Lincoln County commissioners have decided to decrease the number of vacation rental licenses allowed in two zones east of U.S. Highway 101 rather than issue the 17 currently available.
But in doing so last week, commissioners voted unanimously to drop a years-old moratorium on processing new applications effective March 31. But with the lower limits in two zones and a long waiting list for licenses in five zones west of Highway 101, it is expected to be decades before new licenses actually become available.
The decision on Wednesday to end the moratorium followed a three-month extension in December when commissioners said it was time to examine how the two-year-old licensing, inspection and enforcement programs are working. Nothing was done on that, however, so commissioners agreed Wednesday to ask the sheriff’s office and other staff to prepare a report and to possibly commission a public survey to gauge sentiment toward its license limits.
After years of controversy, a ballot measure and legal battles, commissioners in February 2023 voted to create seven geographic areas and sharply limit the number of vacation rental licenses in each. Five of the areas are west of U.S. Highway 101 and two are east of it…