Lincoln County residents voted Tuesday to phase out vacation rentals in the coastal county’s unincorporated residential areas.
Voters approved Measure 21-203 by a wide margin in preliminary results, with 58% voting yes. The hot-button issue drew 44% voter turnout in the county, one of the highest turnout rates in the state for the off-year election.
The measure, an initiative petition brought to the ballot by a coalition of neighborhood groups, would phase out short-term rentals in residential areas of unincorporated Lincoln County over five years and halt immediately the issue of new licenses. Vacation rental rules within the boundaries of Newport, Lincoln City and other incorporated cities would not be affected.
Boosted by online booking platforms and turnkey property managers, the proliferation of vacation rentals on the coast has resulted in complaints from neighbors about trash, noise, illegal parking and other nuisances. But the conversion of rental homes to vacation rentals has also made the community less affordable for its permanent residents, proponents of the measure said.
Opponents say that’s not the fault of vacation rentals, citing industry studies, and say vacation rentals are a boon to the local economies overall.
Lincoln County began to license and regulate rentals five years ago, but county commissioners at the time didn’t place a cap on the number of rentals, and a three-strike system that was supposed to cost bad actors their short-term rental license had been rendered inert because the rules didn’t lay out a clear enforcement system.
The county commissioners voted just days before Wednesday’s election to take steps toward capping vacation rentals, imposing new requirements and bolstering its system for dealing with violations. A spokesman said the county is still reviewing whether that work will continue given the ballot measure’s approval,
The county has had a temporary moratorium on new short-term rental licenses in place since March 2020. It’s been extended several times, most recently through Nov. 30.
-- Elliot Njus