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Golden Transcript 012623

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Week of January 26, 2023

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JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO

A publication of

GoldenTranscript.net

VOLUME 157 | ISSUE 6

Golden City Council decides against exceptions to short-term rental permits

Our in-depth look at the housing crisis

BY ANDREW FRAIELI AFRAIELI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

the time five years ago. “After that, we did the application online and sent it in without them being able to see the person.” Once the application got approved, the team at Aurora Warms the Night would let the real estate agents see the client was Black. Arnold said this process worked almost every time and became the organization’s own way of making a dent in the discrimination that people of color may face, but find

Golden City Council discussed possible ways to provide exceptions to their 2018 short-term rental ordinance in a study session on Jan. 10, but the majority decided against it. “I think what we’ve seen in a lot of other mountain communities is that they work to quickly undo some of their more permissive short-term rental strategies, and is a reflection of the current housing market and how unaffordable it is,” Councilor Casey Brown said in the session. “And I think that’s the right way to go, I think we had it right the first time.” The motivation for the discussion was a specific property owner, Betty Yada, who wants to have two STRs on her property — something specifically disallowed in the ordinance. According to council documents, Yada had what existed before the ordinance defined short-term rentals — a “Tourist Home.” “Tourist Homes” functioned similarly, but allowed five or fewer guest rooms. In comparison, and where the issue lies, STRs only allow one, and Tourist Homes are now only allowed in commercial districts. After a brief discussion, the majority of council members agreed to not move forward with any

SEE INEQUITIES, P16

SEE PERMITS, P3

Racial Inequities: Black Coloradans often face barriers in homeownership applicants visited properties, Some now look to build the landlords denied their applicaThis happened over and equity for future generations tions. over again. BY NINA JOSS AND HALEY LENA NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM; HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A few years ago, Aurora Warms the Night, an Aurora-based nonprofit serving people who need housing, ran into a challenge when assisting its Black clients in applying for apartments. When

So the team decided to take a different approach, sending in White volunteers to check out the apartments first. “I would send one of our employees or people that were White to look at the apartment — to get the pricing, get everything, to make sure everything was available,” said Brian Arnold, who was executive director of the group at

INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 13 | SPORTS: PAGE 26

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