The only remedy for too many short-term rentals in unincorporated Lincoln County is a license cap

To the editor:

Left untreated, cancer feeds on, consumes, and eventually kills the body. I believe that left unchecked, short-term rentals feed on, consume, and kill the soul of a neighborhood.

Drive through the Bayshore neighborhood north of Waldport and count the signs from Vacasa, Meredith, Sweet Homes, etc. vying for business.  It is a soulless and sterile place to live, prosper, and enjoy any semblance of what a neighborhood should be.

Several short-term rental owners are currently united to gain control of the Bayshore Homeowners Association Board to thwart any restrictions that might hinder their short-term rental income and influence.

Bayshore is on life support.  Remaining unincorporated communities are infected and quickly following suit unless a realistic remedy is implemented.

Before the Lincoln County’s commissioners are four recommendations, or remedies, to address short-term rentals: (1) Limit the number of people per rental, (2) Periodic septic system inspection, (3) establish a complaint process, and (4) cap the number of short-term rental licenses.

All seem worthy on the surface, but all they do is add layers of complexity and bureaucracy.  Significant questions of implementation, management, enforcement, added personnel, and payment for these abound. Will the moratorium on issuing new rental licenses continue while these questions are resolved? At best, the cap on licenses keep the cancer from spreading.

None of these recommendations, however, resolve the issue of restoring neighborhoods to health and vitality where families and neighbors can enjoy each other, and help and support each other in time of need.  Do not be swayed with a fallacious argument of lost jobs and taxes, or threats of businesses leaving or not locating here.  People will still visit, stay, spend, and enjoy the coast from the beauty of their hotel or motel.

The only solution that will effectively resolve all of the issues with people, septic, and residents’ complaints is to limit the number of licenses and reduce and/or eliminate short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods over a five-year period, or to use the successful city of Hood River model.

Send a clear message of support for reclaiming our neighborhoods by signing the petition at www.15neighborhoods.com.

— Roger Keehn, Waldport