A4 • Friday, December 6, 2019 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com
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WANTED: CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER
‘RENT-A-VRD COP’?
Late-night hot-tub parties, cars scattered
willy-nilly blocking the street, over-
crowding, litter — those are some of the
complaints residents in Seaside brought
to city offi cials this year associated with
short-term rental abuses.
SEEN FROM SEASIDE
R.J. MARX
Short-term rental compliance
offi cer could become city’s
most valuable asset
Host Compliance is one of a number of companies specializing in monitoring short-term
rentals. Their message stresses, “Don’t be a dinosaur.”
S
hort-term rental enforcement is a fact
of life for all communities on the
North Coast.
In unincorporated Clatsop County, the
short-term rental application fee is $450 and
includes review by Land Use Planning, an
on-site wastewater treatment facility inspec-
tion by the Clatsop County Public Health
Department and a home inspection by the
Clatsop County Building Codes Division.
When a building violation occurs in a
short-term rental, the building offi cial “may
immediately revoke” the permit if it is a life
and safety risk. If a license is revoked, the
homeowner can’t reapply for a year.
Clatsop County has two code compliance
staff — Nancy Mendoza and Rob Ledger-
wood — both in the Community Develop-
ment Department.
In Gearhart, City Administrator Chad
Sweet serves as code enforcement offi cer,
monitoring the city’s 80-some rentals, with
associated costs paid for by the city’s annual
$600 short-term rental permit fee.
Staff at City Hall track short-term
rental complaints. “This year so far, we’ve
received three, two parking and one barking
dog,” Sweet said.
The number of complaints has gone
down since Gearhart’s short-term rental
ordinance went into effect in October 2016.
“Our goal is to knock on doors, have a
conversation,” Sweet said. “Talking fi xes
many of the issues. We’ll follow up with a
letter or two, and if we don’t get a response,
we may have to issue a notice of violation in
the form of a ticket.”
In Cannon Beach, the code compliance
offi cer works through the police department.
The city fi lled the role last year. Her
work was “excellent,” City Manager Bruce
Some municipalities turn to the pros.
Companies like Harmari and Host Compli-
ance are one way cities police short-term
rentals. These rent-a-VRD cop services aim
to do what cities have an increasingly diffi -
cult time doing, monitoring and collecting
penalties associated with a city’s growing
number of short-term rentals.
Johnson Economics
Johnson Economics
Growth in short-term rental housing is rising
quickly toward the number of new housing
units in Clatsop County.
Seaside’s vacation rental dwelling numbers
have outpaced new housing since 2010.
St. Denis said, and she applied and won a
police position. The code enforcement posi-
tion is currently vacant and being advertised.
This fall, Seaside offi cials enacted an
annual increase business license fees for
vacation rentals, adding $400 fee to each
permit, based on three tiers of occupancy.
The fee increase, City Manager Mark
Winstanley said, will “allow for generation
of enough money to pay for costs associated
with the compliance offi cer,” including sal-
ary, benefi ts and equipment.
Now all that’s missing is the offi cer — a
position that might not be so easy to fi ll.
It takes a special person for the job, Win-
stanley suggested. “You’re not hiring some-
body who looks at this job and says, ‘This is
going to be fun.’”
Whether under the auspices of commu-
nity development or the police, the code
offi cer will need the wisdom of Solomon
and the brute force of the Terminator.
Like Seaside, residents of the coastal city
of Yachats fi lled town meetings, protesting
that the city had “fallen down” by failing to
monitor the city’s 138 registered short-term
rental properties.
Like Seaside, Yachats is in the market for
a code enforcement offi cer, with $80,000 set
side to pay for it.
But the position has proved diffi cult to
fi ll, and the city manager is considering
other options to enforce codes, including
partnering with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s
Offi ce and exploring computer software to
monitor tax compliance.
“We currently have a temporary
employee,” Yachats City Manager Shan-
non Beaucaire said in November. “Once we
get more data, we will determine if we will
hire.”
In Seaside, a salary and job description
has yet to be delivered, or even a decision
which department the offi cer will report to.
Newcomers hear tales of Terrible Tilly
HAUNTED?
VIEW FROM
THE PORCH
Newcomers wondered
what spirits might lurk
inside Terrible Tilly.
EVE MARX
rian D. Ratty is a retired media exec-
utive and graduate of Brooks Insti-
tute of Photography. Ratty is the
author of seven books, including “Tilla-
mook Rock Lighthouse: History and Tales
of Terrible Tilly.”
On Nov. 18, Ratty gave a talk to mem-
bers of the North Coast Newcomers and
Social Club book group at the Sweet Shop
in Gearhart.
Ratty spoke about Terrible Tilly, sharing
lighthouse stories for half-an-hour to a rapt
audience. He recalled his grandfather who
spent time at the light-
house, describing what
it was like to get to there
and life on the rock. He
vividly described what
it must have been like
Eve Marx
during the violent win-
ter storms when waves Local author Brian
and ocean spray likely D. Ratty makes an
crashed in from the top, appearance at the
dousing the keepers with Sweet Shop in
icy water and imperiling Gearhart.
their very lives.
He spoke of the grav-
ity-fed outhouse on the lighthouse site, and
Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s decision to
merge the lighthouse service with the Coast
Guard in 1939.
“Not a popular decision with the Coast
Guard at the time,” Ratty opined.
Decades ago, the federal government
declared the site surplus, and it was sold,
several times. Mimi Morrisette, a resident
of Cannon Beach, is Terrible Tilly’s current
owner. In 1980, she and a business partner,
with the help of some investors, purchased
the property, sight unseen. Morrisette’s plan
was to turn the place into a columbarium
to be called Eternity at Sea. Sadly, there
were paperwork issues and vandals broke
in. A few urns are said to have gone miss-
ing. According to a story published in the
Astorian last January, Morrisette intends to
restore the storm-battered lighthouse and
B
PUBLISHER
EDITOR
Kari Borgen
R.J. Marx
As the renting of private homes for short
periods of time becomes more common
— and profi table — so are the impacts to
neighbors. Somebody to count beds, bags
and children. Someone to study license
plates and parking patterns. Cars outside
are not necessarily attached to the visitors,
so making assumptions can be risky.
Courtesy Cannon Beach History Center and Museum
“Turn your short-term rental problem into
a benefi t with additional tax revenue and
an involved community,” Harmari says in
publicity materials, boasting a return on
investment of a whopping 280%.
Host Compliance “has worked with hun-
dreds of cities and counties to help them
put in place fair and enforceable short-
term vacation rental regulations,” they
write on their website. “In doing so we
have developed a deep understanding of
what works and what doesn’t.”
— R.J. MARX
While exact numbers remain to be
determined, Winstanley said he is con-
fi dent the across-the-board increase will
cover costs associated with the compliance
offi cer.
“I think one of the things the council
probably in the future could take a look
might be to mitigate that increase, but right
now I’m comfortable that will cover it,”
Winstanley said.
For my money, if I had any, the city’s hir-
ing squad should fi nd an old-fashioned dep-
uty with a heart of gold.
LETTERS
Recall is costly, unnecessary
Clatsop County voters should decline
to sign the petitions that would force a
recall vote on Rep. Tiffi ny Mitchell. A
recall will be expensive, and if it suc-
ceeds it will result in a representative
appointed by county commissioners —
we won’t get to vote on the replacement.
And Mitchell doesn’t deserve a recall.
Recalls should be used to remove cor-
rupt offi cials. No matter what you think
about her voting record, Tiffi ny Mitch-
ell has honorably served our community.
She’s always been accessible to her con-
stituents, and up front and honest about
where she stands. Even the organiz-
ers of this recall cannot point to a single
instance of corruption or illegal activity
by Rep Mitchell.
Voters should recognize that signing
the recall petition could cost all of us a
lot of money. More than $50,000 of our
tax dollars would have to be diverted to
pay for a special election.
If the expensive recall effort suc-
ceeds, there won’t be another vote for a
replacement. Instead, county commis-
sioners — not voters — will decide and
pick our next state representative.
No matter how you feel about Tiffi ny
Mitchell’s votes, she was elected by the
people of the North Coast, and this recall
will circumvent the will of the voters and
take our choice away.
Scott Lee
Astoria
Author Brian Ratty shared tales of Terrible Tilly.
revive the columbarium.
Although “Tillamook Rock Lighthouse”
is a nonfi ction work, as an author, Ratty
said he’s partial to writing historical fi ction
featuring bold characters. He describes him-
self as a disciplined writer who writes new
material in the mornings and revises in the
afternoons. Once a chapter is completed, he
hands it over to Tess, his wife, who gives
him guidance, comments, and corrections.
Is the lighthouse haunted? someone from
the book group wanted to know. This rumor
is popular as sometimes it appears a light is
shining from within.
Ratty declined to offer his opinion on
that subject.
“I’m not a lighthouse expert,” he said,
smiling.
He said what he most enjoyed about
CIRCULATION
MANAGER
Jeremy Feldman
ADVERTISING SALES
MANAGER
Sarah Silver-Tecza
MULTIMEDIA
ADVERTISING
REPRESENTATIVE
Kim McCaw
PRODUCTION
MANAGER
John D. Bruijn
SYSTEMS
MANAGER
Carl Earl
CONTRIBUTING
WRITERS
Skyler Archibald
Darren Gooch
Joshua Heineman
Rain Jordan
Katherine Lacaze
Eve Marx
Cara Mico
Esther Moberg
writing “Tillamook Rock Lighthouse” is
that he employed not only his own voice,
but voices of real people who had a genu-
ine connection to the lighthouse. Terrible
Tilly received its dread-fi lled nickname as a
result of the shattering experiences of those
keepers who lived and worked on the site
during fearsome, pounding storms. Back in
the day, once you were on the rock, there
was no way off save by boat, and with no
way to call for help, keepers had no choice
except to ride the storms out. Some did pay
the ultimate price — death — to keep the
beacon burning.
These days, common murres and sea
lions are the only known residents of the
lighthouse.
“The sea lions have taken over,” Ratty
said.
MEETINGS
Seaside City Coun-
cil, 7 p.m., City Hall,
989 Broadway.
Gearhart Planning
Commission, 6 p.m.,
City Hall, 698 Pacifi c
Way.
Tuesday, Dec. 10
Tuesday, Dec. 17
Monday, Dec. 9
6:30 p.m. Gearhart
City Council and
Planning Commis-
sion, work session,
county housing
study, City Hall, 698
Pacifi c Way.
Thursday, Dec. 12
Seaside Convention
Center Commission,
5 p.m., Convention
Center, 415 First Ave.
Union Health
District of Clatsop
County, 8 a.m.,
Seaside Providence
Hospital Ed Center,
Room B.
Sunset Empire Park
and Recreation
District Board of
Directors, 5:15 p.m.,
Bob Chisholm Com-
munity Center, 1225
Avenue A, Seaside.
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