Commissioners disagree on short-term rental proposal

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Douglas County is the latest in the Denver metro area to consider a policy to regulate short-term rentals — short stays at a property booked through sites like Airbnb or Vrbo — and whether the county’s leaders will ultimately approve it is unclear.

Douglas County’s commissioners disagreed in a 1-1 tie on a preliminary vote on an ordinance, or law, that would regulate short-term rentals. e proposed law would require owners to apply for licenses to operate homes as short-term rental properties.

e commissioners, on June 13, represented two opposing views on allowing the rentals.

“As late as last ursday, I got a letter from a citizen asking not to approve this — that he bought a home in a residential area and he doesn’t want a commercial enterprise next door to his house,” said Commissioner Lora omas, who voted against the proposal.

Commissioner Abe Laydon was absent and did not vote. George Teal, the commissioner who voted in favor, said he received some comments in opposition as well.

“But I’ve also received many in support,” said Teal, who said he heard from retirees in the community. “ ey have downsized their lives to minimize expenses, but they still retain (their) properties and would very much like the opportunity to have those properties add to their otherwise xed income. And, you know, it is their property.” e proposed law de nes a short‐term rental as lasting less than 30 consecutive days. It would apply to unincorporated parts of Douglas County — ones that sit outside of municipalities.

As of early 2020, Castle Pines and Parker prohibit short-term rentals, Colorado Community Media reported at the time.

After “substantial community engagement,” in February this year, Lone Tree City Council approved two ordinances to prohibit the creation of new short-term rentals and regulate existing ones, the city’s website says.

Castle Rock does not regulate shortterm rentals, but all businesses there must obtain a town business license and collect applicable lodging and sales tax.

Rules would vary by area e draft of the law says a home within a planned development shall not be licensed as a short-term rental property “unless such planned development speci cally allows such use.” at means short-term rentals would be prohibited in Highlands Ranch and the Pinery area south of Parker, for example, because the planned developments do not speci cally allow them, according to county sta .

Just because short-term rentals aren’t regulated in unincorporated Douglas County doesn’t mean they aren’t happening. Airbnb’s website on June 18 showed a handful of listings that appeared to be in unincorporated Douglas Conty. (Some listings don’t show an exact location on the website’s map.)

Over the past two years, county sta met with the commissioners multiple times to discuss a potential ordinance and other possible options for allowing and regulating short‐term rentals, a county sta report says.

“ ere were also multiple live town halls held on the topic for the board (of commissioners) to discuss options with the public,” the report says.

Now, after an initial tie vote, a second vote is set for July 11.

If passed, the ordinance wouldn’t allow for short-term rentals in every unincorporated area.

(“Planned developments” means land in a special type of zoning that applies to certain areas. Zoning is a local government’s rules for what can be built where.)

Plus, homeowners associations would be able to prohibit short-term rentals under the ordinance, according to county sta .

Ins and outs of proposal e law would allow for local “agents,” such as an individual or the representative of a property management company, who may be someone other than the property owner, to serve as the management of the short-term rental unit.

( e property owner may appoint themselves as the local agent.)

Asked whether the ordinance includes a requirement that short-term rental license holders be occupants of the property they are renting out, a statement from county sta said: “ ere is not an owner occupancy requirement.” e ordinance would include a long list of rules, such as the following:

• For properties that contain a detached single-family home and an additional residence of any kind — such as a guest house or a caretaker residence — the owner would be allowed to use only one residence as a short-term rental property.

• e motor vehicles and trailers of all occupants of the short-term rental property “shall be able to be accommodated on the permitted and approved driveway” of the property. No motor vehicles or trailers “shall be parked on the vegetated areas” of the property.

• e county would also be able to inspect the property to enforce the law’s requirements, including by the Douglas County Sheri ’s O ce, and may enter “at all reasonable times.” e ordinance “shall not apply to” homes that are not leased more than 14 days in a calendar year and not advertised as a short-term rental on a regular basis, the draft text says.

• Any person who violates any provision of the ordinance would face a ne of $250 for a rst violation, $500 for a second violation and $1,000 for the third and subsequent violations. If passed, the law would will have some exceptions to who has to follow regulations.