BEND, OR -- The Bend City Council agreed to push ahead with amendments to the city code regulating vacation rentals. Councilors spent several more hours, Wednesday night, discussing options like limiting the number of short-term rentals allowed in a neighborhood, and restricting the transfer of operating licenses. Councilor Barb Campbell explained why they wanted to declare the issue as an emergency, to move quickly. "It was the difference between 2 weeks, being able to start writing the papers to implement, and 6 weeks. Even with those of us who had differences, for whatever reason, we felt the greater good was to get something done, tonight."  

Campbell added that last night's unanimous approval of the first reading of the amendments means "that 2 weeks from tonight, we can enact the measures that we have voted upon. Otherwise, it was going to be, wait another month after that, which put us so far out into this coming summer.  Myself, I just didn’t want to do that to those residents. That was going to mean how many more summers of this."  They discussed Monday’s seven hours of public input, and clarified recommendations from the vacation rentals task force and city staff.