LONG BEACH — City councilors last month opted against putting a halt to Long Beach’s inspections of vacation rentals while they mull changes to the fees that rental owners must pay for the annual evaluations.

The Long Beach City Council decided not to move forward with a six-month moratorium on vacation rental inspections that was included on the agenda of its June 17 meeting, after holding two workshops on the matter that month. The renewed attention comes just over a year after the council adopted an ordinance setting new fees for vacation rentals and businesses in an effort to beef up code enforcement in the city.

In late 2022, the council voted to update the section of the city’s zoning code that regulates vacation rentals. Changes included a mandatory operation and maintenance inspection before an application to register a property as a vacation rental can be submitted, as well as a fire and life safety inspection that must take place before the initial permit has been issued and then occur annually.

Last May, the council voted to set the fee for the annual fire and life safety inspection at $600 for vacation rentals, with the rate for annual inspections at all other businesses set at $60 per hour. The inspections are funded through a $25 increase for the city’s annual business license fee, from $125 to $150, with the additional revenue helping fund a code enforcement/inspector position.

Long Beach City Administrator David Glasson said at the time that the inspections of vacation rentals would be more detailed than for other businesses, and that the frequency of the inspections could be adjusted down the road. He added that the inspections are important to keep the city’s fire insurance rates as low as possible, noting the Washington Survey and Rating Bureau specifically asks about inspections during their reviews.

While councilors shared concerns about the current fee structure for vacation rental inspections, they were also hesitant to pause inspections while they deliberated over what changes to make. For now, the inspections will continue and the city will determine what to bill at a later date after the council has weighed in on updates to the fee structure — if any.

Grant for manhole repairs

Councilors at last week’s meeting also authorized a grant agreement between the city and the Washington Emergency Management Division (EMD) for needed manhole repairs at Long Beach’s main lift station. Damage to the manhole during a storm surge earlier this year created a sinkhole that could be detrimental to the city if the feeder line were to completely fail.

Funds for the repairs became available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency after a presidential disaster declaration was approved for 16 counties and one tribe in Washington following severe winter storms, straight-line winds, flooding, landslides and mudslides in January. The declaration opens up federal assistance funding to state, tribal and eligible local governments in the affected areas on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and repairs to damaged facilities.

Long Beach will receive $250,000 in federal funds to help repair the manhole, which covers 75% of the expected cost. The state EMD is expected to contribute anywhere from 12.5 to 25% of the cost, leaving the city to cover no more than 12.5% of the total cost for the repairs.

Any funds that the city may end up contributing for the repair work would come out of its sewer fund, according to Long Beach Community Development Director Ariel Smith.

Additionally, Ilwaco City Administrator Holly Beller stated in her monthly report to that city’s council this week that Ilwaco had received notice its application to FEMA for public assistance grant funding for that same presidential disaster declaration had been accepted. The funds the city is receiving will go toward “stormwater infrastructure improvements,” she said.

Bolstad lot update

The council also voted to authorize Mayor Sue Svendsen to sign off on an agreement between the city and an environmental consultant to continue monitoring the 200 Bolstad Ave. W property the city was gifted in 2022 for contaminants.

The lot was donated to the city by its previous owners, Gold Coin, as part of a tax write-off. The property has remained undeveloped since a 2002 fire destroyed a hotel building that was located on the property, and the company once planned to build a Dollar General store at the site before ultimately changing course.

The company discovered a gas and diesel fuel spill contamination in the years preceding Long Beach receiving the deed to the property, which had been the city’s biggest concern about taking over the property from Gold Coin. The city has been working with the Washington State Department of Ecology on the contamination site since it took over ownership of the lot to determine if and what kind of mitigation needs to be done.

Long Beach sought a favorable ruling from Ecology through its Voluntary Cleanup Program so full clean-up work on the lot can begin — and completed a soil and groundwater investigation to further aid its cause — but the agency is requiring more monitoring than the city originally thought.

The additional mandatory monitoring, to be carried out by the Bothell-based Riley Group, carries a cost of about $40,000, and the entire scope of work comes in at just shy of $119,000. Ecology awarded the city a grant that covers most of the overall cost, leaving Long Beach to cover about $16,000.

The monitoring is expected to last up to two years, according to Smith, but could be reduced to just a year depending on whether testing at the site shows that groundwater contamination is staying the same or decreasing. The city will still be able to move forward with plans to lay gravel and make other improvements at the property so the lot can be used as overflow parking for the time being.

Long Beach hopes to eventually redevelop the lot, located right across the street from city hall, although specific plans have not yet been publicly identified.