Letters from Local Residents Seeking Change to Bend's Current Vacation
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Letters from Local Residents Seeking Change to Bend’s current Vacation Rental Permitting On Sat, Aug 2, 2014 at 6:09 PM, Lizzie Hedrick wrote: Mr. Knight – thanks so much for your editorial in today’s Bend Bulletin regarding vacation rentals. I appreciate that the city is taking the concerns of the neighbors seriously. I’d like to add my voice to the recent letters that have been written to city leaders on this topic. I live on NW Davenport Ave. between 14th and 15th streets. On our short block, there are 14 homes; of those homes, three are vacation rentals, 20% of the street! The core problem with increased numbers of vacation rentals is the very real dissolution of the neighborhood. The minute an owner or long-term renter turns over a home to transient renters, that house is no longer a contributing part of the neighborhood. No longer can the permanent residents count on that house as part of the neighborhood. And the home’s owner transforms from a neighbor into a business owner. The residual issues, as I’m sure you’ve heard from others, can be a particular nuisance. At least once a month, we have to ask renters to quiet down after 10. Often the noise starts much later than 10, interrupting our sleep when we have to be at work early the next day. In addition to the noise, there is always a parking issue as many of the vacation rentals house more than one family or couple. We’re a pretty tight neighborhood, and we watch each other’s houses, but it’s difficult to do with such transient neighbors. I strongly feel there needs to be a cap on the number of vacation rentals in our neighborhoods in order to preserve the quality of life we all moved to Bend to enjoy. Without legislation from the city, the numbers will continue to increase as there is a very real financial incentive to turn homes into VRBO’s. Thanks again for reviewing these issues and taking our concerns seriously. I don’t think tighter legislation on VRBO’s can come quickly enough. Liz Hedrick On Thu, Aug 7, 2014 at 7:30 PM, Iain Morris wrote: Though his article in the Bend Bulletin ran several days ago, I would like to commend Doug Knight for bringing the issue of vacation rentals to the table. I live on a block with 4 adjacent vacation rentals. Three of these are part of a large fenced-off “compound” complete with advertising signage, run by someone who doesn’t live in the area. Weeks go by in the shoulder seasons where we feel like we live in a ghost town. The street is dark when we come home. Winter and summer, our street is crushed with parking problems, noise, traffic, and everything else that comes with hotel guests looking to have a good time. Who can blame them? They paid for a vacation hotel stay, and expect to get it. Only a few neighbors remain who we can say hi to on a daily basis. The vacation rental issue is an insidious problem, as it quietly robs a community of its collective voice to speak out about local issues that affect us. Vacation renters don’t care how good the local schools are, how much work the roads need, speeding issues through neighborhoods, local land development, pollution, or a host of other issues that homeowners and long-term renters are concerned about. But perhaps the most troubling issue is the loss of our self identity that comes with these changes. Vacation rentals in high concentration cause a deconstruction of a neighborhood’s character that can be difficult to see. The rentals are often “spruced up” with new paint and lawns, a facade that suggests a resident is happily living there. Nothing could be further from the truth. What is the point of block parties, neighborhood get-togethers, or playing in the streets, when there are no other families, kids, or anyone else actually living in the neighborhood? Who are we when we are surrounded by hotels with people from out of town? Ultimately, we all have to answer the question of who is this city built for. The residents who live here, or those who want to vacation here (including those who profit from them)? Frequently it feels like it is tourism at all costs. I would like to see a moratorium on vacation rentals in our neighborhoods, but I understand we live in a tourist economy. We have to at least attempt some balance, hopefully by taking a look at what other tourist destinations have done. I am tired of losing my neighbors. I'm tired of long-term renters not being able to move here, or being kicked out. I'm tired of the constant changeover of strangers living on my street. I want my children to grow up with other families in the neighborhood. I sincerely hope some of this rings true for you as well. Thank you for your time, -Iain Morris River West Neighborhood On Fri, Aug 15, 2014 at 6:40 AM, laurel brauns: To: Bend City Council Dear Bend City Council Members: I am writing to show my support to a recent movement to re-evaluate the permitting process for vacation rentals in the City of Bend. I am aware that many close-in Bend neighborhoods are now at 20% vacation rental occupation and that the number is increasing at record speeds. I am totally against the city issuing any more permits until this issue is seriously evaluated, and I hope that after that evaluation that the City Council will put a law in place that creates a wait list for any more permits. I have lived in Bend for eight years and in that time have made three quarters of my income off the tourism industry. I worked for Visit Bend for a year and a half. I studied tourism marketing at OSU-Cascades and I’m now employed as the Marketing Director at Tumalo Creek Kayak & Canoe. I am not against tourism and see it as a vital part of Bend’s economy. What I am against is turning Bend into Sunriver. That town was built primarily as a transient community, where one of the best qualities of Bend is the sense of a close-knit, permanent community of like-minded citizens who are lucky enough to call this place home, but who also have made a lot of financial sacrifices to live in a place where many can only afford to visit. We make less money because we live here. It is well documented by EDCO that the same jobs in Portland and California make a third or double an equitable job in Bend. I have directly felt the effects of this transition from residential to vacation rental housing on Bend’s Westside. Prior to moving to where I now live, I was looking for a full year for a single bedroom apartment or a small house that I could afford. Apartments and homes were taken within hours of being posted. I have heard the rental market has never been this tight in Bend. Currently I’m being evicted from my apartment because my landlord wants to make the last bit of summer vacation rental income that he can. The apartment I pay $750 a month to rent gets $200 a night when marketed as a vacation rental. As one of my final projects when doing some post-bacc work with Kreg Lindberg at OSU-Cascades, I studied unsustainable growth patterns that occurred in Aspen, Telluride and Moab when those cities got on the national radar as outdoor meccas. The situation got out of control and city governments didn’t react fast enough and most “locals” that actually worked in the towns themselves where forced to move to neighboring towns. Some cities went so far as to build government subsidized housing within the city limits to cut down on commutes and traffic. Out of control growth patterns in Bend have gotten both the city and the people who live here in a lot of trouble in the past. Let’s collectively put on the breaks for vacation rental permits and follow in the footsteps of other cities around the state that recognize the value of residential neighborhoods. Sincerely, Laurel Brauns Saginaw Avenue On Jul 27, 2014, at 7:33 AM, "Lauren Buccola" wrote: All, Much is in the local, and by local, I mean our neighborhood, news about vacation rentals. While I respect that people need places to stay while vacationing (and spending their money) in Bend, what needs to be respected in that this influx of vacation rentals is destroying the tight knit communities that we have built. I can tell you on the 5 block section between Columbia & Cumberland, there are 3 VR's (that I know of). There is also one at the end of Cumberland, on Columbia, just north of the part. The owner of that house, has told the owner of the VR rental company she uses, she intends to VR out her other two homes on Cumberland. Another example is SW Allen. There are 5 VR's in the stretch from Columbia Park to Commerce that's a 50% concentration. And those are only the one's I know of. Every house for sale in our neighborhood is being marketed as "perfect vacation rental". Not only do we have another housing market bubble growing, but we are losing the sense of community.