Multnomah County, OR Short-Term Rentals: Occupancy Limits (2026)

7337 governs overnight accommodations (short-term rentals) inside the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, an overlay that covers only zoned land within the federal Scenic Area boundary, such as the GMA, GSR and GGR-5/GGR-10 districts named elsewhere in Chapter 38, not the county at large. The core cap is numeric: the parcel owner may rent the dwelling for up to 90 room nights per year, and the use must stay incidental and subordinate to the property's primary residential use. Parking must be screened so it is not visible from Key Viewing Areas, a scenic-resource standard unique to the Gorge overlay.

The dwelling has to be the owner's primary residence, and the owner must occupy it during rental periods, ruling out a pure investment or absentee-host operation. Commercial events, such as weddings or parties, are barred outright. Staffing is capped too: the operator may employ up to three people beyond the residents of the dwelling. Because the use requires discretionary land use approval rather than a simple registration, permits are time-limited to two years, and landowners must reapply and document, through financial and other records, that they still meet every condition of approval.

Renewal ordinarily runs through the county's Expedited Use process, though proposals involving structures 50 years or older can instead be routed to the more involved Review Use process. Ordinance 1302 (added 12/16/2021) restructured this section, and it now expressly forecloses renewal for owners with a history of violations.