STR public hearing planned

Ward said a driver of the renewed focus on STRs is to provide more straightforward guidance for STR owners / developers and ensure public safety for those renting them.

“Currently, there is no existing ordinance regarding STRs in any of the county departments, so it’s really starting from scratch,” Ward said.

In many counties and cities across the state, at minimum, STR owners must acquire either a business license or conditional use permit to operate their STR.

Data collected by Klickitat County from various home-sharing / vacation and short-term rental sites like Air B&B, Vacasa and VRBO showed an estimated 500 STRs in the county, and not a single one had a permit or license from the county.

Commissioner Jacob Anderson, who operates an STR, said in an email that the previous Board of County Commissioners had discussions about STRs and, at the time, had a policy of not requiring conditional-use permits.

This is the policy the current board has chosen to maintain while county staff works on developing an STR ordinance.

“I hope that there will be a short-term rental ordinance passed very soon, and I will certainly follow all of the regulations outlined in the ordinance,” Anderson said. “We have an amazing staff and counsel working on the ordinance’s language, and I am confident that most STR operators can qualify for a permit easily.”

Though several STRs in the county are operating without permits or licenses, cities within Klickitat County have adopted their own ordinances regarding STRs requiring permits for them to be developed or approved for operation.

In February 2022, the City of White Salmon amended its STR ordinance to include a permit specific to STRs.

Last October, the City of Bingen passed a moratorium on developing STRs in the city to regulate existing STRs and develop a better permitting process and parameters.

The City of Goldendale does not currently have a STR ordinance in place.