We received an email, recently, from the owner of a Pagosa Springs vacation rental. The letter began like this:
I’m saddened and disheartened that a some people are inaccurately vilifying the vacation rental market.
Please take a minute to hear my story: As a 28yr retired military veteran I traveled the world and dreamed of someday buying a home in a beautiful Colorado mountain town. When my wife and I first visited here five years ago, we fell in love with Pagosa. But how could we afford it? Only with the help from some short term rental income could this dream ever come true.
We found a beautiful house with great bones but was somewhat neglected and in need of love and attention. Directly through short term rental revenue we’ve made well over $100,000 in improvements and repairs. Like most other vacation rentals, we’ve spent countless hours and pumped all rental proceeds back into the property. These projects have employed dozens of local craftsman, beautified our street, and increased the entire neighborhood’s property value. Like most homeowners these contributions absolutely would not have been possible without vacation rentals. Our scenario is not unique.
The letter was rather lengthy, and described some of the benefits that had accrued to this vacation rental owner — and to the larger community — once he and his wife had removed yet another residential house from our limited supply of homes here in Archuleta County.
The email had arrived, however, without the sender’s name or address attached. Our policy here at the Daily Post is to post letters only if they include the writer’s name and town of residence. We frown on the practice of making accusations — such as, “some people are inaccurately vilifying the vacation rental market” — unless the writer is willing to stand behind the accusations by signing his name to his letter.
So I responded to our anonymous letter writer, asking for his name and town of residence, so we could publish his letter.
I received this response, with no name or town included:
Bill, one of the main reasons we fell in love with Pagosa was the accepting and welcoming nature of the majority of its citizens. I sense this issue has empowered those that are so not so welcoming.
Although I feel very strongly that vacation rentals are good for our community and our economy, I’m not sure I want to be the focal point of few that want to blame an “outsider” for all their problems both real and perceived.
I’m saddened and disheartened to learn that even a retired military veteran with 28 years of service has to live in fear of the few who want to blame an “outsider” for all their problems — problems like, for example, the inconvenience of being unable to find an affordable home in Pagosa Springs, while working a full-time job here — or problems like the conversion of one’s formerly friendly residential neighborhood into a commercial district full of small, anonymous motels.
As part of setting its fee schedule for 2021, the Pagosa Springs Town Council voted in December to increase the vacation rental application fee to $500 and the renewal fee for vacation rentals to $400, with those who have already had their licenses approved for 2021 — and paid — being grandfathered in. Council member Shari Pierce included in her motion the intention to discuss, further, reduced fees for “owner-occupied” vacation rentals.
We note that “owner-occupied” vacation rentals — that is, a local homeowner renting a room or part of a house to occasional visitors — do not reduce the availability of housing, nor does it have the same impact on neighborhoods as “investor-owned” vacation rentals — the type that occasionally turn into unsupervised “party houses”, thus negatively impacting formerly residential neighborhoods.
Some communities in Colorado have outlawed “investor-owned” vacation rentals, and now allow only “owner-occupied” vacation rentals. But that has not yet happened in Archuleta County.
The Archuleta County government currently charges $400 per year for a vacation rental license, regardless of the income being generated by the rental. Our commissioners understand, I think, the damage caused to our community by the vacation rental industry, but are hesitant to aggressively address the numerous problems in the same way some other Colorado communities have done.
Our anonymous letter writer had commented that he is opposed to increased fees.
Please tell your county leaders until they have completed an accurate analysis, any taxes, and increases are absolutely not appropriate, are counterproductive and are borderline harassment.
As mentioned, the letter was submitted via email… and the email address was connected to a website for a certain (very attractive) vacation rental in the Meadows area, which would make it subject to the Archuleta County annual fee. The vacation rental charges an average nightly rental of about $350. VRBO reviews give the property a high rating.
Why a retired military veteran would complain about a $400 annual fee — for a property that rents for $350 a night — I cannot say. Nor can I explain why the property belongs to an Arkansas-based limited liability company, when the owner claims to be in love with Pagosa.
The Town and County annual fees do not appear to have dampened the enthusiasm of out-of-town investors, doing their part to make local homes unaffordable and unavailable. Archuleta County lists over 430 officially registered vacation rentals, as of this past December… in a county with about 5,500 occupied homes.
Bill Hudson began sharing his opinions in the Pagosa Daily Post in 2004 and can’t seem to break the habit. He claims that, in Pagosa Springs, opinions are like pickup trucks: everybody has one.