Wednesday, November 22, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
9
Planning commission recommends caps on vacation rentals
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
The Sisters Planning
Commission is forwarding to
the City Council for their con-
sideration several recommen-
dations regarding regulation
of vacation rental properties
in Sisters.
Taking into consideration
concerns regarding vacation
rental impacts on neighbor-
hoods and housing stock
availability, the Planning
Commission is making three
recommendations for primary
parameters regarding vacation
rentals.
• Caps — Creation of a
maximum number of vaca-
tion rental units in residential
zones. A maximum of eight
percent of total housing units
was discussed.
• Approval — Vacation
rental approval is tied to the
applicant/owner of a property
and not transferable when
properties are sold, with the
exception of property transfer
to family members.
• Safety and Licensing —
Need for licensing structure
(i.e. annual vacation rental
licensing and fees); inclusion
of requirements for liability
insurance; and proper posting
of vacation rental approval,
rules/regulations, emergency
contact information, egress,
etc.
At the request of the
Council, at the September,
October, and November
Planning Commission
meetings, the Commission
reviewed the existing vacation
rental regulations, reviewed
data, and provided feed-
back to City staff on possible
modifications.
The key vacation
rental issues the Planning
Commission identified were
impacts related to neighbor-
hood quality of life (residen-
tial neighborhood character)
and housing stock availability
for permanent and long-term
residents. There are reports of
local long-term renters being
displaced when the rental
property becomes a vacation
rental.
At the request of the
Planning Commission, staff
provided data regarding vaca-
tion rentals in Sisters to assist
the Commissioners in their
deliberations. Forty-five vaca-
tion rentals are currently per-
mitted or under review within
the city limits. They make up
approximately 3.5 percent of
the existing residential units
(approximately 1,300 exist-
ing residential units in total).
Staff reports they are receiv-
ing multiple calls a week with
inquiries about creating vaca-
tion rentals.
With approximately 236
lodging units and 45 vacation
rentals, the vacation rentals
constitute 16 percent of the
available lodging and vaca-
tion rental units combined.
The vacation occupancy rate
averages 46 percent, deter-
mined by nights available/
nights rented.
The annual transient room
tax collected in fiscal year
2016/17 was approximately
$475,000 for lodging units
and $65,000 for vacation
rentals.
At this point in time,
the vacation rentals don’t
appear to be creating sig-
nificant problems in the city.
However, both the Council
and the Planning Commission
want to act proactively before
problems develop like those
recently faced by Bend and a
number of other cities across
the country.
Currently, the program
in Sisters defines a vacation
rental as “the use of a resi-
dential dwelling unit by any
person or group of persons
entitled to occupy for rent for
a period of less than 30 con-
secutive days per month and
that is rented in such a man-
ner for more than 10 days in a
calendar year.”
All vacation rentals must
have a business license and
pay transient room tax. They
are allowed in the residential,
multi-family residential, and
Sun Ranch residential districts
as a permitted use with special
provision. The special provi-
sions are laid out in Sisters
Development Code Section
2.15.2700. Vacation rentals
are permitted outright in the
downtown commercial and
highway commercial districts.
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Applications for a vacation
rental are a Type 1 review pro-
cess with an additional neigh-
bor notice requirement that is
not found in other Type 1 pro-
cesses. The decision by staff
is appealable to the Planning
Commission, which may
revoke the permit. There is a
$250 application fee.
Code amendments that
were identified as needed
include: Vacation rental spe-
cial provision applicabil-
ity which would clarify that
the special provisions in
2.15.2700 (vacation rentals)
apply to all residential units
including when located in a
commercial district, except
that the maximum number
of units allowed would only
apply to the residential zones.
Other parameters and
issues for consideration by
the Council may include but
are not limited to: limiting the
number of days allowed to
be used as a vacation rental;
limitations on number of
occupants; requirements for
additional onsite parking; and
having a responsible party
available (i.e. 24 hours/day via
phone, lives within 30 miles).
A City Council workshop
to discuss vacation rental
policies is tentatively sched-
uled for November 29. The
Council input will be incor-
porated by staff, who will
create draft text amendments
for a public hearing by the
Planning Commission dur-
ing which comments from
the public will be taken. The
Planning Commission will
then make any necessary
changes and send their final
recommendations to the City
Council, which will probably
occur in early 2018.
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