Short-term lodging rentals on farms and forest land in Oregon’s Clackamas County must be analyzed for their impacts on agriculture, according to a land use ruling.

The state’s Land Use Board of Appeals has overturned the county’s regulations for short-term rentals in farm and forest zones, ruling that the activities are subject to conditional use permits.

In effect, the ruling will impose some constraints on short-term rentals in agricultural zones, rather than prohibiting them altogether, said Andrew Mulkey, rural lands attorney with 1,000 Friends of Oregon, a nonprofit that opposed the county’s regulations.

“The way it was written and implemented, it would allow hotels to operate on farm and forest land,” Mulkey said.

Rural landowners will still be able to participate in short-term rental services such as Airbnb, though they’ll likely be subject to rules for home businesses, he said.

“That fits better with how resource land should be used, not an investment for an absentee landlord,” he said.

Short-term rentals operated by landowners who live on-site are less likely to interfere with surrounding farms, Mulkey said. “I doubt farmers would put up with frat parties every weekend, and that’s the benefit of that model.”

Capital Press was unable to reach attorneys for Clackamas County for comment as of press time.

Farmers who rely on overnight tourist lodging could use some direction from state lawmakers or the Department of Land Conservation and Development, said Scottie Jones, founder of the U.S. Farm Stay Association and a farmer in Alsea, Ore.

“The problem is the counties are all interpreting it differently,” she said. “It makes it really complicated for us as farmers if we’re trying to add a farm stay to our property.”

According to LUBA, short-term rentals must undergo a “farm impacts test” to determine that they don’t impair agricultural and forestry practices or significantly increase their cost.

In contrast, the regulations adopted by Clackamas County in 2020 allow short-term rental use “without any requirement to obtain specific authorization at all, let alone a requirement to satisfy the farm impacts test,” the ruling said.

The county’s regulations allow “overnight, transient lodging as an outright permitted use” in farm and forest zones even though it’s not allowed under statewide land use rules, according to LUBA.

According to the county, short-term rentals are a residential and not a commercial land use, so who occupies the dwelling isn’t relevant once it’s been built in a farm or forest zone.

LUBA rejected the argument, ruling that short-term rentals must be expressly allowed in farm and forest zones, so it’s not relevant that they haven’t been specifically prohibited by law.

The conditional use process for short-term rentals will ensure that neighboring farmers can weigh in on the activity, Mulkey said. “The county was trying to subvert that, and it would have created a lot more headaches.”

Beyond the disruptive effect of short-term rentals in farm zones, such businesses also create affordability problems, he said.

“It’s hard enough to buy farmland as it is,” he said. “It makes it even harder to buy a piece of farmland if it has a dwelling on it.”

Short-term rentals are an emerging issue in Oregon’s land use system that county governments are still grappling with, Mulkey said.

LUBA’s ruling re-affirms that such new activities must fit rules for what’s allowed on farm and forestland, he said.

Farming and forestry are an “extremely important” part of living in Oregon and the state’s economy, he said. “It’s important to uphold the provisions that safeguard that.”

Jones, of the U.S. Farm Stay Association, said the lodging activities allowed on farms vary from county to county, which is confusing.

“The counties don’t know the answer either, a lot of times,” she said.

Many “farm stays” are already regulated as home occupations and obtain conditional use permits, she said.

However, the conditional use process should be simplified to encourage more farmers to get the proper approvals for their operations, Jones said.

“Most of us found it fairly difficult to get through the permitting process because we don’t know what questions to ask,” she said.

While short-term rentals operated by absentee landlords could be problematic, farm stays also offer growers a chance to diversify their operations, Jones said.

“It’s supplemental income that helps us operate on our properties,” she said. “It’s a way to spread the risk.”