We have received a number of complaints from Manzanita citizens over the last week asking whether the city has the legal ability to ask second homeowners and their families, who are coming and going to their second homes, to remain in their primary residences rather than traveling back and forth to Manzanita. Please respect the following guidance:
1. We HIGHLY encourage everyone with homes in Manzanita to please stay home at their permanent or primary residence. Manzanita, and the rest of Tillamook County have limited resources, including food, general supplies, and an extremely limited amount of hospital beds and medical care facilities. In addition, there is the added concern about those traveling from a more highly infected area bringing the virus to Manzanita that has, thus far, been effective in preventing wide-spread infection.
2. Despite what you may have heard, the city DOES NOT have the authority to make a second homeowner leave Manzanita or to enter someone’s home to enforce indoor social distancing, count occupants, or to issue tickets if multiple cars are parked LEGALLY outside someone’s home. We also do not have the resources to close streets or the legal authority to set up checkpoints to inspect everyone’s ID coming in and out of town.
3. Please do not contact the City because you may not recognize someone, or if you see a car or a license plate you do not recognize. We want to make sure we are using our limited resources to investigate serious complaints that may be violating Governor Brown’s Executive Order. You should contact 911 for emergencies only, for non-emergency situations you can call and leave a message at the Manzanita Police Department (503) 368-7229. The city, county and state have already taken other precautions to help eliminate certain behavior, including suspending all short-term rentals and closing beach accesses and camping. The City is standing ready to aid in gaining compliance during this emergency and will follow-up with reported violations.
The city will follow up on complaints by first attempting to educate potential violators. If education fails to gain compliance, the City may, by the language in the Executive Order, cite individuals with a Class C Misdemeanor.
STAY HOME AND STAY SAFE!