Short‑term rental enforcement hampered by platform delays; council asks staff to review options

Derek Tokos updated the council on short‑term rental licensing, enforcement and complaints, reporting that the city’s waitlist has held in the low 80s and that enforcement suffers from delays and stale data from the third‑party online platform currently used to manage complaints and communications.

Tokos told councilors he recently checked with the community service officers and that “the online platform we’re using, they’re not giving very good reviews of anymore,” citing delays in information reaching staff and stale complaint data that limits staff’s ability to respond promptly. He said CSOs reported the platform sometimes fails to contact owners within 24 hours and that enforcement, while still occurring, has been “minimal” compared with earlier periods of higher vendor diligence.

Councilors asked staff to consider engaging alternative companies and to examine the time and staffing required to manage a new vendor. Tokos said staff has had preliminary conversations with potential vendors and that the city manager transition had delayed a search; staff will resume review under the new manager and may return with a recommendation. Councilors also discussed seasonal outreach: Tokos and council members supported periodic public-service reminders ahead of spring break and summer rental peaks and agreed the communications office should coordinate advisories reminding guests and hosts about neighborhood expectations.

Councilors asked about license fees and asked staff to compare Newport’s renewal fees and fee structures with other coastal towns (Manzanita was specifically mentioned) and to review litigation history related to short-term rental regulations. Tokos said license counts have declined slowly due to attrition in some areas and that the city has not recently found unlicensed properties advertising. No formal action or roll-call vote was recorded; councilors directed staff to continue reviewing vendor options, coordinate public messaging with the communications office and report back on benchmarking and potential contracting.