“So the next section is the section on density. That’s a very popular one.
“We’re recommending a 5% density limit. What that means is, if a subdivision is at or over their density limit, we would not be allowed to issue more short-term rentals in that subdivision.”
Interim Development Director Pamela Flowers was continuing with her summary of proposed amendments to the Archuleta County Land Use Regulations, with a focus on vacation rentals, also known as short-term rentals, at the Board of County Commissioner’s April 13 work session. She had already summarized numerous clarifying amendments that will make enforcement actions — to be handled by an expanded Planning Department staff — to ensure that vacation rentals are abiding by existing County regulations.
The amendments had been previously approved and recommended by the County Planning Commission.
We were about to hear about some new regulations, which move the permitting rules into some unfamiliar territory. Density limits.
The Town of Pagosa Springs has its own set of rules for vacation rentals located within the Town limits, and those rules will be discussed at a Town Council work session on April 29. But both the Town and the County governing boards have grappled, in a very tentative and indecisive fashion, with the idea that unlimited conversions of residential homes into mini-motels will ultimately make Archuleta County into a tourism wasteland, with no place for employees to live. The Town Council has yet to place any limit on the number of vacation rentals — in a given neighborhood, or in the town as a whole.
The BOCC has likewise discussed vacation rental “caps” and “density”… but until last Tuesday, I had not heard any suggestion that such regulations might actually be put in place to control the unlimited growth of the industry.
As Ms. Flowers summarized the proposed new rules, no new vacation rentals would be allowed in a given subdivision if that subdivision already has more than 5% of its homes already converted to mini-motels. Existing, already-permitted vacation rentals would be allowed to continue operations, but as homes fell out of the vacation rental business — such as through a change in ownership — the County would gradually come to an equilibrium of about 95% actual residential homes.
Ms. Flowers noted that this hoped-for equilibrium would take many years to be reached in certain subdivisions, where vacation rentals already constitute far more than 5% of the homes. She explained that the community, as a whole, would always have opportunities for new vacation rentals — but just not in the subdivisions that are already over-crowded.
Commissioner Warren Brown asked where the “5%” number had come from, and why it wasn’t, for example, “10%” or some other percentage. Ms. Flowers noted that this percentage had been chosen by the Planning Commission, based on percentages used in other communities, and said she would provide a chart of examples to the BOCC in the near future.
The general idea of density caps is to prevent “clustering” of too many vacation rentals in a neighborhood.
Here’s my own little survey of some Colorado communities known as tourism destinations. A 5% limit seems extremely generous?
Here’s some text from the City of Salida, where there are currently no additional licenses available within the Residential and Industrial zones:
The regulations allow for an unlimited number of licenses to be issued in Commercial Zones, and a limited number of licenses to be issued in Residential and Industrial Zones (75) based upon specific calculations and spacing requirements prescribed by City Ordinances…
The maximum number of short-term rentals in the residential zones (R-1, R-2, R-3, and R-4) shall not exceed three and a half (3 1⁄2) percent of the total number of dwelling units eligible as short-term rentals (not including apartment units and accessory dwelling units) in those residential zones…
Permitted short-term rentals in existence at the time of the adoption of this Section shall be included in the calculation of the maximum number of units allowed.
From the City of Manitou Springs website:
Short-Term Rental Operations must be a minimum of five-hundred feet (500 ft.) from other Short-Term Rental Operations. This minimum separation distance is measured from property line to property line…
Short-Term Rental Operations shall occupy no more than two percent (2%) of the available residential structures within the City of Manitou Springs which is currently capped at fifty-eight (58) potential permits which may be issued for Short-Term Rental Operations.
From the Town of Telluride’s short-term rentals guide which you can download here:
Short-term rentals are for periods of 29 days or less and are also permitted throughout Town. Short-term rentals for each Residential Zone District property, however, may not exceed three short-term rentals annually for a cumulative number of rental days not to exceed 29. For example, a property may be rented once for 15 days, once for 10 days and once for 4 days in a calendar year, three rentals for a cumulative number of 29 days, or may have one short-term rental for 29 days total.
It appears that the City of Durango has a limit of 119 vacation rentals, total, in the entire city.
Larimer County, home to Estes Park, has rather lenient rules around short-term rentals, but notes: “The short-term rental shall be equipped with a fire sprinkler system.” I believe very few residential homes in Archuleta County are equipped with fire sprinkler systems, but all hotels and motels are required to have such systems, if I’m not mistaken.
The City of Denver and the City of Boulder allow short-term rentals only if the home is also the primary residence of the owner. This type of rule solves the problem of guest “over-occupying” a vacation rental, as well as the problems of excessive noise and late night activities — because the owner would normally be on-site, supervising the rental activities. It also preserves the essentially “residential” character of “residential zoning” by preventing an entire neighborhood from becoming overrun with unsupervised mini-motels owned by absentee landlords. Additionally, it prevents our real estate market from being dominated by rich, out-of-town investors interested only in extracting as much money as possible from the Pagosa Springs economy.
Will the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners soon embrace similar protections for our community… and for our neighborhoods?
Stay tuned.