Boulder County holds virtual open house on short-term rentals

On July 30, officials with the Boulder County Community Planning and Permitting department held a town hall meeting to discuss proposed changes to short-term rentals, with the goal to clearly define and regulate these units for unincorporated parts of the county.

The meeting was conducted mostly by Assistant County Attorney Jasmine Rodenburg, who discussed the current regulations, proposed changes and reasons behind them, followed by small group online meetings.

As it stands now, short-term rentals are defined as being rented for less than 30 consecutive days by an owner who occupies the dwelling more than six months a year. In some areas, where permitted, owners can rent dwellings over 46 nights per year if they meet certain criteria and agree to a public hearing with county commissioners.

The updated criteria include approved septic systems, valid building permit and code at the time of construction, legal lot recognized by code and legal access to the property via easements. Smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, fire extinguishers, maps showing access, parcel boundaries and parking are required as well.

The residences can have two adult renters with up to eight people (with exceptions based on septic size) in this “by right” category.

The next is owner- or tenant-occupied where meals are provided are only allowed if approved through a public hearing, no more than three guest rooms and six guests per night. This would be defined as a bed and breakfast.

Rodenburg said that the current system is outdated due to the rise in people using their homes as vacation destinations.

“The regulations as they currently stand we adopted in 2008, so they’re a bit outdated,” Rodenburg said. “Since then, short term rentals as an option has increased nationwide and definitely in Boulder County as well.

“We’ve received consistent input from a variety of individuals stating that our current code isn’t working to adequately address the impact from the short-term rentals.”

She said that the goal of the changes is to improve enforcement mechanisms, without a decrease in housing availability and affordability.

“If long-term rentals are becoming short-term rentals, homes that would be rented year round are only just only available for people who are just vacationing on a short-term basis, that diminishes the stock we have in Boulder County,” Rodenburg said. “Another thing is that property values increase and ultimately price people out in areas that are dense with short-term rentals.”

There has been plenty of the input from the community, which will have another chance next month.

“A majority of people felt that there should be short-term dwellings allowed with some sort of regulations,” Rodenburg said. “Some people felt they should be regulated a lot more, some a lot less. Overwhelming, people wanted a local management requirement and felt as though there should be some sort of owner-occupancy requirement and that minimum stay requirements were not appropriate.”

In the change, bed and breakfasts would have to be owner-occupied and provide at least one meal and be subject to review. It would make it possible for accessory residential use to be rented, also with review and a chance for public comment. Seasonal short-term rentals would not have significant changes.

Rodenburg said other concerns that they are addressing include over-regulation, noise, wildfire processes with evacuation routes clearly shown to renters, wildlife instruction, traffic and residency requirements.

Some exceptions to the one dwelling per parcel rule are still family care units, historic and agricultural worker units.

Another frequent question asked is about taxes.

“One question we get is are we raising taxes with this, and we are not,” Rodenburg said. “The only fee associated with this would be the licensing fee, but we are not changing any taxes.”

The license fees go to help with enforcement. Originally, it was a complaint-based system, but the county is exploring third party options.

She added that legal access and disputes over private easements will still have to be taken up by the parties involved. Homeowners associations can still ban short-term rentals.

The next step is to draft up the code language, followed by a referral period. The county will then hold another virtual open house for public comment. Following that, the draft will be taken to the planning commission where the public can again comment before a recommendation is made to the county commission.