Map indicates density levels of vacation rental dwellings in Seaside.

The Seaside Planning Commission has sought to eliminate confusion about who or where to call when the vacation rental next door is out of compliance.

Providing access to 24-hour local contacts has been a goal of the city’s code compliance officer, Jeff Flory, whose job is to monitor vacation rental regulations and restrictions. Since he started about a year ago, he’s worked with commissioners to tweak the rules to add responsiveness and accountability to the process.

For neighbors, the local contact information can be obtained online or by calling the Planning Department.

If the emergency contact or homeowner doesn’t respond within a reasonable amount of time — considered about two hours — then a complaint could be lodged with the city.

Failure to respond to a neighbor’s valid complaint could lead to Planning Commission review of the property owner’s conditional use permit.

Street parking, long a source of confusion for homeowners, neighbors and law enforcement, was also a matter of commission concern.

Visitors to a vacation rental property are allowed to use on-street parking, on a limited basis, for a limited period of time. Added code language states visitors should not significantly increase traffic or negatively impact the surrounding neighborhood, since this is a violation of the vacation rental’s condition of approval.

“The question becomes, as it always does for parking, ‘How many is too much, how long is too long, what is OK,’” Chris Hoth, the chairman of the Planning Commission, said. “You can’t say it’s up to three cars for 45 minutes. It’s a little subjective about what’s considered to be a problem.”

It will be up to the code enforcement officer to determine what’s reasonable. “If this is a situation every weekend at a VRD where there’s extra cars there, we can argue it’s having an impact on the neighborhood, and at that point, take a look at it on a specific case-by-case basis,” Flory said.

“If it’s something ongoing and continuous, that’s something we’ll want to address. If it’s every once in a while, and it’s a reasonable accommodation, I think we can explain it to the neighbors as such to try to keep on top of it. If it’s a continuous problem, we’ll come back to you guys and ask you to readdress that policy.”

Other policy updates include conditions for applying for vacation rental permits, including neighborhood density and occupancy.