After public backlash to a proposal that would have replaced a popular downtown barbershop with a vacation rental, the Astoria City Council has moved to amend city code to restrict vacation rentals in downtown storefronts.

Cloud 254 LLC owns the building on 11th and Commercial streets that houses Eleventh Street Barber, Godfather’s Books and a vacation rental.

In August, the Planning Commission denied an application from the owner to replace Eleventh Street Barber with a one-bedroom vacation rental. The owner indicated the barbershop could be relocated within the same building facing Commercial Street.

The application drew opposition leading up to the Planning Commission meeting, including over a dozen letters and emails from downtown business owners and residents advocating for denial.

After the public hearing, Daryl Moore, the president of the Planning Commission, proposed considering a future code amendment to limit vacation rentals in the downtown core. City Councilor Andy Davis followed up by asking the council to consider an amendment restricting vacation rentals in downtown storefronts.

During a City Council meeting on Monday, Davis said he would like to preserve commercial storefront space downtown for restaurants and shops.

He noted that housing is allowed behind and above storefronts and said he would be in favor of setting the same standards for vacation rentals..

The rest of the City Council agreed, and there was unanimous consensus to send an amendment to the Planning Commission for review.

While several residents supported a change to the city’s code, they also advocated for more aggressive measures to protect housing and potential space for housing from being converted to vacation rentals.

Sarah Jane Bardy, a real estate broker with Cascade Hasson Sotheby’s International Realty who owns Eleventh Street Barber, said she would like to see code changes that also restrict vacation rentals above and behind storefronts.

“We don’t need more transient lodging,” she said. “And I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that it seems apparent that the only people in favor of more short-term rentals are those poised to directly profit from them.”