Short Term Rental

A draft map of proposed Short-Term Rental Overlay Zone Districts indicating Unrestricted (green), Restricted (yellow) and Prohibited (red) areas.

Proposed Draft STR Overlay Zone Map

Changes to the Municipal Code to implement new STR licenses, enforcement, and Overlay Zone District Caps.

Draft Licensing Amendment

A variety of changes to the Community Development Code to implement Short-Term Rental policies.

CDC Text Amendment

The City of Steamboat Springs is hereby giving notice of the opportunity to review and comment on the proposed Short-Term Rental Overlay Zone. To ask questions or provide comments, please contact the Project Planner.

Type of Application: Text Amendment (PL20220134) and Zone Map Amendment (PL20220133)

General Description: Community Development Code text amendment and Zone Map amendment to adopt the Short-Term Rental Overlay Zone by adding a new Section 238 and amending Sections 101, 103, 200, 300, 302, 306, 307, 701, 702, 703, 706, and 720.

• Planning Commission Public Hearing Date: Thursday, April 28, 2022 at 5:00 PM
• City Council Public Comment Session: Tuesday, May 10, 2022 at 7:00 PM
• City Council Public Hearing Date: Tuesday, May 17, 2022 at 5:00 PM
• City Council Public Hearing Date: Tuesday, June 7, 2022 at 5:00 PM

Project Planner: Rebecca Bessey, 970-871-8202 rbessey@steamboatsprings.net

This draft Community Development Code and Zone Map Amendment has been processed consistent with the Steamboat Springs Community Development Code. The Final Decision will be made by City Council at 124 10^th Street, Centennial Hall, during a public hearing on the date reflected above. The draft is available for review during regular business hours at the Planning & Community Development Department (124 10^th Street, Centennial Hall, Steamboat Springs, CO) or online at www.steamboatsprings.net/currentprojects.

You can also find information about this project at the following links:

Text Amendment PL20220134

Zone Map Amendment PL20220133

Steamboat Pilot & Today, coverage of the Short-Term Rental topic:

• 5/18/22: Steamboat passes first reading of short-term rental ordinances with few tweaks
• 5/16/22: County commissioners back Steamboat council’s STR tax effort
• 5/12/22: Process to get STR tax on ballot will move quickly
• 5/12/22: Short-term rental debate heats up with public comments
• 5/11/22: Council wants STR tax to get $10 million a year for Brown Ranch
• 5/7/22: Public invited to comment on short-term rentals
• 5/3/22: Planning Commission sends short-term rental zone map to council
• 4/19/22: City council seeking to balance two separate short-term rental taxes
• 3/30/22: Planning Commission discusses short-term rental policy between mountain and town
• 3/24/22: Steamboat continues work on short-term rental rules while wondering if new policy will reduce numbers
• 3/20/22: Hayden limits short-term rentals in residential zones
• 3/11/22: Buccino recusal raises the question of whether second-home owners should have a voice in short-term rental debate
• 3/9/22: Steamboat moves forward on short-term rental tax, fees
• 2/28/22: City planning commission weighs where short-term rentals would be allowed by right, and where to restrict them
• 2/24/22: Routt County turns up heat on illegal short-term rentals
• 2/13/22: To cap or not to cap? Planning commission weighs more of the short-term rental debate
• 2/9/22: Short-term rental tax on the table for Steamboat
• 2/5/22: Hayden codifies longstanding rule: no vacation home rentals in residential zones
• 1/25/22:Steamboat planning commission weighs caps on short-term rentals
• 1/20/22: Steamboat council blocks member from discussion before approving extension of short-term rental moratorium
• 1/14/22: Short-term rentals on the table for Colorado legislators
• 1/5/22: Steamboat votes to extend moratorium on vacation home rental permits
• 1/4/22: Steamboat to vote on extending rental moratorium
• 12/14/21: Steamboat continues discussions on where short-term rentals should be allowed, restricted or prohibited
• 12/10/21: Steamboat likely to extend vacation home rental moratorium until June 30
• 11/17/21: Everything on the table: Steamboat revisits short-term rental cap, other restrictions
• 11/16/21: Where to draw the lines: Steamboat commission discusses if short-term rentals will be allowed in downtown, Hilltop, mountain areas
• 11/6/21: Oak Creek votes to place cap on short-term rentals
• 10/26/21: Steamboat Planning Commission discusses role of homeowners associations in short-term rental policy
• 10/20/21: Steamboat vacation home rental moratorium, with some street exemptions, extended to Jan. 31, 2022
• 10/13/21: Certain streets get nixed from Steamboat’s vacation home rental moratorium
• 9/28/21: Steamboat begins work with short-term rental enforcement company
• 9/24/21: Allowed, restricted or prohibited: Steamboat Planning Commission weighs in on rules about short-term rentals
• 9/22/21: Steamboat Planning Commission to discuss short-term rental overlay zones Thursday
• 9/21/21: Steamboat opts to remove certain areas from vacation home rental moratorium
• 9/17/21: Colorado conundrum: How communities around the state are handling short-term rentals
• 9/8/21: Steamboat City Council redirects short-term rental talk, asks Planning Commission to slow down overlay zones
• 8/26/21: Steamboat City Council votes to end vacation home rental application moratorium Oct. 31
• 8/18/21: Steamboat discusses prohibited zones for short-term rentals
  
• 8/14/21: City Council returning from break for special session Tuesday to discuss short-term rentals
• 8/13/21: Short-term rental central: Bear Creek Drive neighbors say neighborhood beginning to feel like hotel
• 8/10/21: Steamboat Springs hires short-term rental compliance company
• 7/30/21: Questionnaire invites community to share thoughts about short-term rentals
• 7/21/21: Steamboat City Council extends short-term rental moratorium
• 7/14/21:Steamboat City Council identifies problems with short-term rentals, eyes new regulations
• 6/10/21: Steamboat City Council Enacts 90-Day Moratorium on Vacation Home Rental Applications in Emergency Meeting. Steamboat Springs City Council members voted 5-1 in an emergency meeting Thursday to enact a six-month moratorium on vacation home rental permit applications. The emergency meeting was called after a Tuesday discussion in which council members said they felt they needed to institute a pause on short-term rental applications so they could figure out solutions to the problems community members said they were experiencing. READ FULL STORY
• 6/9/21:Steamboat City Council will vote on 6-month moratorium on short-term rental permits
• 4/30/21: Short-term rentals are creating a problem in Colorado ski towns. Is there a solution?

Steamboat Pilot & Today, editorial comments:

• 3/21/22: Letter: STR owners have failed to put the community first
• 3/15/22: Letter: Council should not have banned member from STR debate
• 3/15/22: Letter: Second homeowners are entitled to an opinion, not a vote
• 3/8/22: Letter: Regarding short-term rentals, please reduce the status quo
• 2/15/22: Letter: Steamboat’s vision, resort’s plans should be parallel, not perpendicular
• 11/9/21: Letter: Nonsensical for city to limit short-term rentals
• 10/27/21: Letter: Oh, the irony
• 10/26/21: Letter: The problem with nightly rental housing
• 10/25/21: Letter: Correcting misinformation about short-term rentals
• 10/6/21: Letter: Granicus not the answer
• 10/5/21: Letter: A different perspective on short-term rentals
• 10/4/21: Letter: Now is the time before it’s too late
• 10/4/21: Letter: Document issues with short-term rentals
• 10/4/21: Letter: Balancing the needs of all community members
• 10/4/21: Letter: Locally owned, locally operated
• 9/29/21: Letter: Council appears to favor special interests over local residents
• 8/25/21: Letter: Regulating short-term rentals will save Steamboat’s identity
• 8/23/21: Letter: Fire, ready, aim
• 8/19/21: Letter: Council is missing the short-term rental solution
• 8/2/21: Letter: Short-term rentals survey
• 7/19/21: Letter: Steamboat is not ‘The Villages’
• 6/23/21: Letter: Implement nightly resort fee
• 5/19/21: Letter: Your short-term rental opinion ignores property owners’ rights
• 5/18/21: Letter: Address short-term rentals everywhere
• 5/11/21: Our View: Time to address short-term rentals
• 4/12/21: Letter: Steamboat has a problem

See the attached presentation from 2/10/22 Planning Commission worksession that describes the two different approaches to regulate short term rentals: An Overlay Zone and Caps

Planning Commission Worksession presentation

Planning Commission Worksession packet

UPDATE

The moratorium on accepting applications for, reviewing, or approving or issuing permits for Vacation Home Rental uses (VHRs) was extended until June 30, 2022. The extension was passed by City Council on January 18, 2022 with a vote of 6-0. The moratorium was extended with the same boundaries established by earlier decisions. See a list of streets/areas excluded from the moratorium in the documents section of this website.

The term of the moratorium is through June 30, 2022.

The Moratorium prohibits application and approval of NEW VHR Permits.

A VHR or Vacation Home Rental Permit is a land use permit for short-term rentals in a single family or duplex structure. A short term rental use in a multi-family or condominium unit does not require a VHR permit. A VHR permit is different from a short-term rental license.

The Moratorium does NOT:

• Impact existing VHR Permits
• Impact annual renewals of VHR Permits
• Impact other STR uses

A 90-day VHR Permit Moratorium went into effect at 3:50pm on June 10, 2021. The moratorium has since been extended until 1/31/2022.

On December 7, City Council will be discussing use of Overlay Zones for regulating Short-Term Rentals (STR) within the city. The general concept of an overlay zone is to allow different uses in different places based on location, character, existing uses, proposed plans, or other features of an area, without changing the underlying zoning of individual properties. An overlay zone is different from a tax district or a license or a land use permit; it is an additional layer of zoning that adds to or modifies the underlying zone districts. A Short-Term Rental overlay zone could include locations where STRs are allowed by right with no land use permit required, locations where they are prohibited, or locations where they are allowed by Permit and subject to specific enforceable standards. For more information, refer to upcoming City Council Agenda packets at the link provided on the right or follow this link(External link).

Range of STR Policy Options

The community can consider several options to regulate and manage Short-Term Rentals (STRs). The options include decreasing regulations, keeping the status quo, or increasing regulations through various methods. Policy options are described below starting with the least restrictive moving through to the more restrictive options. You can complete the "Policy Options" questionnaire to rank options or choose specific options that can be used together with others to create a set of your preferred regulations for the community.

Regulate Less

• Eliminate VHR Permit process
• Do not implement STR Licensing program
• Allow in Secondary Units

Disincentivize

• Impact fee
• STR Tax

Status Quo

• By-Right for all Multiple-Family units and all units in RR and G zone districts
• VHR Permit for Single-Family/Duplex units outside of RR and G zone districts
• Annual License required for all STR (effective 2021)

Improve and Increase Enforcement

• 24-hour complaint hotline
• Improved complaint tracking
• Required timeframes for complaint response and resolution

Broaden Land Use Permit Requirement

• Require permit for all STRs outside of RR and G zone districts
• Require permit for all STRs

Add More Restrictive Use Standards

Type of Dwelling Unit

• Allow in Primary Residences only
• Require minimum owner use
• Allow in Secondary Units only

Owner-Occupied only (part of unit)

Frequency

• Maximum number of days per year
• Maximum number of occurrences per year
• Maximum length per occurrence

Operational Standards

• Change parking requirements
• Change occupancy limits
• Other changes

Restrict to Certain Locations

• By Zone District
• Create Overlay Zone(s)

Limit Density/Concentration

• Per total housing units
• Per neighborhood
• Per distance
• Per Multiple-Family building or development

R= By-Right Use, no standards, no permit required

L = Limited Use, standards apply, no permit required

LP = Limited Use Permit, standards apply, permit required

C = Conditional Use, standards apply, public hearing required

[blank] = Prohibited

Current Regulations – Apply only to Vacation Home Rental Permits

• Parking (6 max., paved, outside of ROW and easements)
• Snow storage
• Occupancy limit (1/200 sf, 16 max.)
• Outdoor activity limit (2x permitted occupants)
• Rules and contact info must be displayed
• Reference permit number in advertisements
• Prohibited: outdoor sleeping, commercial kitchens

Permitting Process - VHR

• Complete application, $500 fee
• Public notice
• Administrative approval
• 12-month permit
• Annual renewal, $75 fee