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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (June 10, 2016)
4A • June 10, 2016 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com SignalViewpoints Vacasa promotes ‘the Gearhart experience’ T he guys who wear the black hats in the Gearhart short-term rental debate are the vacation rental management companies. They’re unloved by residents who see them as distant and unresponsive and by renters who say the agencies give them a bad name. They’ve become the face of short-term rental demons, var- iously accused of destroying the fabric of the community and promoting a culture of greed. They’re the anonymous company with an unreachable 800 number somewhere in Yorba Linda, California, whose unregu- lated guests left garbage overfl owing on the streets, overstuffed bedrooms with frat boys and teenage boogie boarders who shoot pigeons with Daisy rifl es. Vacasa’s management came to Gearhart to correct that image. “Every destination along the Oregon Coast is extremely unique,” Vacasa’s Chief Operating Offi cer Cliff Johnson said over latté at McMenamin’s. “While this appears to be a new issue, people have been traveling to Gearhart forever. There are people who really appreciate the tranquility.” Typically, a city’s residents are one-third against and two- thirds for short-term rentals, “almost universally in all commu- nities,” Johnson said. “Most people in the middle are OK with it as long as it’s regulated and done responsibly. We’re responsible for our guests. If it’s the worst home in the community, that’s what we hear about at the meeting.” People in Gearhart worry about becoming Seaside, he said. “That would be the worst thing for the properties we manage in Gearhart. Because that’s not what people coming to Gearhart for vacation want. They specifi cally want the ‘Gearhart experi- ence.’” According to the proposed regulations, the city could require owners of short-term rental properties to provide proof of up- to-date state lodging tax payments and standards for off-site SEEN FROM SEASIDE parking, septic sys- R.J. MARX tems, garbage pickup, room occupancy and safety codes. Violations could bring a $500 fi ne; “three strikes,” revocation of a permit. Per- mits would not be transferable, except through inheritance, and the number of permits would be reduced through attrition. The city reported 86 short-term rentals at the end of April; as of late May, there were 96. Playing by the rules Of those, Vacasa manages 40 properties in Gearhart and out- side its city limits, according to Johnson and Marketing Director Sarah Tatone. Vacasa doesn’t object to a short-term rental permit process or a city tax in Gearhart or other cities. A local lodging tax can be a boon to the city, Johnson said. While state tourism taxes must go to promote tourism, cities can designate any use they choose. Safety inspections level the playing fi eld. “We only want safe homes for our guests,” he said. “That’s something we agree on and are good with complying on.” Johnson said parking rules “can get interesting, but you have to be realistic about it.” For example, Lincoln City’s rules prohibiting out-of-towner parking “creates havoc” in summer months. Johnson said he would like to see a higher cap on the num- ber of Gearhart’s short-term rentals or elimination of the cap altogether. In Manzanita, short-term rentals are capped by a formula fi guring overall percentage of residential units. “There might be times when the cap is reached, but it’s got a little room for buffer for people to fold in,” Johnson said. “There are people who purchased property with the intent of renting it and then they had to wait until someone drops out of the pool.” If Gearhart is set on a cap, he added, do not allow it to shrink through attrition. R.J. MARX/SEASIDE SIGNAL Marketing Director Sarah Tatone and Chief Operating Offi cer Cliff Johnson of Vacasa. Limits to occupancy should be based on the number of bed- rooms, especially where there is a septic system or “concern for the quiet care of the community.” Johnson said he opposes rules preventing new owners from applying for permits. Length-of-stay rules are “impossible to enforce,” and reward those willing to circumvent the rules. “Gearhart is unique in that it’s not trying to drive tourism, but you still need business in the winter,” he said. The consequences of overly restrictive clauses could ad- versely impact real estate values, he said, and lead to an increase in vacant homes — targets for crime. They could push business underground and hurt real estate prices. And be careful about over-complicated rules, Johnson warned. “Cannon Beach’s law is so confusing there are ram- pant violations of the law. People feel they are penalized for following the rules.” Even in big cities, he said, enforcement is diffi cult. “It’s one thing to design a lot of rules and another to look at how those rules are going to play out in practice especially in a smaller city government like Gearhart,” Johnson said. Passionate pleas Voices against short-term rental regulation say they repre- sent the original spirit of Gearhart, days when visitors by the hundreds made their way to the Gearhart Hotel, summer homes, cabins and bungalows. Some say they have a right to manage their properties as they see fi t without interference from the city — any loss of that right is a government taking. For others, renting is the only way they say they can keep their homes. Those in favor of new rules seek a permitting process with teeth to prevent short-term rental abuses and maintain a quality in the community that fosters local schools, volunteers and a high quality of life — what one advocate described as the “heart and soul of the community.” The City Council will meet July 5 to discuss the Planning Commission’s recommendations. Where a $35 million corporation fi ts into the discussion remains unclear. “Our goal is to work in the communities that embrace us, and fi nd the rules that fi t us best,” Johnson said. “Gearhart is fo- cusing on the two or three things they’re most concerned about, which will come down to the overall fabric of the community. “We need to understand where people are coming from and fi nd some common ground,” Johnson said. “We’re constantly looking at way to improve our experi- ence,” Tatone added. Pesticides having an impact on our wildlife W e always have a good time at the United Method- ist women’s meetings. On May 11, it was our an- nual salute to our ladies over 80. We had a Luau, capably arranged by Judy Parish, Pearl Mesta of Methodist Party Givers. We had pork and poi, tropical fruits, pine- apple upside down cake, fruit punch, sticky rice dessert, spam, salads, macadamia nuts and so many other kinds of Hawaiian dishes. Everyone wore muumuus and leis or fl owered shirts. Some had green grass skirts. A special treat was an Elvis Presley solo by Jeremy Sanders. His song was “Rock-A-Hula Baby” and he did a great professional job. We didn’t know if he had a local gig anywhere but it could happen. It was with mixed feelings we SCENE & HEARD arrived at church CLAIRE LOVELL and discovered what has gone on with the sidewalk paving. It’s taken up all but one of our parking places with way too much sidewalk. I doubt if there was any discussion beforehand. Still, it will be nice to have paving again after the falls and inconvenience. On Sunday, May 29, we were met by a Port-A-Potty just a few feet from the spot where a hand- icapped bus unloads its passengers. It seemed like it was there on purpose. Somehow I thought the 1914 sidewalks were still pres- ent at Franklin and 12th Avenue, but on our sight seeing trip earlier, I noted that they had been scraped out as well. As I’ve noted before, my hometown has long gone. Where are the birds? By this time into the year, I would be seeing a lot of juncos, sparrows, starlings or other small birds at the feeder, or fl itting around the yard. I see an oc- casional scrub Jay, crows, of course, and there would have been several killdeers on the Factory Outlet lawn. I’ve seen the doves only a time or two although I hear them cooing in the trees. What gives? It’s spring! Eventually a couple of black-capped chickadees did show up and a few more took up residence in the shrubs and bushes. Personally, I think the reason we never see frogs or toads or garter snakes anymore is that people are recklessly using things like Roundup and other pesticides. The food chain just wipes out everything. Memorial Day, I went with friends Ann and Judy to the legion — Elks observance at the Legion Hall. We had a ceremony outside in the sun. The Boy Scouts Troop 642 put fl ags in place and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Speak- ers were Col. Michael Becker from the Oregon Training Center, Rep. Deborah Boone and Mayor Don Larsen. There were also remarks from Cmdr. Chuck Godwin and Michael Huevelhorst from the Elks Lodge #1748. Kayla Vowels sang the National Anthem and led a couple of other numbers. The Jack McCollum family did the wreath toss. Sgt. at Arms did the fl ag raising. Then we went into the hall for spaghetti and salad. It was a satisfying holiday. Out fi nal celebration was ice cream at the Gearhart Dairy Queen. The recent purchase of the golf course and the partee room for renovations has gotten people talking about the good old times of its heyday. Someone thought I’d re- member the name of its former cook and I did eventually. I came up with the Estrella part fi rst. The Tommy came later. Also, I thought of his daughter Melody, who used to come to the Seaside clinic with her mother when I was working there. Gary worked at the restaurant a while and learned a lot about cooking from Tommy. Laugh Line A snappy dresser in Washington, D.C. was walking to his car when a man with a gun showed his weapon and said, “Give me all of your money!” “Oh, I can’t do that,” replied the S.D. “I’m a U.S. Con- gressman and I have responsibilities.” “Well, then,” said the gunman, “give me all of my money.” (Randy Brainerd told me this story when I was under the weather so I hop I came close in the repetition.) When I was a little girl, I didn’t want to gather eggs in the henhouse because I was afraid of the poultrygeist. (Courtesy of Dana Perino.) BEACH DAY How neighboring cities regulate short-term rentals Tillamook County County regulates rentals. Homeowners responsible for their guests. Proof of liability insurance. Transient lodging tax with $150 annual permit fee and $70 inspec- tion fee. New ownership or management fee, Newport Newport business license re- quired for rentals less than 30 days. Bed & Breakfasts require a separate permit. Rentals permitted in all of the city’s residential and commercially zoned areas. Designated contact required, in- cluding notification to neighbors. Application with site plan and parking; maximum occupancy of two per bedroom. Waste disposal, landscaping and guest register. Cannon Beach Home rental permit is authori- PUBLISHER EDITOR Steve Forrester R.J. Marx zation to rent a house or portion of a house for periods of less than 30 days. One permit per homeown- er. The permit must be renewed annually. Upon issuance, the vacation home rental permit allows a prop- erty owner to rent the dwelling to one tenancy group in a two-week permit. Requires inspection, local repre- sentative and city business license. $275 one-time non-refundable application fee. Permit must be renewed annu- ally. Local representative certifica- tion. A vacation home rental permit is issued to a specific owner of a dwelling unit. Cap at 92. As new permits become available, city conducts lottery for new permit-holders. As transient rental permits becomes available, the City con- ducts a lottery (randomly selects) property owner names from a list of individuals who wish to apply for a five-year permit. Seaside Seaside requires approval for short-term rental of certain resi- dential properties. Requires owner contact, site plan, noise, smoke, odor and waste pickup. Occupancy limits of three per bedroom. Local contact and imme- diate neighbor notifications. Three off-street parking spaces required. Tsunami info must be posted, including a tsunami evacuation map within the vacation rental. Limited zones for rentals. Manzanita City license required. Application with $75 fee and fire and safety inspections. Licenses limited by residential zones, not to exceed 17½ percent of the total number of dwellings with those zones. Rental license lapses upon sale or property or upon failure to sub- mit lodging tax reports. ADVERTISING MANAGER PRODUCTION MANAGER CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Claire Lovell Jon Rahl Esther Moberg Katherine Lacaze Eve Marx Betty Smith John D. Bruijn CIRCULATION MANAGER SYSTEMS MANAGER Heather Ramsdell Carl Earl ADVERTISING SALES Brandy Stewart R.J. MARX/SEASIDE SIGNAL Warm weather brought beachgoers to Seaside Saturday. Seaside Signal Letter policy The Seaside Signal is published every other week by EO Media Group, 1555 N. Roosevelt, Seaside, OR 97138. 503-738-5561 seasidesignal.com The Seaside Signal welcomes letters to the editor. The deadline is noon Monday prior to publication. Letters must be 400 words or less and must be signed by the author and include a phone number for verifi cation. We also request that submissions be limited to one letter per month. Send to 1555 N. Roosevelt Drive, Seaside, OR 97138, drop them off at 1555 N. Roosevelt Drive or fax to 503-738-9285. Or email rmarx@seasidesignal.com SUBSCRIPTIONS Annually: $40.50 in county • $58.00 in and out of county • e-Edition: only $30.00 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Seaside Signal, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103. Postage Paid at Seaside, OR 97138 and at additional mailing offi ces. Copyright 2015 © by the Seaside Signal. No portion of this newspaper may be re-produced without written permission. All rights reserved.