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Wallowa County Chieftain News wallowa.com Joseph poised to ban short-term residential rentals January vote likely on new ordinance to clarify rules By Steve Tool Wallowa County Chieftain The Joseph City Council crept nearer to a resolution on residential vacation rentals after two hours of attempt- ing to hammer out details for a new city ordinance at a Dec. 9 council/community workshop. It was the continu- ation of a discussion from the Council’s Dec. 4 meeting. The council is addressing the issue because several Jo- seph homeowners have in- quired about the possibility of creating vacation rentals within residential zones in- side city limits. According to Joseph May- or Dennis Sands, an existing ordinance forbids the prac- tice, but contains some gray areas because it was written before the advent of vacation rental websites such as Flip- Key. A dozen interested parties on both sides attended. The issue is not the regulation of legally recognized hotels or bed and breakfasts, but rather the practice of buying homes in residential zones and rent- ing them to tourists on an overnight or weekly basis. Sands and four council members attended, along with City Recorder Donna Warnock. Sands requested no comment from the public until the end of the session, when speakers would be giv- en three minutes to air their position. Councilor Teresa Sajonia said that while she sympa- thized with both sides of the issue, the Dec. 4 testimony of Corey Lewis regarding the dif¿culty of working citi- zens to ¿nd affordable Joseph rentals convinced her that the city should not allow rentals in residential zones within the city limits. ³If we ¿nd more people doing vacation rentals we’ll lose our locals, we’ll lose our kids,” she said. “I think the effects will be huge if we go ahead and allow it.” Councilor Sharon Newell, who also is a deputy sheriff, echoed Sajonia’s sentiments and said neither Joseph or the Sheriff’s 2f¿ce have the resources to monitor rentals and their guests. “The money we would make from this on the hotel tax wouldn’t nearly compen- sate us for what we’d put up with,” she said. Councilor Pearl Sturm stated she was against the practice as well, but won- dered if shutting down cur- rent rentals wouldn’t invite lawsuits. Councilor Tyler Evans said he thought the city’s current laws were unclear as to whether the practice was allowed to start with, and he also didn’t think the other council members understood the city attorney’s recent draft ordinance regarding the rentals. He added that current rentals should be ordinance regulated whether the coun- cil voted for an outright ban or not. “If you issue permits, you can track it,” Evans said. “You can tax it and you can manage the system. ... I think people who are transients staying here are going to spend more on average than people who live here (on a long-term basis).” Evans also did not buy the suggestion that vacation rentals had a major impact on available rentals for full-time residents. Joseph resident Kathy Siebe surprised many in at- tendance when she said she had renovated a Joseph res- idence to use as a vacation rental — with the permis- sion of City Hall. She said the city told her at the time that no ordinance barred the practice and that she would be “grandfathered” in if the city banned vacation rentals. No one on the council ques- tioned her version of events. The vast majority of Jo- seph residents who testi¿ed were against vacation rent- als on the premise that it destroyed the city’s sense of community. La Grande resident Jeff Whitaker announced that he had retained Enterprise attorney Zachary Hostet- ter to represent his interests in attempting to convert a long-term rental near the ro- deo grounds into a vacation rental. The property is zoned Industrial/R-1 (residential). Whitaker said he did not ask permission from the Council because he thought it was “probably workable.” While Whitaker said he originally didn’t intend to pursue legal action, he said had considered his rental a home-based business much like that of a home-based mechanic or Pampered Chef dealer. “If you’re going to go down on or hit Airbnb or these (vacation rentals), you better hit everybody — make sure everyone understands the rules that you have to have a conditional-use per- mit,” Whitaker said. Whitaker also argued that his vacation rental didn’t change the neighborhood dynamic in that people were just living there and that as no exchange of money took place on the property, it didn’t qualify as a business. Following the meeting, Sands said he thought the majority of the Council and residents were in favor of banning vacation rentals while granting Siebe a condi- tional-use permit because of her unusual circumstances. The council is expected to vote on an ordinance during their January meeting, the date of which is yet to be de- termined. k e e W e th f o t n e tud S Rylee Goller Wallowa High School December 16, 2015 A3 Brown outlines plan for state By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau PORTLAND — Gov. Kate Brown outlined a three-part blueprint for the state Monday to ¿x government, grow the economy and invest in educa- tion. Brown unveiled her goals during a keynote address at the annual Oregon Business Lead- ership Summit. As part of her goal to in- crease government transparen- cy and accountability, Brown plans to base agency funding on reaching speci¿c outcomes, speci¿cally in education, health care and public safety. She said the plan for out- come-based budgeting is “one of the most important things” she would do as governor. “State government must demonstrate to Oregonians that they are getting the best return for their taxpayer dol- lars, that their agencies are being run ef¿ciently and effec- tively,” Brown said. Outcome-based budgeting would be similar to a funding model developed for public universities in which a portion of state funding is tied to stu- dent completion of a degree or certi¿cate, she said. “This has spurred univer- sities to invest in critical sup- ports that engage and empow- er our highest-need students to overcome barriers and com- plete their college degrees,” she said. The announcement fol- lows her call for independent reviews of the Department of Human Services and the De- partment of Energy. The De- partment of Human Services is under scrutiny for its slow response to reported prob- lems at state-licensed foster care facilities. A probe into the Department of Energy centers on allegations that regulators bent rules in its tax incentive program for renewable energy projects. The governor said she also would propose legislation in February to enhance govern- ment transparency but gave no details on what the proposal EO Media Group file photo Gov. Kate Brown on Monday released a blueprint three- part blueprint for the state Monday to fix government, grow the economy and invest in education. would entail. She announced in Novem- ber that she would create a new public records advocate, modeled after a role in other states such as Washington. The advocate serves as a liaison to assist the public in narrowing records requests and helping agencies to comply with pub- lic records law. Brown declared her support for the Oregon Business Plan’s goal of adding at least 25,000 jobs annually to the state econ- omy. To that end, she said she plans to propose legislation in February to expand the Of¿ce of Small Business Advocate. The of¿ce provides assistance to small business owners and helps them cut down time spent mired in bureaucratic red tape. Brown established the of¿ce when she served as secretary of state, before an ethics scandal forced Gov. John Kitzhaber to resign and elevated her to the state’s high- est of¿ce. Supporting existing busi- nesses is important because 70 percent of job growth stems from expansion of those com- panies, Brown said. She said government also would assist in boosting the economy by continuing to seek out trade opportunities in growing Asian markets. The governor suggested the state needs to invest more in education but provided no plan to meet that need. The question grows more dif¿cult to answer as the state faces mounting costs associated with the Pub- lic Employees Retirement Sys- tem, as speakers at the summit pointed out. Earlier Monday, Brown an- nounced the addition of a new education innovation of¿cer position to her administration to help boost the state’s dismal high school graduation rate. “The position will assist me, my education team and the Legislature in dedicating resources to increase the num- ber of students who graduate from high school,” Brown said from prepared comments. “There is no question that our education system must be accountable to better student outcomes, including increas- ing our high school graduation rate,” Brown said. “But accountability also means ensuring that, as a state we are empowering the best and most effective practices in our classrooms that support student success,” she said. The administration has yet to complete a job description for the position and to post the job, said Brown spokeswoman Kristen Granger. She gave no timeline for hiring. CONFUSED ABOUT MEDICARE SUPPLEMENT COVERAGE? YOU HAVE CHOICES! Call Kathleen or Heather today to discuss your options and see if you qualify for a lower premium. 541-426-4208 Locally owned & operated 616 W. North Street Enterprise simple basic toys Inland the ones they play with again and again the ones they remember forever Inland Octopus provides an extraordinary assortment of toys that inspire thought, activity and happiness through accomplishment. open 7 days a week closed Thanksgiving Free Gift Wrapping! 7 East Main Walla Walla Looking for attention? Rylee Goller is a freshman at Wallowa High School. She is the daughter of Curtis and Linda Goller. Rylee strives for excellence with her academics which is demonstrated through her 4.0 cumulative GPA. She is always a positive contribution to any classroom. Rylee is a natural leader through athletics playing varsity for both volleyball and basketball. She also demonstrates her leadership through student body government as freshman class Treasurer and FFA as the Greenhand Treasurer. GET IT in the classifieds! Visit wallowa.com or call 541.426.4567 The Student of the Week is chosen for academic achievement and community involvement. Students are selected by the administrators of their respective schools. ANNUAL WALLOWA COUNTY Food Bank Drive SPONSORED BY THE WALLOWA COUNTY CHIEFTAIN Donate and have a chance to WIN $100! The more you donate, the more chances you have to win. We’re asking everyone to pitch in and help our local food banks by donating this month. This will help those in our community who are in need. Your donations can be in the form of unexpired, nonperishable food items or cash donations that will be used to purchase such items for the food bank. Your name will be entered in a $100 prize drawing one time for every 10 items donated and/or $10 donation increment. Please bring donations to the Wallowa County Chieftain office by Wednesday, December 23rd at 5pm. The drawing will be held December 24th and the WINNER will be notified that day. All participants will be highlighted in the December 30th issue of the Chieftain . Thank you for supporting our community! If you have any questions, please call Cheryl at 541-426-4567