Commissioners on Thursday unanimously approved updates to rules for short-term rentals in Boulder County, saying the changes keep family operations in business while preventing unlicensed enterprises from overrunning unincorporated areas of the county.
Commissioner Matt Jones noted that the new rules will anger some long-term residents who for generations have rented out their cabins during the summer and will now encounter more regulation.
“We are not going to make some people happy,” Jones said. “But it seems like a pretty good middle ground.”
The changes make clearer the uses allowed for bed and breakfasts, short-term dwelling and vacation rentals, according to the Boulder County website. The county defines each as follows:
- A bed and breakfast is a home rented to one or more parties at a time, the owners or manager resides on-site during rental periods, and at least one meal per day is served to guests.
- A vacation rental is not owner-occupied and is rented to one party at a time more than 60 nights per year.
- A short-term dwelling rental is an accessory residence at an owner-occupied single-family dwelling, or one that is rented to one party at a time 60 nights or fewer per year.
The new rules also introduce a short-term dwelling rental and vacation rental licensing program, which will be enforced by a third-party contractor, said Boulder County Senior Planner Jasmine Rodenburg.
The new regulations — which drew fire from some mountain area homeowners who said they would cut off needed revenue longtime property owners get from tourism, wedding receptions and reunions — came after more than a year of study. The county also conducted outreach to residents, many of whom said short-term rentals should be managed locally and have some form of owner-occupancy requirement, Rodenburg said.
There are over 700 short-term rentals — housing occupied for less than 30 days — listed in Boulder County, Rodenburg told commissioners, but she said probably many more are operating off the books.
The popularity of short-term rentals has grown sharply as people and real estate companies see them as a good source of income, Rodenburg said. Short-term rentals also take homes and apartments off the housing market, making it tougher for people to find permanent housing.
“Property values increase in areas dense with short-term rentals,” she said.
Planners also took into account that some Boulder County residents depend on rent from short-term lodging to supplement their retirement, she said.
The new rules allow individuals who are the primary owners of short-term rentals to go through a much shorter application process, she said. There will be more limitations for people who rent out second homes.
“On secondary homes used for cabins and investment properties, we are adding limitations,” Rodenburg said.
Allenspark resident Samuel Arieti blasted the changes in a virtual public hearing prior to the vote. He told the commissioners the county showed little or no evidence outside investors were gobbling up properties to turn into quick income.
“They have zero evidence and they have had a year to look at this,” Arieti said.
Boulder County resident Richard Harris said the new regulations will keep scenic areas of the county from being overrun by short-term renters.
“This is just part of a continued effort to preserve mountain peace and quiet,” he said.
