4A
THE HOUSING CRUNCH
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2016
In Gearhart, vacation rentals, second homes play a big role
Few rentals, no
subsidized housing
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
EARHART — Changes in
vacation rental rules in Gear-
hart could make long-term options
more available . Vacationers and sec-
ond-home owners are the name of
the game in the city’s housing equa-
tion. Fifty-eight percent of Gear-
hart’s homes are vacant seasonally
or part time, according to the Ore-
gon Employment Department .
Only 10.8 percent of Gearhart’s
homes are available for year-round
rental, and fi nding one at any price
is a challenge for new arrivals.
What makes “Gearhart, Gear-
hart” is a theme for the city , and
people of all viewpoints see a need
for its preservation. “Gearhart is one
of the most desirable places to live,”
mayoral candidate Bob Shortman
said . “Even the elk have moved in.”
He said his goal is to keep Gear-
hart’s small-town feel while manag-
ing growth.
Matt Brown, also a candidate for
mayor, said if a city is not always
planning, “outside infl uences are
going to plan the city for you.”
“You constantly have to fol-
low your comprehensive plan, your
vision for Gearhart,” Brown said.
“I’ve been here since I was born in
1975. It was a residential commu-
nity because folks had a vision in
the comprehensive plan to make a
sustainable residential community.”
Defi ning that vision is a key
aspect of housing in a city where
the term “affordable housing” is
an oxymoron — Zillow puts the
median home price at $364,700 .
Windermere Real Estate lists
properties in Gearhart, with con-
dos starting at about $200,000.
A brand-new 2,500-square-foot
G
Jeff Ter Har/For The Daily Astorian
It’s no joke that elk are part of Gearhart’s housing mix, along with vacationers and second-home owners.
home on Diamond Lane is listed
for $549,000. At the top of the mar-
ket, homeowners are seeking $3.3
million for a 6,500-square-foot,
seven-bedroom, fi ve-bath beach-
front home. A South Ocean Avenue
four-bedroom, three-bath home in
the desirable Gin Ridge community
is available for about $2.5 million.
Gearhart has few rentals and no
subsidized housing .
“I don’t have anything on
the market right now,” Bonnie
Belden-Doney, the operations direc-
tor of North Coast Rentals, said.
“Everything is rented.”
On the average, she said, she
gets fi ve or six calls a day from peo-
ple around the country looking for
long-term rentals.
Recent prices for one-year rentals
in Gearhart range from a one-bed-
room cottage on B Street for $975
per month to $3,000 for a three-bed-
room, two-bath condominium.
For those able to buy, there are
plenty of opportunities, accord-
ing to Windermere Realtor Melissa
Eddy. “When people are coming to
Gearhart and Seaside full time, they
Melissa
Eddy
Bonnie
Belden-Doney
are prepared to purchase a home at
buy and they recognize that they
will pay,” Eddy said.
Infrastructure
For property owners seeking to
build, the city charges $1,150 for
a water connection, $35 for a grad-
ing permit, and a building permit
based on the state’s permit fee pro-
gram, according to City Administra-
tor Chad Sweet.
Unlike Seaside and other neigh-
boring communities, Gearhart has
no system development charges for
new projects. These charges, paid
by builders, are designed to cover
city services for water, roads and
other infrastructure, and are con-
sidered an impediment by some
developers.
But growth is hard-fought and
every new development is met with
a lengthy review . The city’s vulnera-
bility in the tsunami zone is a factor
in where housing may be located.
Parts of the city are rated the “high-
est level” of hazard zone, according
to the Oregon Department of Geol-
ogy and Mineral Industries.
Available infrastructure also lim-
its Gearhart’s housing growth —
energy, water lines and streets.
If a sewer system is required,
Gearhart residents would be faced
with a big decision as to how to foot
the bill, Councilor Dan Jesse said .
Developers should consider unde-
veloped land east of U.S. Highway
101, he said, which is potentially
safer and offers opportunities for
new construction.
Will ordinance
increase availability?
Gearhart used to be “low-key,
kind of under the radar,” Planning
Commissioner Terry Graff said .
Visitors came for the Hood to
Coast relay, the Seaside beach vol-
leyball tournament and holidays,
“but it always worked, people came
back every year and there weren’t
any problems,” he said.
That has changed with the
advent of easy rentals on the i nter-
net, he and others have said . These
discussions resulted in regulation of
short-term rental properties, seek-
ing registration, inspection and 24-7
emergency contact among other
provisions.
According to an April city staff
report, there are 1,480 permanent
residents in the city limits . Of the
city’s 1,450 housing units, more than
half are for seasonal use or rental.
The new r ules hark back to the goals
of the 1994 master plan “to ensure
Gearhart retains its residential com-
munity character.”
Cliff Johnson, the co-founder
and chief development offi cer of
Vacasa, which represents or man-
ages a number of Gearhart proper-
ties, said short-term rentals allow
homeowners to keep their prop-
erties in the family without being
forced to sell.
“The common thing is I hear
they don’t want new development,”
he said earlier this year . “One way
is to make more lodging available
through vacation homes.”
Vacasa is booking guests in
homes that would otherwise remain
empty, generating public revenue
through lodging taxes and boost-
ing traffi c in local stores and restau-
rants, he said.
Right now the balance is shifting
as residents wait for the ink to dry
on the ordinance and see whether
opponents challenge the rules .
“Through attrition we can get
that number to start leveling off and
going back down,” said Brown , who
supports the new rules. “Maybe we
can get more affordable housing for
families, either long-term housing
or otherwise.”
Cannon Beach: Local business and their employees affected by crunch
Continued from Page 1A
Kucera has spoken about living in
Tillamook County because he cannot
fi nd housing locally .
Cannon Beach Fire Chief Matt
Benedict also struggled to fi nd hous-
ing in town. He stayed in the Cannon
Beach and Arch Cape fi re stations for
several months until fi nding a place
to rent and then purchasing a home.
“I basically sold everything I had
so I could buy a house here,” said
Benedict, who recently closed on
a Haystack Heights home. “We’re
happy. It’s where we want to be.”
Housing specialists and local busi-
ness leaders interviewed in an afford-
able housing report in 2013 said most
of the city’s workers reside in other
towns. M any earn too much money
to qualify for low-income housing,
but not enough to live in town.
Housing for workers
The affordable housing task force
— comprised of community mem-
bers, the Northwest Oregon Housing
Authority, local business representa-
tives and more — began in 2014.
This year, the task force saw con-
ceptual designs for affordable hous-
ing options on the downtown Spruce
Street parking lot, the city’s RV park
and the former children’s center
building in Tolovana Park.
The task force is recommending
park model homes in 12 spaces at the
city-owned RV Park for affordable
housing. A November presentation at
City Hall will provide more informa-
tion about the homes.
Putting park model homes in the
RV Park would not require major
changes in infrastructure and zoning,
and would meet the need for individ-
uals or couples, task force members
said. The task force considered the
Spruce Street concept unrealistic, as
it would take up downtown parking.
Though city government has pin-
pointed a need for workforce hous-
ing, some residents raised questions
about whether the city can sustain
more people and how neighbors of
the RV Park would be affected. Res-
idents have also spoken about keep-
ing the Tolovana Park children’s cen-
ter, one potential housing site, open
for community use.
The Cannon Beach Chamber of
Commerce supports the city’s efforts
to create workforce housing.
Court Carrier, the chamber’s
executive director, said the city’s
need for an adequate workforce,
affordable housing and a school are
interconnected .
“From the chamber’s perspec-
tive, our interest is to fi nd a place for
employees to live,” said Carrier, who
serves on the board of Clatsop Eco-
nomic Development Resources . “It is
so diffi cult to recruit people to work
here on a full-time basis if they can-
not afford to live here.”
PACIFIC
103
Long
Beach
4
401
202
CLATSOP
Area of focus
Cannon
Beach
N
26
101
TILLAMOOK
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
$18,750
$26,077
Persons in poverty
23.3%
16.6%
High school graduate or higher, age 25 or older
89.3%
89.5%
Businesses, workers affected
Without health insurance, under age 65
23%
11.5%
Veterans
137
313,261
$466,900
$234,100
1,795
1.72 million
Jason Menke, co-owner of Sea
Level Bakery, said some employees
have had diffi culty fi nding housing
or have been in-between housing.
“It’s more diffi cult to fi nd
employees, because of the lack of
housing there’s a lack of a work-
force to begin with,” Menke said.
“When we fi nd someone who’s
interested, it’s extremely diffi cult
fi nding them housing so it’s affect-
ing their ability to work here or
not.”
E mployees have found housing
through Craigslist , word of mouth
or are sleeping on friends’ couches.
Staff has also lived in Wheeler or
Gearhart, which is “doable but not
ideal,” Menke said.
Haystack Rock Awareness Pro-
gram coordinator Melissa Keyser
said the lack of housing affects the
program’s employees, leading to
high turnover.
“I spend a lot of time hiring peo-
ple,” she said, noting that some
employees have found rooms to
rent but want their own space.
For a period of time, Cannon
Beach Police Chief Jason Scher-
merhorn noticed some overnight
campers were city employees who
were unable to fi nd a place in town
to live.
Jordan Gulasky, a former Sea
Level Bakery employee who strug-
gled to fi nd housing, said she felt
understaffed at work this summer
— and the area’s lack of affordable
housing is not conducive to com-
munity activities for young peo-
ple . “No one else can fi nd a way to
live here so we have a severe lack
of youth community,” she said.
Gulasky has since relocated to an
affordable home in Nehalem.
City c ouncilors have tied the clo-
sure of the children’s center in April
with the lack of families in the area
due to the housing shortage.
Todd Johnston, the executive
director of the Northwest Oregon
Housing Authority, said the city
affordable housing task force has
a public process and “takes into
account the different viewpoints of
residents.”
“Now it comes to a question of,
‘What does the community really
want?’” he said. “I’m thankful that
I’ve been able to be part of the pro-
cess. There is not going to be an
easy solution.”
Item
WAHKIAKUM
Wash.
Ore.
Seaside
people interested in purchasing
investment properties in Cannon
Beach to rent short-term, said there
is no proven connection between
short-term rentals and the afford-
able housing shortage.
The city considered suspend-
ing new licenses for vacation rent-
als, one part of the short-term rental
program, but decided against the
suspension in August.
Cannon Beach at a glance
101
Cannon Beach* Oregon
Population (2015 est.)
1,702
4.03 million
Median household income
$44,423
$50,521
Male median income
$28,542
$37,399
Female median income
Median housing value, owner-occupied units
Total housing units
*Based on 2010-14 American Community Survey 5-year Estimates
Alan Kenaga/EO Media Group
New fi re chief fi nally fi nds place to call home
Cannon Beach
is a challenge
ANNON BEACH — After
beginning his job in June,
Beach Fire Chief Matt Bene-
dict initially stayed at the Can-
non Beach or Arch Cape fi re sta-
tions with his family and two
small dogs when they came to
visit him.
The diffi culty in fi nding
appropriate housing affected
their family life.
“We just want to fi nd a place
we want to call our home,” Ben-
edict said in July. “We’re kind
of in limbo right now, not sure
C
City Planner Mark Barnes said it
is diffi cult to imagine how Cannon
Beach could grow. “It would have to
be done through infi lling vacant lots,
more density or more space,” he said.
Building up is not an option for a
town that prides itself more like a vil-
lage than a city .
Higher-priced community
Robin Risley, principal broker
at Cascade Sotheby’s International
Realty, said Cannon Beach has a low
housing inventory and high prices.
“Cannon Beach is one of the
higher-priced communities along
the coast,” with comparable prices to
Lake Oswego, Risley said.
An affordable house to someone
making about $55,000 a year would
be about $200,000, Risley said. In
the past year, three houses in Cannon
Beach sold for under $300,000.
As of late August, some condo
units were available for less than
$200,000 — but only for an owner-
ship stake of one month of annual
usage.
Risley, a member of the Cham-
where ‘home’ home is.
the local area. A lot of
As soon as we can get
the houses are rentals
into our property, that
and summertime is time
would be the best. Less
they’re going to make
apartment hunting, more
money on short-term
concentrating on job.”
rentals.”
Moving to town
Benedict’s story has
during the busiest tour-
a happy ending. He
ist season, when long-
found a place to rent
Matt
term rentals are diffi cult
in late summer. After
Benedict
to come by, didn’t help.
selling their homes
“Finding housing is diffi cult
in Pendleton, Benedict and his
right now, especially to fi nd a
wife, Amanda, purchased a home
rental. A lot of the houses to pur-
in Haystack Heights this month.
chase are very expensive and
“I basically sold everything I
I’d prefer to live in the Cannon
had so I could buy a house here,”
Beach area ,” he said during the
Benedict said. “We’re happy. It’s
summer. “It’s just that they are a
where we want to be.”
lot higher than any place around
— Lyra Fontaine
ber of Commerce board, said she rec-
ommends Seaside instead of Can-
non Beach to buyers with lower price
ranges in mind.
“The inventory is a lot smaller in
Cannon Beach than in Seaside, so
there are more opportunities for a
beach house that is affordable,” she
said.
Long-term rentals in Cannon
Beach are scarce compared to Sea-
side or Warrenton, said Bonnie
Belden-Doney, North Coast Rental
Property Manager with Windermere
Stellar.
Though short-term rentals pro-
vide ample fl exibility for property
owners, Belden-Doney said home-
owners can rent their house out for
nine months out of the year.
“I think it’s a win-win situa-
tion when you rent long-term,”
Belden-Doney said. “You have
someone who cares for the home.”
Other renters, she said, are willing
to live month-to-month in homes that
are on the market. The renters must
be prepared to leave when the house
sells.
Some property owners have
shifted the use of their homes from
vacation rentals to long-term rent-
als to avoid dealing with short-term
rental regulations, Belden-Doney
said.
However, Barnes said more prop-
erty owners seem to be making their
homes available as short-term rentals.
Short-term rental debate
According to c ensus estimates,
60 percent of Cannon Beach hous-
ing units are seasonal or vacation
rentals. .
S hort-term rentals have been
tied to neighborhood disturbances
and a factor in the lack of long-
term rentals. But some say short-
term rentals, considered more lucra-
tive than long-term rentals, are part
of the city’s economy. Room taxes
help fund the city’s budget.
In the recent citizen survey, 59
percent said it was essential or very
important that the city reduce the
number of short-term rentals in res-
idential neighborhoods.
Barnes, who fi elds calls from