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Short-term rentals get first-round approval 5-2 majority on council votes to give homeowners legal way to do business JOSEPH RIOS JRIOS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
into homelessness. And many of them grew up in the area where they now survive outside. “I got laid off and divorced, lost my house,” said Billy Welty, 51, who grew up in Englewood. “I ended up on the streets. I had a motor home for a while and had a truck and camper. I had to sell them just to eat.” Welty has been homeless for 16 years off-and-on. He came to Giving Heart Englewood, a homeless services center, for a Jan. 28 event where volunteers interviewed people for the Point in Time survey.
Englewood City Council on Feb. 3 approved the legality of short-term rentals on first reading, a service that allows homeowners to rent out their home or a room in their home for 29 days or less. The idea to regulate short-term rentals was presented to Englewood City Council by city staff last July, but the ordinance was shut down in a vote by council last October. Englewood staff presented a new ordinance on shortterm rentals that included a plan to enforce regulations of the service last month, and later, the issue was broken into two separate ordinances. One of the ordinances pertains to land-use provisions for short-term rentals while the other ordinance focuses on regulations of the service. Both the short-term rental regulation and land-use ordinances were approved on 5-2 votes on Feb. 3, with Councilmembers Dave Cuesta and Rita Russell voting against them. At a Jan. 27 Englewood City Council special meeting, council directed staff to establish the zone districts in the city where short-term rentals will be allowed.
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Billy Welty, 51, sits at Giving Heart homeless-services center in Englewood during an event for the Point in Time survey. Welty grew up in Englewood and has been homeless for 16 years on-and-off. ELLIS ARNOLD
On the streets and on the move Annual count highlights hurdles in climbing out of homelessness BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Going to college but still living on the South Platte River. Surviving on the streets for years after a divorce. Two brothers, nearly 60 years old, still searching for foliage to stay outdoors undetected. These are among the stories people
experiencing homelessness shared with volunteers for the annual Point in Time survey, an effort to count the number of people sleeping outdoors in metro areas around the country. Each January, volunteers from churches, human services departments, nonprofits and law enforcement spread out across the Denver metro area, and around the nation, to conduct the one-day survey. Last year, the survey found 5,755 people homeless across the Denver metro area. Housing prices skyrocketed over the past decade in the Denver area, but the cost of a roof overhead isn’t the only factor that pushes people
THE BOTTOM LINE PERIODICAL
“I am proud to have created the most veteran- and militaryfriendly office in government.” George Brauchler, district attorney | Page 5 INSIDE
VOICES: PAGE 8 | LIFE: PAGE 10 | CALENDAR: PAGE 12
EnglewoodHerald.net
VOLUME 99 | ISSUE 50