Short term rentals (STRs) in the town of Crested Butte have gotten a lot of attention lately, with the town council endlessly debating whether or not to put any restrictions on homeowners. They have finally come to a consensus about passing an ordinance, albeit one without any limits to the number of rental nights or number of properties able to short term rent. They have said they will have further discussions on those matters in the near future.
The Ordinance that has been passed incorporates the following restrictions:
The current zoning restrictions will remain
There will be a cost for a rental license, as yet undetermined
The license will be for a period of 2 years and there will be property inspections every other year
Rental of a portion of your property requires a representative staying on site
An STR license doesn't transfer in a sale of the property
All neighbors within 100 feet of the property must be notified of the STR license
A contact person must be available to respond to an issue at the property within 1 hour
There is a maximum number of people (10) who may occupy the rental, unless issued a variance
The passed ordinance is generally being viewed as relatively mild considering the more draconian discussions that were taking place. Those included as few as 90 days of rentals possible, and/or restricting the overall number of licences granted. Fortunately the more severe parts have not yet been decided, and are hopefully forgotten forever. The mayor and another council member recused themselves because they both have STR licenses in areas of town for which short term rentals are not allowed (!) Of the remaining 5 council members, 3 don't have STR licenses, 2 because their property is also in an area restricted from STRs, the other because he doesn't own a house. I think this whole discussion is just a supreme conflict of interests and will probably result in a lawsuit if more measures are voted in.
The fact is that our town has become popular and there aren't enough hotels in town. Ironically, the lack of hotels is mostly due to town council's previous forays into changing the local laws and making commercial building (including hotels) financially nonviable due to insane fees.My hope is that council members look down the road at what will result from their actions and let the market determine the outcome, as it does. Too much meddling will result in the exact result they are trying to avoid.
The Ordinance that has been passed incorporates the following restrictions:
The current zoning restrictions will remain
There will be a cost for a rental license, as yet undetermined
The license will be for a period of 2 years and there will be property inspections every other year
Rental of a portion of your property requires a representative staying on site
An STR license doesn't transfer in a sale of the property
All neighbors within 100 feet of the property must be notified of the STR license
A contact person must be available to respond to an issue at the property within 1 hour
There is a maximum number of people (10) who may occupy the rental, unless issued a variance
The passed ordinance is generally being viewed as relatively mild considering the more draconian discussions that were taking place. Those included as few as 90 days of rentals possible, and/or restricting the overall number of licences granted. Fortunately the more severe parts have not yet been decided, and are hopefully forgotten forever. The mayor and another council member recused themselves because they both have STR licenses in areas of town for which short term rentals are not allowed (!) Of the remaining 5 council members, 3 don't have STR licenses, 2 because their property is also in an area restricted from STRs, the other because he doesn't own a house. I think this whole discussion is just a supreme conflict of interests and will probably result in a lawsuit if more measures are voted in.
The fact is that our town has become popular and there aren't enough hotels in town. Ironically, the lack of hotels is mostly due to town council's previous forays into changing the local laws and making commercial building (including hotels) financially nonviable due to insane fees.My hope is that council members look down the road at what will result from their actions and let the market determine the outcome, as it does. Too much meddling will result in the exact result they are trying to avoid.
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