The Boulder County commissioners approved several changes to short-term and vacation rental rules in unincorporated parts of the county in an attempt to streamline the rental process.
In a 2-to-1 vote Tuesday, the commissioners accepted amendments to both the county’s Land Use Code and licensing ordinance for short-term and vacation rental properties. The changes were initially proposed after a review of a 2020 update to the regulations as well as after hearing input from the public.
Commissioners Marta Loachamin and Ashley Stolzmann voted in favor of the amendments, while Commissioner Claire Levy voted against them.
According to Ethan Abner, a planner with Boulder County Community Planning and Permitting, the amendments are meant to create a baseline level of safety at these rentals.
“I support the docket as approved by the commissioners,” Abner wrote in an email Wednesday. “There is no denying that this is a complex issue set. The regulations themselves continued to evolve throughout this entire process, but I think that … we ultimately ended up (accomplishing) the goals and objectives we set out to achieve with this update.”
On Tuesday, commissioners approved nine amendments to the licensing ordinance. The changes modify the definitions of what constitutes a short-term or vacation rental, changes the review process for these rentals, and more.
For example, one amendment capped vacation rentals, allowing up to 4% of total housing units in mountainous areas of unincorporated Boulder County to have short-term rental licenses. The cap was increased by the commissions from its original proposal of 3.5%.
Levy said she didn’t support the cap since it has the potential to separate who can rent out their homes and who can’t based on when they’re able to do so.
“I don’t think it accomplishes what we want it to accomplish,” Levy said. “…I do feel that we are taking our whole vacation rental and short-term rental opportunity in a direction that is not a direction I think we should be going.”
Another amendment requires adjacent property owners be notified of their neighbors’ applications for short-term and vacation rental licenses “at the time of application.” The occupancy limit for these rentals was also changed to accommodate a maximum of eight people overnight, as long as the onsite wastewater treatment system can support it.
County staffers have said that these changes are an attempt to both address the needs of the owners of these rental properties while mitigating the impacts to neighboring residents.
The vote followed hours of public comment Tuesday during which Boulder County residents praised some of the changes and criticized others. Both Loachamin and Stolzmann thanked community members for voicing their concerns and opinions throughout the decision process.
“There’s a lot of really good input and…collaboration to improve upon what we had,” Stolzmann said. “I think the process is much more equitable.”
