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Clackamas County adopts short-term rental ordinance, raises enforcement fee to 1.5%
Summary
The Clackamas County Board of County Commissioners unanimously adopted Ordinance 07-2026 amending Chapter 8.10 to regulate short-term rentals, move fees into the county fee schedule, and declare an emergency; a companion resolution set fines and raised the rental fee from 0.85% to 1.5% to fund enforcement.
Clackamas County commissioners on June 25 adopted Ordinance 07-2026, updating Chapter 8.10 of the county code to tighten regulation of short-term rentals and to declare an emergency to expedite implementation. The board also approved a resolution setting enforcement fines and increasing the short-term rental fee to 1.5% to fund the program.
Assistant County Counsel Jeff Muns summarized the changes: the code will require a land-use compatibility statement for registrants, move the fee into Appendix A of the county fee schedule, and institute a biennial renewal requirement for registrations. Staff said the fee increase, from 0.85% to 1.5%, is intended to generate roughly $558,100 to fund enforcement staff and program operations without using county general funds.
During an extended public hearing residents and community representatives supported stronger enforcement but asked the county to differentiate property types. Peter Heims, a Woodland CPO board member, said enforcement capacity must increase: “Two FTEs is a start,” and he urged local community groups to assist code officers. Other commenters, including operators at Collins Lake Resort, asked for a managed-resort exemption or reduced fees for professionally managed properties.
County staff described proposed penalties for violations as comparable to priority-two code-enforcement fines, with an initial citation around $411 and higher penalties for repeated or severe violations in the $750–$2,500 range. Commissioners agreed the ordinance should be treated as an initial step: several said they expect to revisit classification, caps, and exemptions after implementation.
Commissioner West moved, and the board read the ordinance by title only before voting. The final vote to adopt Ordinance 07-2026 was 5–0. The board then approved the fees-and-fines resolution, also by a 5–0 vote.
The county administrator and staff said the ordinance is designed to be adjustable: an internal task force will reconvene and staff will return with refinements and possible property-type distinctions in the coming months. Implementation details — including whether managed-resort properties will be exempted or treated differently — were left to follow-up work.
