, 2023 deadline.
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