Clatsop County staff asks board whether to create safety standards for short-term rentals on float houses

Community development staff told the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners that an application to license a second short-term rental (STR) on a water-only parcel has prompted questions about whether the county should develop a separate set of standards for floating residences.

Lehi Henriksen, Community Development staff, said the county’s first float house licensed as an STR predated the current STR regulatory framework. That structure was licensed in 2020, and county STR regulations were adopted in 2022. Because floating structures are not covered by the Oregon Residential Specialty Code, staff said the county would need to develop tailored life-safety and operating standards—covering topics such as egress, second exits, fire safety equipment and maintenance—before permitting additional STRs on entirely water parcels.

Staff explained another layer of complication: some float-house leases on submerged lands limit occupancy to private use, and converting to commercial short-term rental use could require a different lease with the Oregon Department of State Lands (DSL) or other state approvals. Staff also said structures located within wildlife refuges would not be eligible for STR conversion.

The applicant’s request would also require changes to local code because the county generally does not allow more than one STR on the same tax lot; permitting a second STR on a single parcel would be an unusual exception that could have broader policy implications, board members said.

Commissioners pressed staff on safety. One commissioner described float houses as more hazardous than land-based dwellings during high tides and river inundation, citing historical drownings in other jurisdictions. Commissioners asked staff to research how other jurisdictions regulate STRs on waterways, whether a precedent exists for tailored standards, and whether insurance and lease constraints would block commercial use.

Henriksen said there are about 45 floating structures in the county and that their zoning and regulatory status varies; many are in the John Day River area where aquatic conservation zones apply. Staff recommended further research and a return to the board with options, including a possible new regulatory chapter for float-house STRs if the board wants to proceed.

Commissioners did not adopt any code changes at the meeting. Instead they asked staff to pursue comparative research on other jurisdictions, clarify lease and DSL permitting implications, and return to a future work session with proposals for life-safety standards and code amendments if warranted.