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Board adopts short‑term rental cap for coastal residential areas, retains Cove Beach frequency limit
Summary
After a public hearing, Clatsop County adopted Ordinance 24‑19 to cap short‑term rental permits in specified areas and to retain a seven‑night turnover limit in coastal residential zones; staff asked that a strike‑through in draft code be corrected to preserve the Cove Beach language.
Clatsop County commissioners voted to adopt Ordinance 24‑19, revising local short‑term rental (STR) rules to establish permit caps in specified geographic areas and revising permitting procedures.
Community Development Director Gail Hendrickson told the board staff intends to keep a prior provision that extends Arch Cape STR rules to parts of the southwest coastal residential area — language that had been inadvertently struck in the draft. Hendrickson also said county land‑use counsel advised staff to allow transferability of STR permits; the draft ordinance reflects that direction, although a public commenter urged the board to consider stricter transfer limits to bring high existing STR concentrations in places such as Cove Beach into alignment with the new caps.
Jeff Davis (Cove Beach) spoke remotely in favor of caps and urged the board to retain frequency limitations (the draft’s seven‑night turnover restriction for the coastal residential zone) and to resist transfer‑ability changes that would freeze high existing STR percentages in place. "We applaud your board's decision to move forward to implement caps on STRs and unincorporated Clatsop County," Davis said in part.
After brief discussion, the board adopted the ordinance with an amendment to preserve the coastal residential language in Section 5.24.010 that staff had not intended to remove. The clerk recorded the motion, a second and a unanimous vote in favor; the ordinance will be entered into the county code as amended.
Hendrickson and staff will proceed with implementation and any needed administrative processes; commissioners directed staff to ensure the preserved coastal residential language and the transferability approach align with land‑use counsel advice and the board’s intent.
