Title
Update on the short term vacation home rental program and permitting
Presenter:
Morgan Hester, Principal Planner
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 (STR) Permit.
This item is a follow-up to the mid-year update for the program that was presented on June 10, 2019 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. A mid-year update was provided at City Council work session on June 10, 2019 and additional information was requested of Staff to be presented in the following month.
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.
Staff presented mid-year statistics and data from Neighborhood Services regarding code complaints that have been submitted (Figure 2 - Staff Report, and Figure 3 - PowerPoint presentation). As follow-up from that Council work session, Staff has compiled requested information to build upon that data, specifically regarding residen...
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