Package of regulations gets approved in Summit County
More than a year after passing the first moratorium on shortterm rental licenses for unincorporated areas of Summit County, the Summit Board of County Commissioners has approved a package of new regulations for those properties.
During a Wednesday public meeting, commissioners voted unanimously to implement license caps and limit short-term bookings while carving out some exceptions for certain residents, finalizing a monthslong effort by the county government to preserve housing stock and mitigate neighborhood tensions.
“I know that it’s not been without conflict,” said Commissioner Josh Blanchard. “I appreciate the passion … I appreciate the engagement.”
As commissioners prepared to vote, they listened through public comments lasting roughly three hours as dozens packed the room and more than 180 watched online. As residents and property owners spoke, they highlighted the differing attitudes and — at times — contention around the proposal to regulate the shortterm rental industry.
“Summit County finds itself in a really difficult place, which makes this a very difficult decision,” said Commissioner Tamara Pogue.
“We’ve heard from so many people over the course of this conversation just how much their livelihood depends on short- term rentals. But we’ve also heard over the course of this conversation just how many people’s livelihoods are threatened by short-term rentals.”
While Pogue acknowledged that the regulations may impact some homeowners’ incomes, she said the ability to preserve “workforce neighborhoods” will help support “a thriving economy into the future.”
Jessica Potter, a senior planner for the county who helped spearhead the proposals, said the efforts are meant to strike a balance between the county’s status as a resort community and the needs of its long-term residents.
Short-term rentals are “a vital part of the tourism economy in Summit County,” Potter said. “However, they do conflict with traditional neighborhood character … there’s also impacts to housing.”
Potter said short- term rentals have supported more than 8,000 jobs in the county but also cited the findings of a 2019 housing study that highlighted how those properties can push out long-term residents. In particular, the study found that more than 14% of respondents said a landlord broke or did not renew their lease in order to convert their property into a shortterm rental.
As of the end of 2022, those four basins accounted for 1,659 short- term rentals, according to officials. Under the new caps, that number is expected to decrease to 1,290 between 2025 and 2030.
No license caps, or any of the new regulations, will be in effect for what county officials have called “resort overlay zones,” which represent the majority of short-term rentals (63%) and include Keystone Resort and Copper Mountain Resort.
The regulations only apply to neighborhood areas, which represent 37% of current rental properties.
Another prong of the commissioners’ legislation is a limit on individual bookings that shortterm rental owners can make within a year. Commissioners approved a booking limit of 35, which they said aligned closely with an earlier proposal to limit the number of stays to 135 nights per year.
Amid the new regulations, commissioners also approved exceptions to the license cap for full-time county residents who work more than 30 hours per week in the county or who’ve retired and have a history of working in the county for at least 10 to 15 years — though those residents will still be subject to the 35-bookings-per-year limit.
Short- term rental licenses will also now be transferable between “parents and children, spouses or domestic partners, siblings, or grandparents and grandchildren,” according to officials.
Community members who packed the commissioners’ chamber came to speak for and against the regulations and included property managers, parttime residents and members of the county’s workforce.
Dishon Lutz, associate broker for Real Estate of the Summit and president for Summit Association of Realtors, said near- future possibilities, such as a recession and incorporation of Keystone as a town, could create economic uncertainty that may only be exacerbated by a clamp down on short-term rentals.
“Are we limiting something that could help our local economy?” Lutz asked, adding that he and other Realtors are in support of creating more workforce housing but added, “how many housing units do you anticipate creating or saving with this ordinance. Is it worth taking away the rights of property owners?”
Other community members applauded commissioners’ efforts to rein in rental properties which they said were directly tied to the shortage of affordable housing in the county.
Jim Scott, who said he rents in the Wildernest neighborhood near Silverthorne, said the county’s moratorium on issuing short-term rental licenses “has given me the opportunity to stay in my place because my landlord was wanting to potentially short-term rent it.”