Title
Update on the short term vacation home rental program and permitting
Presenter:
Morgan Hester, Program Coordinator
Peter Wysocki, Director of Planning and Community Development
Body
Summary:
Ordinance 18-112 established the short term rental program, specifically by adding language to sections of City Code Chapter 7, to define short term rental units as a new use and created the associated Short Term Rental Unit Permit.
This item is a mid-year update for the program regarding code enforcement issues, information on third party enforcement companies, statistics on issued permits, and suggested program changes.
Previous Council Action:
City Council approved the current short term rental ordinance on November 17, 2018, effective December 31, 2018.
Background:
Ordinance 18-112 (Figure 1) establishes the short term rental program that went into effect on January 2, 2019. Prior to the creation of the Ordinance, no regulations were in place regarding short term rentals. Many municipalities across the United States and Colorado have implemented policies to ensure the protection of the general public with use standards as the "sharing economy" of short term rentals on platforms such as Air B&B, VRBO, HomeAway, and similar companies continue to expand their services. As Colorado Springs is a major tourism destination, the trend was increasing and there was a recognized need for clear guidelines.
Neighborhood Services (Code Enforcement)
When the Short Term Rental program was implemented at the beginning of the year, Staff sent a letter to all residents and/or business owners with an active vacation home rental city sales tax license. The letter reminded those sales tax license holders that the new ordinance had gone into effect and included an overview of what was required to come into compliance. In order to apply for permit(s), the Short Term Rental website address was included in the letter which provides a downloadable application and ...
Click here for full text