Planning commission approves conditional use for vacation rental at Southeast 30 Second Avenue

The Milwaukie Planning Commission approved a type 3 conditional-use application to establish a vacation rental at 8525 Southeast 30 Second Avenue, a single-family property the applicant says has been operating as a short-term rental for roughly eight years.

Staff recommended approval after concluding the proposal met applicable standards in the city code, subject to the usual building and life-safety reviews and required annual neighbor notice for vacation rentals.

The commission’s decision matters because vacation rentals in Milwaukie require discretionary review when the property is not a primary residence. Staff and the applicant described differences between a short-term rental (where the dwelling is a primary residence for at least nine months of the year) and a vacation rental (no formal primary occupant) and explained that vacation rentals trigger additional requirements including a building/fire safety check and an annual notice mailed to properties within 300 feet with owner contact information.

Brett Kelver, senior planner for the city, told the commission the subject lot is about 5,600 square feet and is developed with a roughly 2,700-square-foot single detached dwelling containing five bedrooms and three bathrooms. Kelver said the house has been used as a short-term rental while still serving as the owners’ primary residence for the last eight years. He summarized the staff recommendation to approve and outlined the conditional-use criteria the commission must apply (Milwaukie Municipal Code sections 19.301, 19.905 and 19.1006).

Applicant Mike Jeske spoke to the commission, identifying himself and his city of residence on the record: “My name is Mike Jeske,” and later said he had lived at the property for about 25 years. Jeske said he and his family are in the process of moving and that the house has been rented in various forms for many years. He described operational practices he said would limit impacts — a minimum two-night stay, guest screening, posted quiet hours, on-site parking, and advance house rules — and offered neighbors a direct phone number for complaints.

A neighbor, Austin Brown of Milwaukie, testified in opposition, saying he lives on 30 First behind the property and describing late-night occupants on the subject property’s deck around 2 a.m. on recent weekends. Brown said his principal concerns were late-night noise and the effect of vacation rentals on housing supply, asserting that removing a housing unit from the traditional rental or sales market can reduce supply and contribute to affordability pressures.

Kelver and commissioners clarified that the property could lawfully operate as a short-term rental (a business registration and annual tax are required) while it remains the owner’s primary residence, and that the conditional-use process is required only because the applicant is converting the property to a vacation rental (i.e., no primary occupant for nine months or more).

Commission discussion focused on mitigation of potential nuisances. Commissioners noted the property’s off-street parking, existing screening and lot size, and encouraged the applicant to continue posting and enforcing quiet-hours rules and to provide contact information to immediate neighbors. Several commissioners said they were inclined to approve because staff found the conditional-use criteria were met and because the property had been used as a short-term rental for years.

A motion to approve the conditional-use permit was made and seconded; commissioners voted to approve the application (recorded as Aye votes on the record by Commissioner Garvey, Commissioner Penick, Commissioner Lothar, Commissioner Gratrzak, Commissioner Hess and Chair Edge). The staff announced the application was approved and advised that appeals to the city council must be filed within 15 days of the mailing of the notice of decision.

The approval carries the conditions described in staff’s findings: completion of building and life-safety review, compliance with the city’s vacation-rental reporting/annual notice requirements, and the standard discretionary findings required for a type 3 conditional-use review.

Looking ahead, staff noted neighbors will receive the annual notice and contact information if the vacation-rental permit remains in effect; the applicant told commissioners he would provide his phone number to nearby neighbors and would consider additional on-site signage to remind guests of quiet hours.