PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles City Council has passed an ordinance that will allow individuals who pass a three-part test to operate multiple Type 2 short-term rental units.
The ordinance, which was approved on a 4-3 vote Tuesday night, removes the city’s 2024 code requirement of only one Type 2 short-term rental per parcel, one per owner and one per marital unit if individuals pass the three-part test.
The first part requires individuals to have been in compliance with the 2017 short-term rental code, which only allowed those rentals in medium-density, high-density or commercial zones.
The second part requires individuals to have complied with the city’s June 16, 2023, moratorium, which prohibited establishing new short-term rentals in medium- or high-density zones.
Deputy City Manager Calvin Goings said the city will verify compliance with the 2017 code and the moratorium by asking owners to attest that they followed the law and by examining booking summaries.
The third part requires short-term rental units to be operating under the same ownership as of July 1 this year.
Council member Amy Miller proposed adding a fourth requirement that would only allow multiple licences for units located within the central business district. She said the requirement might mitigate some of the city’s ongoing loss of housing.
Council member Lindsey Schromen-Wawrin said the three-part test won’t exacerbate housing issues because it won’t raise the cap of 200 total Type 2 short-term rental units.
“It’s a red herring to say it’s going to impact housing,” Schromen-Wawrin said.
However, the amendment failed 5-2, with Miller and Brendan Meyer in the minority.
The council then passed the three-part test ordinance. LaTrisha Suggs, Drew Schwab, Schromen-Wawrin and Mayor Kate Dexter voted in favor; Deputy Mayor Navarra Carr, Miller and Meyer voted against it.
Under the new ordinance, individuals who pass the test can apply for additional licenses for applicable units, although they will still be subject to the other requirements under the 2024 code. If the owners later choose to sell their additional units, Goings said the ability to have more than one license per owner, per martial unit or per parcel will not transfer to the new owner.
The city will open a limited application window from Aug. 26 to Sept. 6 for individuals who pass the test.
Goings predicted that about 10 individuals would submit applications for about 20 to 25 additional short-term rentals.
During the city’s original application window, which ran from July 1 to Aug. 1, the city received 165 Type 2 applications.
After the second application window is closed, any remaining licenses out of the 200 cap will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis to applicants on a waitlist.
The ordinance only applies to Type 2 short-term rentals, which are dwelling units that are not the owner’s or lessee’s principal residence.
Council members who voted against the ordinance said they were surprised the issue was brought back for discussion.
“I was pretty shocked to see this on the agenda,” Meyer said. “I feel like we went through this already, and now we’re going through this again.”
“I was also a little befuddled when seeing this,” Miller said. “My recollection of this discussion is we were all in agreement of the one license [restriction], and I am not inclined to change my mind on that.”
Meyer said they wished the council would stick to its decision and take time to see how the regulations impact the city.
“We worked so hard for a compromise that worked,” Meyer said. “If eight or 10 people are concerned, that’s quite a small percentage of people that we have really ticked off for such a big policy that’s going to last for a number of years.”
Carr said discussing the topic was valuable, but she was not in support of the change.
“I think I have been fairly clear on my position around housing and housing ownership, and I will not be supporting this ordinance tonight,” Carr said.
Council members who supported the ordinance expressed their desire to allow people who are legally operating businesses under the 2017 code to continue to operate.
“This is a simple cleanup bill that goes back to property rights,” Schromen-Wawrin said.
Dexter said she thought the main goal of the short-term rental regulations was to both stop exponential short-term rental growth and stop outside investors from owning and operating swaths of short-term rentals. She said both of those goals seemed to have been achieved and weren’t likely to be harmed by this ordinance.
Schwab said he wished the council had addressed this issue in the original code.
“I have never been a fan of making rules so people who were following the rules are no longer following the rules,” he said.
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Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at emma.maple@peninsuladailynews.com.
