Clatsop County staff recommend raising short-term rental permit to $1,000; public raises concern about 7-night minimum

Gail Henrikson, Clatsop County Community Development Director, told the Board of Commissioners that the county’s short-term rental permit program now costs more to run than the current charge covers and recommended a $1,000 fee for a two-year permit.

“Our fee is very straightforward. It's $550 for a 2 year permit,” Henrikson said during the April work session. She told the board staff recalculated program costs after moving permitting into Community Development and reorganizing code compliance; the updated estimate “comes out to about $923 per permit.” Henrikson said staff would return the proposal to the board on April 23 if the board directed them to do so.

Why it matters: Short-term rentals are a frequent topic in coastal Oregon, where tourism drives part of the local economy but also creates regulatory enforcement costs. County staff argued the fee should reflect the true cost of complaints processing, permitting and inspections so the program does not operate at a deficit.

Board reaction was generally favorable to the staff recommendation. Commissioner Webb said she was “really pleased to see this, the staff report because it responded to everything that we asked about.” Other commissioners said they preferred a flat fee rather than a complex sliding scale tied to unit age or bedroom count.

Public commenters, however, pressed the board on a separate but related rule they said is being enforced unevenly: a seven-night minimum stay requirement that some residents say was added to the county’s coastal residential rules without broad notice. Nancy Chase, a Cove Beach resident, and John Meyer, a short‑term rental owner, asked the board to hold a separate work session to review ordinance language and enforcement.

“Scott Harn’s email is very informative,” Chase said, referring to a staff or public email circulated before the meeting. She suggested staff summarize testimony for and against the seven‑night minimum and return to the board for discussion.

Meyer said owners were surprised to learn Arch Cape regulations were “mixed into the coastal residential zoning” and urged the board to “take a second look.”

What happens next: County staff said they will either gather more jurisdictional comparisons and return with a formal $1,000 two‑year permit recommendation on April 23, or perform additional research if the board requests it. The board also signaled it will schedule a future work session specifically to review the seven‑night minimum and related ordinance text after receiving the email from Scott Harn.

Ending: If the board votes to raise the fee on April 23 it would be the first major adjustment since the county set the two‑year rate at $550; staff proposed reviewing the fee every two years to keep pace with staffing and hotline costs.