PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County commissioners are considering how they might implement regulations for short-term rentals.

A public hearing Monday included a presentation from county staff as well as members of the planning commission. The hearing took place as the end of a year-long moratorium on permitting short-term rentals (STRs) approaches on April 7.

County commissioner Greg Brotherton acknowledged a lack of tourist housing but expressed a preference for limiting the availability of permits to owner-operators dwelling on their properties.

“We’ve lost the Port Hadlock Motel, Kalaloch Lodge, we’ve lost 20 percent of their units to erosion,” Brotherton said. “Our lodging tax revenue is going down. I think full-host rentals of these airbnbs, the whole house, is a different issue than someone who is renting out an (Accessory Dwelling Unit), or a room in their own house. The way that I look at it, the only residential application for a short-term rental should be if it’s an owner-occupied piece of property.”

No decisions were made on Monday. A further discussion will likely be scheduled for 2 p.m. March 24. Written public testimony is open until 4 p.m. Friday.

If the board decides on an ordinance then, it will be finalized for approval on April 7. If the commissioners need more time for deliberation, they can extend the current moratorium, said Josh Peters, the director of the county’s Department of Community Development.

During the past year, the planning commission has held public meetings in each of the county’s three districts. Brent Butler, the Department of Community Development’s chief strategy officer, presented some of what the planning commission had done and considered on Monday.

The 2½-hour public hearing saw a range of public comments illustrating a tension between STR owners and a contingent focused on availing housing stock for long-term renters as the county faces a housing crisis.

The board of commissioners declared a housing crisis in 2018, said Liz Revord, the director of the Housing Solutions Network.

“Since then, with additional market and pandemic pressures, access to our local housing resources have been exacerbated,” Revord said. “There are two fights that we are currently up against. One is building more housing supply, the other is accessing our current supply. Over the last 11 years, Jefferson County has lost an estimated 600 rental units from our supplies.”

A cursory airbnb search of Jefferson County shows more than 1,000 rental options with more than 900 listed when filtering for a full home.

A cap on STR units at 3 to 4 percent of the overall number of houses in the county was discussed. Also being considered are requirements for fire safety egress, the grandfathering in or legal nonconformity of pre-existing rental operators, and a three-year permit expiration.

Another consideration being made is whether a short-term rental operator would be required to be a county resident or even a resident on the property.

In addition to the recommendation given by the planning commission, the Department of Community Development (DCD) added notes and edits to the proposed code rewrite, vetted by the county prosecuting attorney’s office.

The notes led to some confusion. Brotherton concurred with fellow commissioners and public comments when he expressed frustration at the lack of clarity in the agenda packet.

“Our goal is to move forward planning commission recommendations, right?” Brotherton said. “I share the frustration of the public that it’s hard to unwind all of this.”

Commissioner Heather Dudley-Nollette said the way the packet was presented made it hard to know what the board would be deliberating on.

Every home used as a short-term rental is a home which could provide long-term housing, said Jefferson County resident Tom Thiersch.

“Restricting the number of short-term rentals is a positive step towards improving the availability of housing,” Thiersch said. “The ordinance as written needs to include very strict provisions for residents only. You must live on the property if you have short-term rental. None of these absentee owners. That is just taking money out of the county.

“For those of you who are keeping short-term rentals as a way of paying off the mortgage on their future dream home in Jefferson County, well, too bad,” he said. “Turn them into long-term rentals, you won’t have a problem. You run them as an airbnb, nope, that does not help Jefferson County.”

The possible requirement limiting STR operators to county residents or onsite operators was not popular for some during public comment.

Several non-resident property owners traveled to give public comments. Among them was Brian McFadin, a Seattle resident who hopes to retire in Jefferson County.

McFadin said his family would be devastated by a requirement for a short-term operator to be on the property. Currently, his family is paying off the mortgage by using their home as a short-term rental, he said.

“I’m asking the commission to include a strong, clear grandfathering clause to protect those of us who have legally operated STRs for years,” McFadin said. “Including protecting us from the owner-occupancy requirement and the three-year permit limit. Changing the rules now would be unfair to homeowners who have played by them in good faith, including us. Personally, these provisions would cause us financial ruin and require us to sell this home we love at a significant loss of our investment.”

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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@sequimgazette.com.