The Town of Pagosa Springs invites community residents to participate in a survey, posted on MyPagosa.org, concerning Short Term/Vacation Rentals. STRs are residential homes that provide lodging stays of less than 30 days, and as such, are treated differently from long-term rentals.
You will be asked to create an account before you can participate in the online discussion.
The exponential growth of the vacation rental industry has become a heated controversy throughout Colorado, especially in cities and towns economically dependent upon tourism. Many of the new downtown and uptown lodging units previously served as homes for Pagosa’s workforce families and individuals, or for retirees. It’s not entirely clear how large a role these conversions have played in the worsening housing crisis in Archuleta County.
The Town currently requires Short-Term rental and vacation rental (VR) operators to apply for a Vacation Rental License. In any of the residentially-zoned districts, Town also requires a Conditional Use Permit to operate. As of May 2021, about 15% of the Town’s housing units were licensed as Short-Term Rentals.
From the MyPagosa.org website:
The Town recognizes the service these STRs provide and the contributions they make overall. Residents have expressed concerns with the concentrations in some neighborhoods and the impact on their quality of their life, associated negative impacts like noise and garbage as well as the economic impact on our housing stock.
The Town would like your thoughts on STRs, both positive and negative. Please take our Survey and feel free to add comments and share your stories on the Community Discussion…
The Town has also posted a map showing the locations of existing STRs. As we see, certain neighborhoods have been highly impacted by the conversion of residential homes into lodging establishments, while other neighborhoods have seen less
Click the map, below, to view a larger, interactive version.
Here is a typical response posted in the Discussion section of the website:
STRs have been and are now completely crushing the spirit of small mountain towns throughout CO and elsewhere. It is also now having a significant impact on the economy as small business owners and employees cannot find affordable housing, and are being out bought by people who live in their newly purchased homes a fraction of the year, and use it as an investment vehicle, which ultimately funnels money out of town. Since the rise of remote work and education during COVID, the problem has exploded. When restaurants and business are limiting hours or simply closing because they cannot find employees because, those people have left due to no housing, the problem is already too far gone, which is what is happening this very summer. Free market ideology is a wonderful theory, until it crushes the town economy because tourism driven businesses can no longer find help.
At numerous hearings and discussions, held locally by our government boards and planning commissions, we’ve typically seen a large turnout from STR owners and real estate agents, advocating for unrestricted vacation rentals, with less representation from the general public. The MyPagosa survey and community discussion appears to be aimed at getting a broader perspective on the issue.