149TH YEAR, NO. 122
DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2022
$1.50
HOUSING
County
offers
surplus
property
Fifteen parcels are identified
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
Lawn chairs face Gull Rock in Cove Beach, where vacation rentals are popular.
As moratorium ends, county looks
at new rules for vacation rentals
In an effort to support new housing
and social services, Clatsop County has
identified surplus land that can be devel-
oped by cities and nonprofits.
The county on Friday issued a request
for expressions of interest on 15 prop-
erties in Astoria, Warrenton and Seaside
that can be used for low-income housing,
social services and child care. Parties will
have until May 13 to submit their ideas.
“Offering potentially buildable surplus
land is one way the county can tangibly
support affordable housing needs within
cities,” County Manager Don Bohn said
in a statement. “We look forward to col-
laborating with our city and nonprofit
partners in an effort to move the needle.”
See Surplus, Page A6
Standards could
help ease tensions
in neighborhoods
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
C
latsop County is evaluating new
rules on vacation rentals as a
moratorium on permits is set to
expire this month.
At a public hearing on Wednes-
day, county commissioners will con-
sider amending the development code
to allow vacation rentals in more than
a dozen zones where they are not an
explicitly permitted use but where
many still operate. The board will also
weigh several proposed code revisions
that address standards for operating
short-term rental units.
Such standards could include
requiring property owners to post
good-neighbor flyers listing rules
around quiet hours, speed limits, park-
ing, litter, trespassing, pets, drones,
fires, fireworks and other points of
contention, according to the county
staff report. Owners would also have
to post emergency information about
wildfires, tsunamis, landslides and
power outages.
The new rules would forbid own-
ers from transferring permits to new
owners, who would need fresh permits
and unit inspections. Permits would
expire after two years instead of five.
The number of visitors per unit would
be determined by septic capacity, or
restricted to two people per sleeping
area — up to 14 people total.
A local agent or property represen-
tative would be required to respond
to complaints, which would be tiered
according to severity.
The new standards would exist sep-
arately from standards for Arch Cape,
an unincorporated community where
short-term rentals have been an allow-
able use since the early 2000s. The
board will vote on whether to move
the Arch Cape standards from the
development code to the county code.
The board meeting comes two
weeks before a county moratorium on
issuing new short-term rental permits
is scheduled to expire.
Pushback
Cities and counties along the Ore-
gon Coast have struggled to balance
the growth of tourism with the chal-
lenges of regulating short-term rent-
als that can disrupt residential neigh-
borhoods. The lodging taxes and
economic benefits can often be over-
shadowed by excessive noise, parking
problems and trash at rentals of 30 or
fewer days.
In the unincorporated areas of Clat-
sop County in recent years, the prolif-
eration of vacation rentals — a trend
intensified by Airbnb and Vrbo — has
led to pushback, particularly from res-
idents in South County’s Cove Beach
neighborhood.
The topic reveals tension between
rental owners — some of whom man-
age units that predate the recent vaca-
tion rental explosion — and residents
who seek to preserve the quiet spirit of
neighborhoods that they fear will be
overrun by commercial enterprises.
The pressure to restrict vacation
rentals also stems from the county-
wide housing crunch. A housing study
released in 2019 found that much of
the local housing stock is tied up by
second homes and short-term rentals.
“The growth of short-term rental
activity, made easier by new website
and app platforms, is likely exacerbat-
ing the perceived housing shortage and
lack of affordability,” the report found.
“While the Oregon Coast has always
had vacation rental activity, these tech-
nologies have facilitated the manage-
ment of vacation housing for income
generation.”
In 2018, the county passed an ordi-
nance to handle health and safety con-
cerns, regulating the previously unreg-
ulated ventures.
See Vacation rentals, Page A6
THE NEW RULES WOULD FORBID OWNERS FROM TRANSFERRING PERMITS TO
NEW OWNERS, WHO WOULD NEED FRESH PERMITS AND UNIT INSPECTIONS.
PERMITS WOULD EXPIRE AFTER TWO YEARS INSTEAD OF FIVE. THE NUMBER
OF VISITORS PER UNIT WOULD BE DETERMINED BY SEPTIC CAPACITY, OR
RESTRICTED TO TWO PEOPLE PER SLEEPING AREA — UP TO 14 PEOPLE TOTAL.
Warrenton
fills city
manager
position
Burgener to replace
Engbretson in role
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
WARRENTON – Pending contract nego-
tiations, the city will have a new manager.
The City Commission voted unanimously
on Friday to offer the posi-
tion to Ben Burgener, the
city manager in Stanfield in
Umatilla County. Burgener
was announced as a final-
ist for the role in late March.
“He will bring great
energy and ideas to the
city and I’m looking for- Ben Burgener
ward to working with him
to take Warrenton to the next level,” Mayor
Henry Balensifer said in a statement.
The city will begin contract negotia-
tions with Burgener and a timeline for his
arrival will be announced at a later date.
See Burgener, Page A6
Longtime salon owner steps away
Her colleague
will take the reins
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
W
ARRENTON — When
Cheryl Matson started with
Third Dimension Cuts, she and her
co-workers were wearing masks.
The year was 1980 and the
eruption of Mount St. Helens saw
many people across the Northwest
resort to masks to prevent ingest-
ing ash.
Over four decades later, with
the coronavirus pandemic bringing
masks back, Matson figured it was
a good indicator that it was time to
retire.
“I feel like I’ve come full cir-
cle,” she said with a laugh.
Matson never left Third Dimen-
sion. After working 12 years with
the corporate division, she decided
to become an owner within the
franchise in the 1990s, eventually
taking over the salon at Youngs
Bay Plaza in 1999.
Third Dimension has been in
Warrenton for even longer, origi-
nally located in Fred Meyer.
Matson is stepping away at the
end of April.
Wanting to keep ownership
within the business, Matson will
look to longtime employee Steph-
anie Carlson to take the reins.
Carlson spent several years
as the receptionist at the salon,
and after going to beauty school,
she returned to Third Dimension,
working as a hair stylist for the
past five years.
“It’s really huge to be able to
keep the doors open and have
everybody feel comfortable that it
is going to be the same and con-
tinue,” Matson said. “ ... She has
been in it, doing it, feeling it and
See Salon, Page A6
Cheryl Matson, right, is passing along her salon to Stephanie Carlson.