(A) Any person who rented a dwelling unit located within any residential zone to transients between December 1, 1995 and the effective date of this section, or who otherwise claims a non-conforming transient occupancy use, shall establish the non-conforming transient occupancy use status by substantiating their actual use of the property for transient occupancy purposes. Evidence, of a type which provides written documentation and is more than a statement of use, shall be provided to the city within 60 days of the effective date of section, together with the transient occupancy business registration required in division (B) below.
(B) No person shall operate, manage, or maintain a tourist accommodation or be the agent for the owner or operator for the purpose of assisting in the use or maintenance of a tourist accommodation or dwelling in the transient occupancy business or, during the amortization period of use of dwellings for transient occupancy, dwellings for transient occupancy without registering as a transient occupancy business with the City Recorder. No fee shall be required to register as a transient occupancy business.
(C) The City Recorder shall require such information as convenient or necessary for the registration of transient occupancy businesses, including but not limited to the name of the owner, the name of the operator, the address of the structure or building, and that either the business holds a business license to engage in the transient occupancy business or evidence that the structure or building has been used for transient occupancy business during the period from December 1,1995 to the effective date of this section or the real property is being held with the expectation of engaging in the transient occupancy business by August 1, 1997. A transient occupancy business license review committee, establishing by resolution or motion of the City Council, shall review the registration application and determine whether the application for registration substantiates transient occupancy use for the required period. Written notice of the decision shall be mailed to the registration applicant. Decisions of the committee may be appealed to the City Council within 20 calendar days of the date of mailing of the written decision of the committee.
(D) Persons shall be permitted 60 days from the date of adoption of this section amendment to register as required above. Within 15 days following the adoption of this section, the City Recorder shall give notice of the adoption of this section and the requirement to register as a transient occupancy business by the following:
(1) Mailing a copy of this section and a form for registration as a transient occupancy business to all persons or businesses who have filed a transient room tax report within the past eight months;
(2) Posting a notice, in the form prescribed below, at the public bulletin board at the post office and at the city hall;
(3) Including a notice, in the form prescribed below, with the next water/sewer billing; and
(4) Publishing notice of adoption of this section in the News Times and News Guard newspapers, legal notice section, with the following text in the notice:
Notice to all persons who rent or intend to rent to transients, tourists, or short-term (less than 30 days) renters or lodgers. The city has adopted Ordinance 234, which restricts or prohibits the rental or occupancy of lodging facilities or dwellings to short-term renters, transients, or lodgers. Registration as a transient occupancy business is required by February 14, 1997. A copy of the ordinance and registration form may be obtained: in person at the City Hall, 570 SE Shell Ave., Depoe Bay, OR 97341, during regular business hours; by mailing a request for the “transient occupancy business restrictions and registration” to the City Recorder, PO Box 8, Depoe Bay, OR 97341; or by telephone (541-765-2361), requesting the “transient occupancy business restrictions and registration” be mailed to you. Failure to register shall result in the cessation of the transient occupancy business. There is no fee for registering.
(E) The transient occupancy business shall be in compliance with the city business license and the transient room tax ordinances, and shall not be delinquent with each of the requirements of these ordinances.
(F) The non-conforming use of dwellings for transient occupancy shall be amortized within a four-year period from the effective date of this section. At the conclusion of the amortization period, all transient occupancy of dwelling units shall be prohibited, whether or not such use existed prior to the adoption of this section unless hardship relief has been granted pursuant to (G) below.
(G) A hardship provision is established for property owners who can substantiate that an investment made exclusively in the non-conforming use of a dwelling for transient occupancy cannot be adequately amortized within the period of time specified in division (F) above. The purpose of this hardship provision is to permit those who have made substantial investments in transient occupancy improvements to dwellings structures to recover their investment, but only in those cases in which the improvements have committed the structure to transient occupancy, as opposed to long-term residential use. If the improvement may be utilized both for transient occupancy and long-term residential use, this provision shall not apply. An application for hardship relief under the provisions of this section shall also provide information on the specific investments that were made with respect to the non-conforming, short-term rental use of the property. Anyone seeking hardship relief shall file an application for such relief with the City Recorder not later than 60 days from the effective date of this section. The City Council shall determine, based on accepted accounting practices, whether there is a basis for hardship relief and the establishment of a longer amortization period. The hearing upon the hardship petition shall be in accordance with the procedure set forth in § 152.206(B) of this chapter. If the City Council determines that a longer amortization period is warranted, it shall establish a period of time that permits the reasonable amortization, based on accepted accounting practices, of the investment of the property owner. At the conclusion of that specific amortization period, the transient occupancy of the dwelling shall be terminated. If the City Council determines that a longer amortization period is not warranted by nature of the investment, the amortization period specified in division (F) above shall be met. Persons who fail to file an application within the time period established in this section shall be precluded from applying for hardship relief under the provisions of these zoning regulations.
(Ord. 234, passed 12-16-1996) Penalty, see § 152.999