RENAISSANCE

everyone a part of the show.”

She said there is something for everyone in the permanent village structure that sits on 80-plus acres of land.

“We have over 10 stages of nonstop entertainment. ere is always a show going on at every single one of those stages and we have over 180 artisans that we hand select from all around the country that create everything from blacksmithing to swords to elaborate court costumes to anything you can think of,” Ekiss said.

Ekiss said the same family has owned the park since its opening in 1977.

Ekiss, who lives in Colorado Springs and grew up going to Renaissance fairs, has been on sta and in the cast for 17 years. For her, the best aspect of being a part of the festival is performing for children.

Eric Mindykowski, who performs as eodore Wenglewick, the Duke of Larkspur, acts as the casting director and has been a part of the theme park since 2002, feels the same way.

“Seeing that wonder in kids’ eyes, that’s one of my favorite things,” he said. e duke said while the festival can cause tra c in Larkspur, it’s bene cial to the town’s economy and brings new people to the community every year.

Mindykowski said he feels the Colorado Renaissance Festival is di erent from others because everyone from the cast to the crew is extremely kind to patrons.

“Everybody says our festival is the friendliest and I really pride ourselves as management that we instill that in everybody,” he said.

David Seeley, who originally worked for a merchant, has worked at the festival since 2001 and took on the role of King George six years ago.

“ is one of the few places where people come just to have a good time. My favorite aspect of this season is just the renewal of the cast,” he said. “People visit from all over the country, and they commonly comment about it’s so di erent here because we’re just a big family and it’s just a big heart that we have.”

Colorado natives, high school sweethearts and married couple John and Pinkie Stepp, also known as omas and Elizabeth Howard, the Duke and Duchess of Norford, rst came to the fair in 1979, became consistent patrons in 1996 and joined the cast 15 years ago.

Based on real people in history, John and Pinkie love bringing the 16th century alive for people through their characters.

“One of the things I love most is, as we walk around and entertain, people ask questions and I can share historical things like how we’re dressed and what’s important,” Pinkie said.

For John, there is nowhere greater to be than the Colorado Renaissance Festival.

“With all due respect I think Mr. Disney was wrong. is is in fact the happiest place on Earth,” John said.

For more information, visit coloradorenaissance.com

Waldo Emerson

Opposing views

At the July 11 meeting, the Happy Canyon Homeowners Association was among those opposing shortterm rentals, arguing they could a ect the housing market.

A board member of the Happy Canyon group came to the meeting and expressed concern about the impact of short-term rentals on the supply of a ordable housing, fearing that investors would take housing units out of the long-term rental market.

Research published in Harvard Business Review in 2019 suggested that Airbnb listings may have a relatively small amount of e ect on housing prices.

But how any e ect could play out in rural areas of Douglas County is unclear.

“Folks, we’re not a tourist mecca,” Commissioner George Teal said at the meeting.

e county also heard some concerns that short-term rentals would increase crime.

In comments to the county before the new law passed, the Douglas County Sheri ’s O ce didn’t spe- ci cally argue that the rentals would drive up crime. ey want to “augment an already limited income as they go into their twilight years,” Teal said at the meeting.

“Douglas County Sheri ’s Ofce (DCSO) is supportive of the proposed ordinance as long as enforcement action taken by the DCSO remains at the discretion of the DCSO,” a county sta summary reads.

A sheri ’s o cial sent a letter to the county that said: “On a side note, based on my experiences where I live, short-term rentals are di cult to monitor and enforcement is poor.” at comment came from David Walcher, the county’s undersheri .

One member of the public, speaking at the July meeting, argued that short-term rentals should be allowed based on “the principle, simply, of private property rights.” Teal, who supported the policy, said he heard from a household that lives on a xed income who wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to o er a short-term rental.

Where short-term rentals are allowed Douglas County hasn’t had a general prohibition on short-term rentals for at least the past 20 years, but there were only a few small areas where they were explicitly allowed, according to county sta . at includes highly populated spots such as Highlands Ranch and the Pinery area south of Parker. e text of the law says a home within a “planned development” shall not be licensed as a shortterm rental property “unless such (planned development) speci cally allows such use.” e new law passed on a 2-1 vote with omas opposed and Teal and Commissioner Abe Laydon voting in favor.

Before the county’s new ordinance, the areas where short-term rentals were explicitly allowed in unincorporated Douglas County were typically associated with some private country clubs to accommodate outof-town users of a club’s golf course, according to county sta .

Now, under the new law, there are large stretches of the county where the rentals are speci cally prohibited.

“Planned development” means land in a special type of zoning that applies to certain areas.

All the communities on the following list, according to county sta , are planned developments that do not allow short-term rentals: Bell Mountain Ranch, Canyons South (Macanta), Chat eld Farms, Cielo, Fox Hill, Highlands Ranch, Intravest 320 (Wildcat Ridge), Keene Ranch, Lincoln Creek Village, Meridian (includes Stepping Stone), Pinery, Piney Lake Trails, Plum Creek PD (Solstice), Province Center, River Canyon (Ravenna), Roxborough Park, Roxborough Village, Sierra Ridge, Sterling Ranch, Stone Creek Ranch, Stonegate and Trails.

“ e (rentals) will not be allowed in their neighborhoods unless there is a zoning change,” Commissioner Lora omas said at the meeting.

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

For a look at the county’s new regulations, see Colorado Community Media’s previous story at tinyurl. com/STRDouglasRegulation.

City, town rules

e cities and towns in Douglas County vary on whether they allow short-term rentals.

“ e Town of Castle Rock doesn’t regulate short-term rentals such as Airbnb or Vrbo. However, all businesses must obtain a town business license and collect and remit ap- plicable lodging and sales tax,” said Melissa Hoelting, a spokesperson for Castle Rock. e Town of Larkspur’s policies don’t address short-term rentals except that they are subject to a 4% sales tax and a 6% lodging tax, said Heather Yanda, Larkspur’s town clerk.

In Castle Pines, rentals of less than 28 consecutive days were banned in 2018 via Ordinance 18-07, and that law is still in e ect, said Tobi Du ey, Castle Pines city clerk.

Parker, which o cially refers to short-term rentals as “tourist homes,” does not allow the rentals.

“Prior to 2019, the town’s land development ordinance (LDO) already did not permit ‘tourist homes’ in Parker, but there was not a de nition for such a dwelling included in the LDO,” said a statement from Andy Anderson, a Parker spokesperson.

“ e ordinance approved by town council on Oct. 21, 2019, clari ed the de nition of a tourist home as ‘any dwelling, dwelling unit or portion of any dwelling unit rented or leased for valuable consideration to a particular person or persons for periods of time less than thirty (30) days.’”

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.

Short-term rentals that were established before March 8 of this year are allowed to continue as long as they operate with a city business license, had paid taxes for the past three years of operation and obtained a permit by May 7 this year.

“A business license and short-term rental license are required to operate a short-term rental,” said Nate Jones, spokesperson for Lone Tree.

Short-term rentals that existed before March 8 are only allowed to still operate today if they had a Lone Tree business license before March 8, according to Jones.

And “the ordinance allowed shortterm rentals to become current in payment of sales and lodging taxes if they had not been remitting such taxes prior to March 8,” Jones said.

Grace period

Just because short-term rentals generally weren’t regulated in unincorporated Douglas County

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