Summary: After years of debate both for and against short-term rentals, the Cannon Beach City Council enacted an ordinance that would allow 92 transient rentals to operate at any given time with a license.

The Rental Market: In 1991, the city of Cannon Beach estimated that there were about 200 vacation rentals in the city limits.

Timeline:

Before 1987: Rentals of 14 days or less were illegal within the city limits of Cannon Beach.

November 7, 1987-February 28, 1991: Short-term rentals were legalized in Cannon Beach as an experiment because the city was unable to enforce the ban on the books.

January 1992: Cannon Beach adopted rental rules that would prohibit rentals of less than 14 days, except those that were in operation between November 7, 1987 and February 28, 1991. Those rentals would be allowed to operate for 5 additional years with a city permit. The law allowed only one rental permit per person and included a provision that allowed owners to operate vacation rentals if they could prove that they would be unable to recoup their investment otherwise.

Spring 1992: A group of vacation rental owners appealed the ordinance to the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) with 11 arguments. LUBA rejected all 11 arguments and ultimately, the appeal.

June 1992: Cannon Beach vacation rental owners filed an appeal to the Oregon Court of Appeals to overturn the ordinance restricting short-term rentals.

August 1992: The Oregon Court of Appeals upheld the decision of Cannon Beach to prohibit short-term rentals and rejected the appeal filed by a group of Cannon Beach vacation rental owners. The court found that the ban was not “unconstitutional” since the ban didn';t go into full effect until 1997 and the owners who filed the appeal had yet to feel economic hardship as a result. The court suggested that once an economic hardship was felt, the owners should apply to the city for a hardship exemption.

March 1993: The Oregon Supreme Court agreed to hear a case brought about by vacation rental owners deeming the Cannon Beach vacation rental ban unconstitutional.

April 1995: The city of Cannon Beach proposed revisions to the rental ban ordinance that would extend the outright ban until 2000.

November 2004: The Cannon Beach city council voted to permit 92 vacation rental owners with transient rental licenses to rent out their homes to short-term travelers.

December 2004: Opponents of short-term rentals in Cannon Beach circulated a petition and received 112 signatures to have a referendum placed on the March 1999 ballot to again ban short-term rentals.

March 2005: Cannon Beach with a turnout of about 70% of registered voters voted in favor of allowing short-term vacation rentals in the city.

Advocates for the Ban: Permanent residents, Cannon Beach Neighborhood Association.

Arguments:
• Vacation rentals took away housing that could be rented by permanent residents.
• Vacation rentals bring excess noise, traffic, and dogs into the city.
• Vacation rentals drive the price of longer-term rentals up so high that many employees in the tourism industry can't afford to live in Cannon Beach.
• It's hard to run a Neighborhood Watch Program when many of the houses only have short-term renters.

Opponents of the Ban: Permanent residents, short-term rental owners, realtors, property managers, Keep Our Cannon Beach Friendly.

Arguments:
• Ban restricts owners' rights without compensating them for the lost income.
• Ban is unconstitutional.
• The ordinance will result in the operation of illegal, underground rentals.
• The city should find a way to regulate, rather than ban, vacation rentals.

Cannon Beach Links:
City of Cannon Beach: Short-Term Rentals

Chapter 17.77 of the Cannon Beach Municipal Code: Short-Term Rental of Dwelling Units

Sources:

"Chapter 17.77* Short-Term Rental of Dwelling Units." Cannon Beach Municipal Code. City of Cannon Beach. 07 Mar. 2007 http://qcode.us/codes/cannonbeach/view.php?topic=17-17_77.

"City of Cannon Beach Monthly Status Report January 2005." City of Cannon Beach. 01 Jan. 2005. City of Cannon Beach. 07 Mar. 2007 . http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:sNQY2v64YvcJ:www.ci.cannon-beach.or.us/docs/City/StatusReports/2005/CMReport%252001-05.pdf+%22cannon+beach%22+%22short-term+rental%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us.

"Coastal Groups Say They Have Enough Names for Referendum." Associated Press Newswires 16 Dec. 2004.

Eddy, Laurel. "BREAKING NEWS: Cannon Beach Residents Vote to Allow Home Rentals." The Daily Astorian. 08 Mar. 2005. 07 Mar. 2007 http://www.dailyastorian.info/Main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=398&ArticleID=22874.

Forgey, Pat. "COURT OKS CITY's BAN ON RENTALS." Portland Oregonian 27 Aug. 1992, sec. C01.

Forgey, Pat. "OWNERS OF RENTALS FILE APPEAL." Portland Oregonian 02 June 1992, sec. B03.

Forgey, Pat. "STATE COURT TO REVIEW VACATION-RENTAL BAN." Portland Oregonian 25 Mar. 1993, sec. F04.

Forgey, Pat. "VACATION RENTAL DISPUTE EASES AT CANNON BEACH." Portland Oregonian 27 Apr. 1995, sec. D02. 

Are there developments in your vacation rental market that others should know about? Please let us know.

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