City Council Adopts Six-Month Temporary Moratorium on Short-term Rentals

The City of White Salmon City Council adopted Ordinance 2021-07-1083 imposing a temporary six-month moratorium on short-term rentals within the city limits of White Salmon. The ordinance also provides a 30-day opportunity from the date of the ordinance for property owners who currently have short-term rental bookings finalized before the date of the moratorium to comply with city requirements including obtaining a business license and short-term rental permit.

“Having consistently heard from the community through public feedback and in-person discussions, there's a lot of worry about the impacts of short-term rentals on available housing and city infrastructure, as well as the small-town feel of our city. My belief is we need to push to have that discussion now so we can get focused, broad community feedback on what they want from short-term rentals. My hope is we can move quickly to address the public concerns,” said Council Member Jim Ransier. Ransier brought the moratorium before the council for consideration at Wednesday’s meeting.

“This moratorium will give the planning commission, council and staff time to develop policy that fits our community’s needs. When we passed our STR registration ordinance two years ago we were adamant about wanting more data before we moved into regulations of any kind; we have that data now. I believe we can find a way forward that supports our local STR owners/operators while also addressing the other impacts of this increased use of housing stock in White Salmon,” said Mayor Keethler.

The City Council has heard concerns from residents regarding short-term rentals and feels that it is time to provide guidance in the city’s land use codes on how short-term rentals are allowed. The City Council believes the moratorium is necessary due to the impacts that short-term rentals are having on the housing market and long-term rental availability in the community. The City Council believes unless it acts immediately to preserve the status quo, there are likely to be adverse impacts on the City and its citizens. The Planning Commission will be forwarded the ordinance and is expected to make short-term rentals a priority.

Key findings of fact in support of the ordinance include:

• WHEREAS, short-term rentals have potential negative impacts on residential areas not originally anticipated, including but not limited to nuisance impacts such as excess garbage, insufficient parking, excess noise, trespassing, infringement upon privacy, increased fire risk, zoning code violations, inadequate insurance coverage, excess demands upon law enforcement, and other negative impacts on the peaceful enjoyment of neighborhoods and public health, safety, and welfare, and;
• WHEREAS, the proliferation of short-term rentals also has a potential negative impact on the economy of the city, exacerbating the scarcity of available long-term housing for permanent residents as well as creating excess demands on public services and facilities, and;
• WHEREAS, short term rentals have potential positive impacts by providing a higher return on investment for homeowners wishing to offset their own housing costs, enabling some residents and their families to remain in the City of White Salmon, and;
• WHEREAS, short term rentals have potential positive impacts on the economy of the city by increasing tourist-generated income, such as sales taxes, while also increasing sales for many local businesses, and;
• WHEREAS, these stated impacts from short-term rentals make the city inclined to impose some regulations on the industry, and
• WHEREAS, in order to have effective and appropriate regulation of short-term rentals, the city needs to maintain the status quo until such time as new short-term rental land use regulations can be considered by the Planning Commission and adopted by the City Council, and;
• WHEREAS, a moratorium pertaining to the designation, permitting, construction, development, expansion, remodeling, creation, locating, and siting, etc., of new short-term rental uses needs to be enacted.

The City Council will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, September 1 at 6:00 p.m. to hear from the public about the temporary moratorium. The public hearing will be held at the council chambers at the Fire Hall, 119 NE Church Avenue and via teleconference. The City Council hopes to hear from the community regarding short-term rentals.

Copies of the ordinance are available at City Hall, on the city’s webpage or by emailing Jan Brending at janb@ci.white-salmon.wa.us.

Written comment regarding the temporary moratorium will be accepted no later than 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 1 by emailing the comments to Jan Brending at janb@ci.white-salmon.wa.us or by dropping them off at City Hall. Individuals wishing to testify via teleconference must email Jan Brending at janb@ci.white-salmon.wa.us no later than 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 1.