Lincoln County commissioners have extended a moratorium on what was supposed to be a two-month halt on new vacation rental licenses in unincorporated areas because it hasn’t had time to work on rule changes due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Instead, commissioners voted unanimously Monday to extend the moratorium another five months to Sept. 30.
“All of our energy and resources have been devoted to the pandemic,” county council Wayne Belmont told commissioners, explaining why little to no work has been done on short-term rental rules.
Commissioners had voted March 4 to stop issuing new vacation rental licenses until May 7. Belmont had asked for time for staff to buy and implement a new computer program to track rental licenses and issues, to finalize rules on septic systems and occupancy rates, to get a new code enforcement officer in place, and suggest ideas for a new complaint system.
With the exception of the computer program, most of that work came to a screeching halt in mid March when the state and county began reacting to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“We haven’t been able to look at long-term options or do any work,” Belmont said.
He said staff still hopes to have the new short-term rental software purchased and in place by the end of June. But the hiring of a code enforcement deputy in the sheriff’s office has been delayed until July for budget reasons.
The rentals can’t be used anyway for at least another month. Lincoln County and its seven cities approved a ban March 23 on recreational visitors using vacation rentals. Commissioners and five cities Monday voted to extend the ban until at least May 31.
The prohibition on new licenses applies only to unincorporated areas of the county, outside cities like Yachats or Newport, which have their own restrictions on vacation rentals. Belmont told commissioners last month that the county had 581 short-term rental licenses and 53 new or pending licenses. Those licenses are not affected by the moratorium, he said, only people seeking licenses after March 4.
