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Chapter 14B.70 Short Term Motel Rental

City code chapter

14B.70.010 Definitions.

  1. For the purposes of this Section, the following definitions apply:
  2. A.  Person in control means an employee or owner with the ability to regulate, restrain, dominate, counteract or govern conduct that occurs on or at the motel, hotel, inn, or other facility designed for overnight rental.
  3. B.  Customer means any person who pays valuable consideration to occupy any room or rooms in a motel, hotel, inn, or other facility designed for overnight rental.
  4. C.  Employee means any officer, director, agent, or employee of a motel, or any independent contractor who works on or at the rental property.
  5. D.  Fee means the consideration charged by the operator for the occupancy of space in a motel, valued in money, goods, labor, credits, or other consideration.
  6. E.  Motel means any structure, or portion of any structure, which is occupied or intended or designed for dwelling, lodging, or sleeping purposes and includes but is not limited to any hotel, inn, tourist home, studio hotel, bachelor hotel, lodging house, and rooming house.
  7. F.  Occupancy means the use or possession, or the right to the use or possession, for lodging or sleeping purposes of any room or rooms in a motel.
  8. G.  Operator means the person who is the proprietor of the motel in any capacity.
  9. H.  Owner means any person, agent, firm, or corporation having a legal or equitable interest in a motel, and includes, but is not limited to a mortgagee in whom possession is vested all or part of the legal title to the property or all or part of the beneficial ownership and a right to present use and enjoyment of the property.
  10. I.  Renting by the hour means the use or possession of any room for lodging or sleeping purposes for an amount less than one-half of the minimum daily rental rate.

14B.70.020 Rental of Rooms

  1. A.  A motel becomes a public nuisance when any motel employee or person in control permits on three or more occasions during any 30-day period or 12 or more occasions during any 12-month period, a customer to rent a room designed for dwelling, lodging, or sleeping purposes, by the hour, or rents the same room more than twice within a 24-hour period.
  2. B.  Any motel which becomes a public nuisance is subject to the remedies provided for in this Chapter.

14B.70.030 Procedure.

  1. A.  When the City believes the motel property has become a public nuisance as defined in this Chapter, the City will attempt to notify the owner(s) of record and the person, firm, or corporation in possession of the property, in writing that the property has been determined to be a public nuisance. The notice must contain the following information:
    1. 1.  The street address and a legal description sufficient for identification of the property;
    2. 2.  A statement that the City has found the property to be a public nuisance, together with a concise description of the events or conditions leading to this finding, including the date and time of the events or conditions; and
    3. 3.  Demand that the owner or rightful possessor of the motel property respond within 20 days to the Chief of Police or the Precinct Commander and appeal the City’s determination or propose an abatement plan that the Chief of Police or the Precinct Commander agrees will abate the nuisance activities giving rise to the violation.
  2. B.  The City will attempt to serve a copy of the notice personally on the owner, rightful possessor, or agent, if known, at least 10 days before the commencement of any judicial action by the City. In addition, the notice will be mailed certified mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid, and addressed to the owner of the business at the address of the property believed to be a public nuisance and to such other address as is shown on Multnomah County tax rolls, or such other place which is believed to give the owner of the business and of the property actual notice of the City’s determination; and
  3. C.  The failure of any person or owner to receive actual notice of the funding of a public nuisance as defined in this Chapter does not invalidate or otherwise affect the proceedings under this Chapter.

14B.70.040 Appeals Process

  1. A.  If the owner, business, agent, or rightful possessor of the property disagrees with the City’s findings and determination, the owner or other rightful possessor may file an appeal with Portland Police Bureau within 20 days of the City’s determination that the motel property is a public nuisance.
  2. B.  The request for the appeal must be in writing, and include the owner or rightful possessor’s full name, street address and legal description sufficient for identification of the property determined a public nuisance, and the reason(s) for disagreement with the City’s findings and determination.
  3. C.  Should the owner or rightful possessor of the property be dissatisfied with the outcome of the appeal, the owner or rightful possessor may issue a further appeal to the City Code Hearings Officer pursuant to Chapter 22.10 of this Code.

14B.70.050 City Remedies.

  1. A.  The Chief of Police or the Precinct Commander may refer the matter to the City Attorney where:
    1. 1.  The owner or rightful possessor fails to respond within 20 days from the determination that the motel property constitutes a public nuisance by the Chief of Police or Precinct Commander, either by appealing the City’s determination or by submitting a proposed abatement plan as provided in this Chapter;
    2. 2.  No agreeable written abatement plan for abatement is reached within 30 days from determination of a public nuisance by the Chief of Police or the Precinct Commander;
    3. 3.  The owner or rightful possessor fails to execute commencement of the abatement plan within a reasonable amount of time, not to exceed 60 days of the plan’s enactment; or
    4. 4.  The owner or rightful possessor fails to comply and maintain compliance with all conditions of the written abatement plan for one year.
  2. B.  Failure to respond or failure to propose an abatement plan is prima facie evidence of the owner or rightful possessor’s lack of cooperation. Failure to execute or comply with any abatement plan is prima facie evidence of lack of good faith in mitigating or correcting the situation.
  3. C.  When the owner or rightful possessor makes a response to the Chief of Police or the Precinct Commander as required by this Chapter, any conduct or statements made in connection with the response does not constitute an admission that any nuisance activities have occurred or are occurring. This Subsection does not require the exclusion of any evidence which is otherwise admissible or offered for any other purpose.
  4. D.  If a court determines a motel to be a public nuisance within the meaning of this Chapter, the court may order any remedy it deems appropriate to abate the nuisance, including civil penalties not to exceed $500 for the first occasion and not to exceed $2,500 for the second occasion, and closure of the motel for up to six months for the third occasion.

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