Lincoln County commissioners will have a lot of work to do next month to meet a self-imposed deadline of June 1 to complete work on new short-term rental regulations.
County counsel Wayne Belmont told commissioners Monday that he and staff are still working through tweaks of proposed regulations following two workshops this year. The first was in January, when 177 people participated; the second was April 7, when there were 98.
Belmont said he expects to bring back refined proposals on May 3 – giving commissioners at least four meetings to discuss and decide what they want to do. Late last fall, commissioners extended – for the third time — a moratorium on new vacation rental licenses to June 1, when it hoped to complete the new rules.
When asked Monday if that was still the deadline, Belmont said the commission may need to “extend or release” the deadline.
Commissioners have been wrestling with proposals to tighten short-term rental regulations in unincorporated Lincoln County for two years. There are nearly 600 licensed rentals in the county, triple the number just three years ago when more cities began to limit or restrict them.
Proposals currently under review include a countywide or area caps on the number of licenses, decreasing the number of occupants, requiring yearly septic system inspections, and revamping the county’s complaint and response process.
Commissioner Kaety Jacobson told Belmont on Monday that, based on hundreds of comments the county has received, she would like to see “a really detailed document” on enforcement. Belmont replied that one was in the works.
