Title
Ordinance No. 19-82 amending Chapter 7 of the Code of the City of Colorado Springs pertaining to the occupancy of short term rental units
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 addressing City Council requested Ordinance changes to occupancy and issued permit densities.
Previous Council Action:
City Council approved the current short term rental ordinance on November 17, 2018, effective December 31, 2018. Mid-year updates were provided at City Council work sessions and additional information was requested of Staff to be presented in the following months.
On October 22, 2019, the City Council approved the Short Term Rental Ordinance pertaining to occupancy specifying the overnight occupancy per dwelling unit be fifteen occupants. The motion passed by a vote of 8:0:1:0 with Councilor Williams absent.
Background:
Ordinance 18-112 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.
As follow-up from those work sessions, City Council has directed Staff to draft potential Ordinance amendments, specifically regarding potential Code amendments addressing occu...
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