OPINION
4A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, JUNE 19, 2017
Founded in 1873
DAVID F. PERO, Publisher & Editor
LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor
BETTY SMITH, Advertising Manager
JEREMY FELDMAN, Circulation Manager
DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager
CARL EARL, Systems Manager
OUR VIEW
Is Seaside’s deal
with Airbnb fair
to its competitors?
S
easide city councilors approved a no cost, voluntary deal
with Airbnb last week to allow the short-term vacation
rental giant to act as an agent for the properties they rep-
resent to collect lodging taxes and send collections to the city.
The deal has that good for some, maybe not so good for others
kind of feel.
For the city, it’s a good deal because those taxes — thou-
sands of dollars annually — weren’t previously collected and
represent an untapped revenue stream. Collections will be
aided by software that tracks Airbnb short-term rentals and
City Manager Mark Winstanley said there are no costs for the
agreement.
Of course the elephant in the room is the question of why
those taxes weren’t previously collected, and whether deals
with other vacation rental firms will now be in the offing.
Airbnb has deals with the state and 14 other cities and coun-
ties in Oregon.
Questions of fairness
But the Airbnb contract also raises the question of whether
the accord will give the multibillion dollar company an unfair
advantage over its commercial competitors, the area’s hotels
and inns.
Terry Bichsel, owner of the Seaside Best Western Ocean
View Resort and Rivertide Suites and a member of the Best
Western International Board of Directors, asked councilors to
delay deciding because he doesn’t believe the deal’s terms are
equitable.
Bichsel advocated that all rental properties, whether man-
aged by Airbnb or not, should have to register with the city
the same as hotels, collect lodging taxes and abide by the
same regulations and oversight. The agreement doesn’t do
all of that, he said, which creates an unlevel playing field. He
pointed out that the contract also limits the city’s ability to
audit Airbnb’s reporting to only one year out of four. Bichsel
urged the city to take time “to get it right.”
Cynthia Malkowski, who with her husband owns the Arch
Cape Inn and Retreat, echoed Bichsel’s comments, After the
council’s 4-2 approval of the deal, Malkowski said she was
“stunned” the agreement was approved, and that the “contract
with Airbnb creates a double preferential standard for Airbnb,
one that greatly discriminates against local law-abiding busi-
nesses and exacerbates our housing crisis.”
Rental numbers
Seaside has the highest number of Airbnb rentals across the
region.
According to Airbnb’s public policy director for the
Northwest, Laura Spanjian,
140 active Airbnb hosts in
What’s really
Seaside welcomed 14,000
guests during the past year. The
at stake is
typical host rents their home
fairness and
for two nights a month, she
recognition
said. In Cannon Beach there
are 30 active hosts who wel-
that vacation
comed 6,000 guests in the past
rentals are
year, with the typical host rent-
ing fewer than 30 nights a year.
a business
In Astoria there are 50 active
— especially
hosts with 6,000 guests over
the past year with 80 percent
when the
of the hosts renting their home
large rental
for fewer than 90 nights a year,
facilitators
she said.
The Airbnb agreement goes
like Airbnb
into effect July 1 and has a
are involved.
90-day termination clause.
Councilors shouldn’t hesitate
to exercise it if the deal shows
any signs of inequity that Bichsel and Malkowski referred to.
The real issues
The issue of vacation rentals has been extremely divisive
between year-round homeowners, vacation rental owners and
their commercial competitors across the region.
The issue, however, isn’t whether vacation rentals should
be allowed, they already exist, with limitations. What’s really
at stake is fairness and recognition that vacation rentals are a
business — especially when the large rental facilitators like
Airbnb are involved. Dollars are changing hands between
owners and visitors each time the homes are rented. Those
transactions should be subject to similar lodging taxes and
oversight as hotels and inns face so all are on a fair playing
field. They need to be efficiently monitored so cities benefit
from the tax collections with the least amount of overhead and
bureaucracy.
Fairness is key, though, and it should be closely watched.
SOUTHERN EXPOSURE
Submitted Photo
View of estuary at Sitka Sedge Natural Area.
Beyond the trail and into the parks
“Robin proudly and passionately
served on the Oregon Parks and
Recreation Department Commis-
sion from 2008 to 2017. During her
tenure, she welcomed several new
state parks into the system, Chrissy
Field, Iwetemlaykin, Bates, Bea-
ver Creek and Cottonwood Canyon.
Robin encouraged the department
to pursue and secure the acquisition
of the Sitka Sedge State Park, which
will be opening for the late fall sea-
son. Risley could continually be
counted on for her reliability, dedi-
cation and involvement. She went
above and beyond donating her own
time attending public meetings all
around the state regarding various
rule changes and policy impacts to
communities and park visitors. She
was a great commissioner always
listening and advocating for what
she believed the public wants it. Her
service was top-notch and will be
deeply missed.”
— Lisa Sumption, director, Oregon
Parks and Recreation Commission,
on Robin Risley
A: I’ve always worked in Gear-
hart, Seaside, Cannon Beach and
Arch Cape. I’m with Sotheby’s
now. I don’t usually work in Asto-
ria, just because I think it’s a differ-
ent animal.
Q: When did you become
interested in civic affairs?
A: I’ve always been involved
one way or another supporting dif-
ferent candidates for offices. I’ve
always been involved in deci-
sion-making to a degree or help-
ing to do that. I am on the Planning
Commission for the county and also
for Cannon Beach.
R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian
Robin Risley
Q
: When you were a mem-
ber of the state’s Parks and
Recreation Department
Commission, did
you find a conflict
with industry
and parkland
preservation?
A: We’ve had
some issues in
Eastern Oregon,
with so much of the land owned
by the government. Some people
can be a little bit upset to hear that
maybe a property that they hold dear
would be public when they would
rather stay private land. We have
gone to meetings that start out fairly
contentious. But as we go along
through the process, we just don’t
have one meeting. We have many
meetings, to get an idea of the tem-
perature of the community.
Q: Do you anticipate fed-
eral policy changes will change
the way land is managed in our
state?
A: That remains to be seen.
Q: Tell me about your
background.
A: I grew up in Milwaukie, Ore-
gon, and my family were pioneers.
They came over the Oregon Trail
the Mount Hood way. They got two
donation land claims. The family
settled in 1843. There is a Risley
Park and the Risley Landing Gar-
dens today.
I graduated from Oregon State
University with a degree in sci-
entific illustration. Then I went
to work for Myron Frank as an
illustrator.
Q: How did you land on the
Q: How did you get involved
with the Parks and Recreation
Department?
A: I got a call from a friend and
they said there was a vacancy if I
was interested. And I have to thank
Debbie Boone, our house represen-
tative, and (state Sen.) Betsy (John-
son) because they encouraged me. I
joined in 2008. I served under three
governors: (Ted) Kulongoski, (John)
Kitzhaber and (Kate) Brown.
Q: From your perspective as a
Realtor, what are people looking
for in Cannon Beach?
A: People always want to be by
the ocean and they always want to
have a walk. Ever since the tsunami
concerns sometimes people request
that they request to be higher up.
Submitted Photo
Historic fence post at Sitka
Sedge Natural Area.
coast?
A: I married a fellow whose fam-
ily owned the Crab Broiler restau-
rant. It seated 292 people and peo-
ple would have to wait two hours to
get a table. They would check in and
come back. It was wonderful,
Q: The restaurant had quite a
reputation.
A: It was named “Outstand-
ing Roadside Restaurant” by Life
magazine. We had 100 employ-
ees. Behind Crown Zellerbach, we
were the largest employer in Clat-
sop County.
Q: What happened to the Crab
Broiler?
A: The family closed it. They
sold it three times and the last one
stuck. It’s been 25 years maybe
since.
Q: What was your next move?
A: I left and went to Lake
Oswego for a little while then came
back and I’ve been here ever since. I
came into realty in 1989.
Q: Do you have a particular
focus?
Q: How do you address the
tsunami threat?
A: You need to be up-front with
every concern people might have.
Q: As a real estate agent, do
you see a celebrity culture here?
A: It goes back to “Kindergarten
Cop” and Arnold Schwarzenegger. I
used to be a stringer for the film and
video department. We did “Kinder-
garten Cop,” we did “Goonies” and
we did “Point Break.”
I’m on the Arts Council for Clat-
sop County. We finished doing
a survey of the different events
throughout the county. In the next
month we’re going to come up with
the value that we think the arts pro-
vide in our community.
Q: What can we look forward
to at the state Parks and Recre-
ation Department?
A: Doug Deur is going to take
my place — woo hoo! I am so
excited!
He’s going to bring a whole
dimension to parks that I think they
need, because a lot of our areas
are very precious. And we need to
honor them.
R.J. Marx is The Daily Astorian’s
South County reporter and editor
of the Seaside Signal and Cannon
Beach Gazette.