Councilor Holli Kemmer Advocates using city trolley bus more often.

LONG BEACH — Should each individual vacation rental in Long Beach have a city business license?

That’s the question under discussion by members of the City Council who may tweak their rules because so many people want to make money on short-term rentals,

Members made no decision, but are considering some changes. For example, right now a property rental manager or company with multiple houses only needs to pay for one $125-a-year business license. Some officials want a license for each property.

The discussion, during a pre-council workshop session, prompted a brief sharp exchange between Mayor Jerry Phillips and council member Holli Kemmer, who works for Pacific Realty Property Management.

The mayor noted that every house being used as a vacation rental was making money as a business in the city of Long Beach. Companies which rent out multiple homes have an advantage, he said. “It should be fair across the board.”

When Kemmer sought to ask a question, Phillips said she should not be involved in the discussion, citing Washington conflict-of-interest laws.

“I’m not leaving the conversation,” she said, reminding him it was a workshop. “I’m not voting on anything.”

The discussion continued with council members in agreement that property managers who supervise short-term rentals should be available 24/7, but split over whether rules should require landline telephones in every property. This latter is one of the requirements for a vacation rental conditional-use permit in Ilwaco, for example.

Discussion highlighted worries about specific cell service “dead zones,” but also whether landlines are an anachronism, despite their value for receiving emergency service messages. “Landlines are a thing of the past,” said Del Murry.

Renting a home for less than 30 days is prohibited in Long Beach residential zones unless a conditional-use permit is obtained. Conditions include a readily available property manager, a limit on the number of guests based on the number of bedrooms, and a requirement that all parking be on the site — with no RV parking allowed.

Quiet hours between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. should be enforced; current rules also restrict the size and number of lighted signs.

Problems at vacation rentals led to prolonged uproar some years ago in Cannon Beach and Gearhart, said Dave Glasson, city administrator. He noted that Peninsula communities have learned from these Oregon towns’ mistakes.

Members heard that some property companies have rental contracts that “fine” visitors $500 if the police are called to any disturbance. April Smith, community development director, said officers always inform the city of such incidents.

The Council agreed that the days of streaking during fraternity parties and raucous softball tournaments with a keg on second base were long past. “We have not had any ‘Animal House’ activity in our area,” said Murry.

Smith will revise any proposed rule changes and bring them to the Council for further discussion.

Phillips said a bigger problem, raised at the last meeting, is visitors parking RVs on vacant lots and not disposing of their sewage properly. “They should be going to an RV park — money is being taken away from them,” he said.

Other rules being considered involve two other kinds of permits. Special-use permits would allow a temporary use for up to a year for activities not covered by city codes, with the possibility of one renewal. These could be restricted to two applications per property per year.

The $100 fee would cover staff time for processing these applications, which members heard sometimes takes two hours.

Special event permits are new. These would be for an event, not exceed 10 days, that is not mentioned in the code.

Smith is also tweaking these proposed rules, based on City Council ideas.

In unrelated action, Phillips said he would be meeting with officials to discuss state rules about how Washington cities spend lodging tax dollars. He noted the importance of the revenue, especially because the Discovery Trail costs $2 million to maintain and the Boardwalk $800,000.

“We don’t want to lose what we have got,” he said. “These are just things that we are talking about — nothing has been solidified or changed.”

In the action portion of the meeting, the City Council amended the annual budget to reflect unexpected spending from three funds, capital projects (which totals $497,118), streets ($322,238) and sewers ($1,180,402). The work involved improvements at Stanley Field, some street paving and replacing public lighting with more energy-efficient styles.

Members acknowledged a letter confirming that the Washington State Public Works Board has approved $572,000 loan for preliminary work designing the city’s regional biosolids treatment facility.

Members also received thank-you letters from residents for the colorful flowers around town last year and for fixing potholes on Idaho Street.

Phillips reported on a personal trip to Puyallup where he appeared at a school following a student’s request to receive information about Long Beach. He presented the student with the key to the city and distributed information and gifts.

The next meeting of the Long Beach City Council is 7 p.m. June 18.

‘It should be fair across the board.’

— Jerry Phillips

mayor describing business license rules