The Ability for Our Clients to Short-Term Rent their Home is in Jeopardy
City Council is having a number of regulation related discussions on Short-Term Rentals (STR’s) that could result in our clients no longer being able to rent their home.
The only way to change the narrative is to reach out to City Council.
We especially need second homeowners to reach out and share their perspective with Council.
STR OVERLAY ZONE:
At the direction of the previous City Council, the Planning Department is on a mission to create an overlay zone map that will restrict and potentially eliminate hundreds of STRs across the community. The Overlay Map has been doing the rounds at Planning Commission, but the level of discussion and analysis is concerning as they move neighborhoods in and out of one zone or another based on their subjective judgement.
Because the Vacation Home Rental (VHR) Moratorium was only extended until January 31st, 2022, they are rushing forward to make decisions before this deadline. These decisions will have lasting effect on property rights, and we are concerned that this is being done without waiting for all the data that will come from the City’s new licensing and enforcement contractor, Granicus. Much of what is driving the regulatory process is hearsay and emotion, and very little is based on verified complaints or other data.
We believe that contracting with Granicus is a sound idea. Requiring registration of all Vacation Home Rentals within the City and having a 24 hour hotline is a great first step and perhaps all that will be required.
It could take 12 – 18 months to have sufficient data to understand where STRs are located and what kind of issues they generate. It is possible that the data will show that there are few complaints, and perhaps limited to isolated bad actors or NIMBY neighbors. Let’s get data and study it before we wreck what we have.
We are reaching out to our clients who have homes in Steamboat and rent them out on a short term basis. This model is the only way that many can afford to own a property in Steamboat. If they can no longer rent their property short term and are forced to sell, chances are that the new owner will leave the property dark for long periods of time which is also not healthy for our economy.
Email City Council and Share Your Story
Sharing your story is the only way to ensure your voice is heard. It’s important to let Council know why STRs are valuable to our community and the impact they have.
To reach out to your City Council member, find their email address and phone number below.
At-Large: Ed Briones, 970-846-9992
District 1: Robin Crossan, 970-819-9144
District 1: Gail Garey, 970-846-9897
District 2: Michael Buccino, 970-875-1035
District 2: Joella West, 323-761-0661
District 3: Dakotah McGinlay, 703-943-6597
District 3: Heather Sloop, 970-846-4545
Attend City Council Meetings & Give Public Comment
While we are grateful to our board members who consistently show up and submit public comment during meetings, it’s important that City Council hears from ALL stakeholders in our community.
