WARRENTON — The City Commission on June 9 broached the idea of restricting vacation rentals, part of an increasing regional push to preserve supply amid a tight housing market.

Mayor Henry Balensifer said vacation rentals should be restricted to commercial zones and phased out in residential zones when property is sold. He took aim at Seaside, where a significant share of the housing stock is tied up in vacation rentals.

“I said this multiple times in Seaside,” Balensifer said. “I’m not going to apologize for poking my nose in this one. I don’t usually poke my nose in other cities’ stuff. But when you have that many vacation rentals, you are not helping the housing crisis.”

Gearhart enacted vacation rental rules several years ago and is not taking any new applications. The city allows people who already have a vacation rental to pass it on to their family, but not with a sale.

Seaside allows a percentage of properties in an area to be used as vacation rentals. As long as the property owner complies with short-term rental rules and meets inspection, they can go before the Planning Commission to get approval.

Cannon Beach passed an ordinance that limited property owners to a 14-day permit allowing two vacation renters a month, while allowing the city to better enforce short-term rental regulations and penalize those without licenses.

Astoria does not allow vacation rentals and has begun more closely tracking and licensing homestay lodging.

Balensifer said homeowners should be allowed the chance to make a side income through homestay lodging, but that he wants to avoid the impacts seen in Seaside from an influx of vacationers to short-term rentals.

“We don’t have a big problem with it yet, but … these people getting second homes and stuff like that, that could become an issue in Warrenton,” he said. “And I think it’s important for us to get ahead of that before it becomes a problem in our town.”

A Clatsop County housing study last year found that vacation rentals and second homes are eating up a substantial share of the housing stock, driving up rental and home prices. The study found that 27% of homes in the county are vacant, with construction of second homes outpacing those for long-term residents.

Prices have continued an upward trend even during the coronavirus pandemic, with many out-of-state buyers flooding the market. City Commissioner Pam Ackley, a local real estate agent, said the county doesn’t have the supply to meet the demand of people wanting to move to the Oregon Coast.

“We are experiencing a big influx of people wanting to move out of the huge metro areas into Oregon and coastal communities where they can work remotely,” she said. “We’re seeing a lot of it. We’ve got people coming from the East Coast, California, Washington, Idaho — mostly California, people who can now work remotely.”