The Dalles sees new rules for short term rentals

At a regular meeting Nov. 25, The Dalles City Council approved changes to two ordinances guiding the city’s oversight and taxation of temporary lodging within city limits.

“The vast majority of the recommended amendments are administrative in nature,” said City Attorney Jonathan Kara. “This is very much a quality of life proposal to help city staff and the administration of this ordinance.”

After listening to more testimony from short term rental operators and an adjacent resident, the council voted to adopt the transient lodging tax (TLT) ordinance and to approve substantive changes to the short-term rental (STR) ordinance. The final STR ordinance will be adopted at a later date.

Of the 47 total STR units currently in The Dalles, 33 are not owner-occupied, and 40 are located in residential zones.

What rules are changing?

Many residents who wrote and spoke previously on this topic to the council described concerns with “clustering,” or groups of STRs which many said threaten higher instances of noise, incorrect parking and other disruptions.

The approved changes center around measures designed to limit the potential disruption of short term rentals to neighbors living nearby.

Following is a summarized list of the updates:

1. A 300-foot vicinity area in which no new STRs can be licensed. Neighbors inside this buffer zone would be notified by the county of the STR.

2. Licensing fee updated from $70 to $90 to cover notification fees.

3. New complaint portal specifically for STR-related issues on the TD police website.

4. Maximum occupancy of two guests per bedroom.

5. Posting the STR license visibly on the property. This would not include the property owner/manager’s contact information.

Kara noted that The Dalles police have not received a single documented noise complaint from an STR in more than two years. He added that most complaints about parking issues at STRs didn’t actually involve a violation of the law.

Operators emphasize need for STRs

Staff brought the council two options for the STR ordinance: amortizing the existing STRs into compliance through a lottery system or grandfathering in the vicinity and parking requirements for all the existing licenses.

Several STR operators spoke out against the amortization option, which would have used a lottery system to select which licenses to renew — and which to cut — within the 300-foot buffer zone.

Steve Day, who owns multiple STR properties in the West Scenic area, delved into his personal connection to the Gorge region and responded in detail to resident complaints made at an Oct. 14 council meeting. Day said he owns 20 properties in The Dalles, most of which are long-term rentals but include vacation rentals and medium-term rentals utilized by traveling medical staff, energy workers, etc.

“We’re providing a unique experience for people who want to come to The Dalles and stay,” he said.

Day previously clashed with the city following a 2022 subpoena of records relating to Day’s short term rentals. Shortly after this, Day sued the city for $100,000 in damages, alleging the city had unfairly targeted him. 

Day and the city settled out of court agreeing that the city would correct the record, agreeing that Day’s STRs were in full compliance with the city and the case was dismissed on Aug. 2, 2022. The settlement did not involve any money exchanging hands.

West Scenic Drive resident Kevin Driscoll said the amortization clause and proposed 500-foot buffer would put several of his licenses out of business. He called the proposed ordinance a “typical situation of the baby being thrown out with the bathwater.”

“I think we need to slow down and document if there are actual violations here,” he said. “Hearsay is not admissible as evidence. There needs to be direct evidence of a violation, and it has not been provided by anybody.”

STR owner Lisa Cicala noted that guests who come to The Dalles spend money at other businesses, and her STR generates income for locals who provide cleaning and other services.

“I know that there have been concerns raised about short-term rentals, but I believe these are not reflective of the majority of short term rental owners or their guests,” she said. “We prioritize being a good neighbor.”

All STR owners encouraged the council to vote for Option B, which did not include the amortization/lottery method of handling existing licenses.

As a counterpoint, another individual who lives on West Scenic Drive said, “Throughout the weekends, during the day, there’s a lot of noise, but that doesn’t count, apparently, as a noise nuisance. Even though I like to spend time in my backyard.”

Hearing these considerations, the council opted to approve the version of the STR ordinance without the amortization clause, effectively grandfathering in the existing licenses.

Agreements for Parks, Kramer Field funding to replace TLT streams

The new TLT tax ordinance keeps the same 8% rate on visitors to The Dalles, and the changes are primarily felt by city officials who either administer this chapter of the city code or the departments that previously received a direct input of TLT funds.

The previous ordinance mandated that 2% of the 8% tax collected be allocated to the parks district, sparking concern from this department over their revenue and budget process. The Dalles Little League also approached the council, highlighting the need for ongoing support and development at Kramer Field.

City Manager Matthew Klebes updated the council on ongoing staff efforts to create agreements with the Northern Wasco Parks and Recreation Department and Wasco County to receive funds for their parks’ water needs.

Klebes said these agreements will “come to council at a future date as part of our budget process: the process we use to approve various funding agreements.”

Executive Director for the Northern Wasco County Parks and Recreation Department Scott Baker stepped up to the microphone during the public comment period to emphasize that parks is hoping for a multi-year agreement. The previous TLT ordinance guaranteed $367,000 per year into the parks budget, and Baker said the new agreement doesn’t fully replace that.

“There is a component that covers the water cost, but that still leaves a gap of over $160,000 that we need to run the pool, amongst other things,” he said.

The following is a recap of the adopted eight changes to the TLT code:

1. Renaming the tax: The proposed amendments would officially rename the tax from “Transient Room Tax” (TRT) to “Transient Lodging Tax” (TLT), matching the language used by the rest of Oregon.

2. Removal of antiquated terms: The revisions removed defunct terms to make the document more user-friendly.

3. Simplification of language: For example, instead of using “transient lodging provider” repetitively, the ordinance would use the term “provider” after its initial definition.

4. Removal of project and entity-specific allocations: This change removes specific funding obligations for certain projects or entities, such as the now-complete Union Street underpass and the Northern Wasco County Parks and Recreation District.

5. Authorization of electronic lien docket use: This allows the city to use its electronic lien docket system to handle non-payments and other tax-related issues, streamlining administrative processes and reducing costs associated with recording fees.

6. Enhanced refund opportunities: These new guidelines for processing refunds under specific conditions now include situations where the city refunds providers for overpayment, the city directly refunds occupants or providers refund occupants.

7. Increase in interest for late payments: This raises the interest rate on late payments or when the city grants a tax refund payment extension from 1% to 3%.

8. Adjustment of minimum percentage for tourism promotion fund: While the previous ordinance required at least 21% of TLT funds to be deposited into a Tourism Promotion Fund, the city’s existing practice is to allocate 55% of these funds to tourism-related activities. The revised ordinance officially raised the minimum allocation to 55%, aligning the ordinance with current practice.