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A portion of this Irvington home was available for short-term rental until the Portland development officials threatened to levy fines. A change in city code would authorize such rentals.

(Janet Eastman/The Oregonian)

Portland's planning commission approved proposed rules late Tuesday allowing short-term rentals of rooms in private homes, as popularized by online "sharing economy" services like

. The proposal now goes to the Portland City Council.

The commission heard more than two hours of testimony, much of it from people who have hosted short-term renters and neighbors who oppose allowing rentals in residential areas.

The city

has proposed allowing, with a permit, the rental of one or two bedrooms in the host's primary residence. To obtain a permit, the resident would have to submit to a city inspection, install an integrated system of smoke detectors and pay a fee of about $180. They would also have to notify immediate neighbors and neighborhood groups.

Airbnb — which has announced it would open a customer-service center in Portland later this year — is also negotiating with the city to collect an 11.5 percent local tax on hotel stays. People who operate short-term rentals on other platforms would have to register, collect and submit the tax on their own.

There are more than 1,100 Airbnb listings based in Portland, the company said, and more are listed on other platforms. Few have gone through the lengthy and expensive process to obtain the conditional use permit currently required or paid lodging taxes.

Members of a panel of hosts that joined Molly Turner, an Airbnb lobbyist, advocated eliminating the inspection requirement, saying it could be a deterrent from going legal. It wasn't clear if that was an official position of the company. (Airbnb isn’t the only short-term rental company, but it was the only one to send representatives to testify.)

"We share the desire to make sure all the properties are safe," Turner said after the hearing. "We do have some concerns about the practicality of the inspections as it's been presented."

Most who have been hosts said their guests have been respectful to neighbors and that the revenue from the rental has been a benefit to the host, in some cases allowing them to stay in their home in retirement.

But others who testified said the rules would allow an unwanted revolving door of guests into residential neighborhood.

Theresa Hannam, who lives in a Laurelhurst home with her elderly mother, said she filed a complaint with the city after a neighbor switched from a long-term tenant to a series of short-term renters. That brought more cars, unfamiliar visitors next door and noisy rolling luggage late at night.

"It's like living next to a little motel," Hannam said. "We saw this turnstile of people coming and going."

After the complaint, the neighbor's listing was eventually shut down. But under the new rules, the operation could be validated with no recourse for Hannam.

"It takes away the right for people like me to voice my opposition," she said.

The commission approved the proposal 8-1 with only a minor amendment, which tweaked wording to include domestic partnerships along with other family arrangements. Chairman André Baugh voted against the proposal, saying he was concerned about the potential impact on affordable housing.

"There'st just not enough data," Baugh said after the vote. "Something that appears very innocuous to the marketplace could potentially have an impact on what we value as a city."

The commission's recommendation will go to the Portland City Council in May or June, along with the rest of an attached package of land-use tweaks that saw much less discussion. If that council gives its OK, the regulations would take effect in July.

-- Elliot Njus