Home » City Council Working Through New Rules Concerning Short Term Rentals in the City of Steamboat
Mountain Living Real Estate

City Council Working Through New Rules Concerning Short Term Rentals in the City of Steamboat

on

The City Council is in the midst of working through some new rules concerning short term rentals in the City of Steamboat.  While many good ideas have been shared with the council, at the last work session they seemed to veer off course and proposed some very restrictive overlay zoning which takes the use by right zoning away from over a dozen complexes near the base of the ski area.  There still is time to get involved and hopefully steer council back toward a more thought out, data driven approach which hopefully creates a win-win for the town.

The scope of the City Council’s Proposal and the strength of their desire to eliminate hundreds of rentals overnight and eliminate the right to rent for 1000’s of properties in the community that are in HOA’s that currently allow Short Term Rentals (STRs). They have stated that they will not grandfather any uses in areas where this becomes prohibited

We support regulation and registration but strongly oppose an overlay zone prohibiting rentals without first trying more incremental levels of enforcement and regulation. Our Community is under attack, and we need your help and sign our petition to council!

Please sign our petition (CLICK HERE) in support of responsible regulation of Short Term Rentals (STRs). This week, the City Council went too far, creating an overlay zone that will eliminate many rentals and prevent us from adding new rental homes in many mountain neighborhoods where we have enjoyed a problem-free existence for over 20 years.

Position Statement: 

We support the regulation of Short Term Rentals (STR) in Steamboat Springs as follows

  • End the moratorium on VHR permits at the second reading on August 24th
  • Register and License ALL STRs
  • Establish life safety standards and require a 24-hour local contact
  • Establish a 24-hour Hotline to monitor complaints and begin enforcement
  • Gather and analyze data on all STR uses including location, complaints, sales tax revenue for a minimum of 12 months.  Identify property values and local density per street/neighborhood vs. large 2-mile areas and come up with a more reasonable overlay if needed in non-HOA developments

We DO NOT support:

  • An overlay zone that eliminates STRs without due process without considering data of local density, property values, complaints, citizen preference, and active HOAs
  • An overlay zone that damages property rights without cause
  • Decision making that is not supported by data and research

PROPERTIES PROHIBITED INCLUDE: 

Snowflake Circle – Aspens at Walton Creek – Walton Creek Condos – The Willows – Willowbrook Townhomes – Walton Creek Condos – Chinook Townhomes – Mustang Run – Quail Run – The Villas at Walton Creek – Shadow Run – Alpine Vista – Alpine Ridge – The Boat – Enclave – Saddle Creek – Pine Ridge – Sunray – Deer Creek – Sunburst – PLUS Sunlight Properties west of Downtown that allow STRs

BACKGROUND: 

The City has given every indication that they intend to begin a licensing and registration process for all STRs (estimated at 3500) and not just require the 211 vacation home rentals (VHRs) to be licensed.  This is a logical first step. The City has also recently retained the services of a STR compliance agency which will provide a 24-hour STR complaint hotline, require a local 24/7 contact, and start to collect data on where STRs exist, where are the “bad actors” and to start to enforce noise, parking, trash, and safety rules.  This is a logical second step.

At the City Council Work Session on 8/17 they went too far, proposing a massive overlay zone across most of the City where rentals would be prohibited, even in developments where local density is low and HOA rules specifically allow for STR uses. This was done hastily in 20 minutes, at the end of a long meeting with over 40 public comments (75%) in support of rentals with a focus on licensing and enforcement

WATCH THE MEETING HERE:

3hr 21 mins: End of Public Comment

Be sure to watch the Last 30 minutes

The overlay zone eliminates several hundred existing STRs that are currently not required to have a permit or license. It also damages the property rights of thousands of homeowners in properties that were specifically built because of the ski area. These homeowners can now never rent their properties or sell them to someone who might want to do this in the future, yet most mountain area properties are priced far above the economics of workforce housing. Additionally, second-home owners buy homes to use them and are very unlikely to choose to rent them long-term if they can’t do short-term rental.

Taking on prohibiting huge swaths of STRs out of the gate without putting the first two steps above into motion is putting the cart before the horse and is a knee-jerk reaction lacking data due to a few citizens repeatedly complaining about the “STR next door”. We do not support bad actors in STRs, but we believe with enforcement, these problems can be properly documented and eliminated if necessary.

We need to react to this now or permanent damage will be caused. Our City Council acted rashly and appears unprofessional, further destabilizing our regulatory environment and scaring away investment in our community. The trickle-down effect of this plan will damage many businesses and affect jobs and our local economy.

Millions of dollars of tax revenue and visitor spending will be eliminated, placing City infrastructure at risk, and forcing spending cuts despite the current boom in tourism.

If we are not ready to accept these consequences, then we must all be willing to speak up and take action.

If you want to get more involved, here are some ways to contact City Council directly: 

Add your comments to EngageSteamboat.net

Contact individual City Council members at:

Post comments on social media:

  • Steamboat Pilot & Today
  • Steamboat Radio

Attend City Council for public comment on this issue on 8/24 at 6:00pm either in person or by this Zoom

https://link.edgepilot.com/s/df67f110/ReutiK5Q8UGduEJTwd34LA?u=https://us02web.zoom.us/j/985289877

  • Attend Planning Commission meetings when they review the ordinance containing the map (TBA)
  • Attend City Council meetings in September and October when first and second readings of the ordinance are held. (TBA)
  • Sign this petition supporting our Position Statement. Our goal is 2,000 signatures by August 23rd.

We would really appreciate your help with anything that you can do to support this cause.

 

Tweet
Share
Pin
Share