Susan Lorain, Daniel Jesse, Kerry Smith, Dianne Widdop and Paulina Cockrum discuss a potential vacation rental ordinance in Gearhart.

Seaside Signal

A City Council workshop on short-term rentals turned into a discussion of what quality of life Gearhart residents are seeking.

“It’s not the Gearhart we’ve known,” Mayor Dianne Widdop said, describing visitors who “don’t participate in the neighborhood” and are here “more for the partying.” “People really care about their neighborhoods,” she said. “It’s important to us.”

The council has heard from divided residents, some aggravated by a proliferation of short-term rentals in the community and others who profit from the business.

“We’ve received over 30 letters from each side, for and against,” City Manager Chad Sweet said.

City Councilor Dan Jesse worked on the issue in Seaside and discussed it as a member of Gearhart’s Planning Commission. “It’s very apparent to me that this is a very heated subject for many people on both sides,” he said. A $2.5 million business

More than 10,000 people come through Gearhart through rentals, Sweet said.

The city is budgeted to receive about $200,000 in lodging taxes from hotels and condominiums, based on a 7 percent per night lodging tax.

Of the city’s 1,200 homes with water connections, more than 80 are used for short-term rentals. Thirty-five of those allow occupancy of 10 or more, he said, adding that those may be the same homes listed on different online sites. “We’re probably looking at about 82 homes,” Sweet said.

Some companies charge a fee or collect a percentage of rental income.

The number of visitors in each home varies. In some cases, homes with four bedrooms house 17 people. “Some homes in Gearhart were designed that way,” Sweet said.

Sweet estimated an average short-term rental occupancy rate of 25 percent during the summer season, or one night out of four, totaling about 7,200 nights overall. At an average daily rate of between $300 and $350 a night, potential yearly estimated revenue coming in to Gearhart and the homeowners of Gearhart is $2.5 million.

The city does not regulate or tax short-term rentals, Sweet said.

If Gearhart adopted a tax on short-term rentals at the prevailing lodging rate of 7 percent, city revenue could exceed $176,000 per year.

“I was conservative on all those numbers,” Sweet said. “Just to hedge our bets.”

The city manager provided options from “do nothing” to “full restrictions” if regulation should be considered.

Councilors agreed to a data-gathering phase either conducted through an insert in water bills or a separate postcard.

City Councilor Paulina Cockrum agreed establishing goals was the first step. “We don’t want to go off in the wrong direction,” she said. “I’m totally open to the end point, but we need a data-gathering phase to lay out what this is.”

She proposed a work phase, voter referendum, implementation phase, monitoring and accountability. “There are a lot of steps we’ll have to work through, no matter what,” Cockrum said.

Councilors established a timeline to develop a questionnaire on short-term rentals, with a prototype to be delivered to Sweet and presented at the next City Council meeting Nov. 4. The survey would be sent to homeowners either as an insert in water bills, as a postcard or online.

After the survey results are tallied, Sweet said, “You can make a decision — or not — at that point to move on.”

“The longer we wait to do anything, the harder it will be to enact something,” Jesse said.

Widdop said Gearhart is changing. “And in some ways it’s better, and in some ways it’s worse,” she said. “We need to keep this a wonderful place to live. There is no doubt: we need regulations.”