Deschutes County adopts ordinance allowing RVs as rental dwellings in specified rural zones

The Deschutes County Board of Commissioners adopted Ordinance 2025-004 by emergency at its May 7 meeting, immediately allowing recreational vehicles (RVs) to be used as rental dwellings in specific rural zones subject to new standards for lot size, placement, defensible space and emergency access.

Tanya Saltzman, senior planner, summarized a multi-year process that included a November 2023 Planning Commission hearing, board deliberations in 2024 and a reopened record to gather fire district input. The adoption implements Senate Bill 1013 (state law enabling counties to allow RVs as rental dwellings) while adding local safeguards the board directed during deliberations.

Key features of the ordinance and implementation details:

- Eligibility and minimum lot size: The board adopted a 2-acre minimum lot size across most eligible zones with a 5-acre minimum for certain South County areas with sensitive groundwater. Saltzman said roughly 7,500 properties would meet baseline criteria using the selected acreage and zoning filters.

- Placement and setbacks: An RV must be placed within 100 feet of the primary dwelling and at least 10 feet from other structures; setbacks of the underlying zone also apply. The 100-foot envelope was chosen to cluster impacts and maintain consistency with accessory dwelling unit (ADU) placement rules.

- Defensible space: Owners must provide 20 feet of noncombustible ground cover (or provide documented fire-district-approved alternatives for irregular sites) surrounding the RV, or demonstrate comparable defensible-space measures in coordination with the applicable fire district.

- Emergency access: Driveways and emergency access standards mirror ADU guidelines: a 12-foot travel way width, 20-foot horizontal clearance, 13.5-foot vertical clearance and an all-weather surface — or a written confirmation from a fire protection district that alternatives are adequate.

- Fees and permits: Saltzman said the land-use permit cost is the same baseline fee as ADUs (packet indicated a similar permit fee in the CDD fee schedule), and applicants may need additional on-site wastewater permits if existing septic systems cannot support additional flows.

The board approved first-and-second readings by title and then adopted the ordinance by emergency (requiring a unanimous vote). The adoption took place under an emergency clause so the ordinance was effective immediately; that clause was supported by all three commissioners in the record vote.

County staff said they had prepared implementation guidance, a web checklist, pre-application forms and website content to help applicants determine eligibility and next steps. Saltzman told the board the county had tried to align rules with ADU policy where appropriate to streamline administration.

Commissioners described the ordinance as a tool to enable lower-impact, smaller-unit housing options in rural areas; board members also noted septic requirements and local fire-safety coordination as central to successful implementation. The board directed staff to post an information page and press release and to provide application materials promptly to support residents seeking to bring RV units into compliance.

Because the ordinance was adopted on an emergency basis it is effective immediately; Saltzman said this will allow staff to accept inquiries and permit applications now. The ordinance also contains a standard 90-day effective-date backup if the emergency adoption had failed.