Jennifer Livingston, Nederland. The Board of Trustees (BOT) was able to move forward with a short term rental ordinance during the October 1, 2019, public meeting. Trustee James Rawsthorne was absent, Trustees Jonathan Baumhover and Kristin Conrad both voted no while Trustees Alan Apt, Julie Gustafson and Dallas Masters, as well as Mayor Kristofer Larson, voted yes to the hard fought ordinance. 

The ordinance’s stated purpose is to “preserve the residential character of the [town of Nederland] and establish operating standards to reduce impacts on adjacent neighbors resulting from short-term rentals” (STRs). It defines STRs as rentals less than 30 days in duration, requires licensing, which may be suspended or revoked, and establishes operating standards and requirements.  

There are four different license types. Primary Residence licensing allows unlimited STRs with host present in the home. Whole house STR for Primary Residences, when host is not in the home, is capped at 180 days. Class A licensing allows unlimited STR for detached accessory dwelling units. Class B licensing is for non-primary residential homes and limits STR to 45 nights. Primary Residence, Class A and Class B STRs must show proof of STR operation prior to April 16, 2019, to obtain a license. Class C licensing is required in the Central Business District, General Commercial, and Industrial zones. Licenses may be applied for until September 16, 2020. Licenses must be renewed annually, are non-transferable, and limited to one per person.

Licensees must have basic safety equipment and information available such smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, emergency evacuation, etc. There must be a contact person available at all times and responsive within two hours to any issues. Non-anonymous complaints such as parking, trash, or noise will be assessed by the Town Clerk who may determine a violation exists and, if so, the ordinance provides for suspension and possible revocation of licensure. 

There had been concern about how the town would track compliance. At this point, it will be done with existing staff and budget, and may require some use of general funds. The possibility of a third party vendor that monitors and tracks rentals on various on-line platforms was briefly discussed. Town staff will continue to work on the enforcement piece now that the ordinance has passed and will have further information and strategy available before it takes effect in March 2020. Trustee Masters mentioned he’d like to be sure the cost of licensure covers the cost of compliance.  

Trustee Conrad stated she may have supported the ordinance with a class B nightly rental cap of 90 or more. Trustee Baumhover had concerns that second homes may not be purely investment homes but may also be family homes or retirement homes. In past meetings he had suggested capping the number of licenses rather than the number of nights. Mayor Larson believed that there had been substantial movement and compromise in the ordinance which had begun with much stricter limitations. Testimony revealed that “some residents need the option to be able to [do STR] in their home in order to remain members of the community,” and believed the ordinance takes that into account. A number of members of the BOT, including the Mayor, expect the ordinance to be revisited in future years. 

Public Works requested a reallocation of savings from existing funds to purchase a backup generator for the town communications systems which currently go offline during power outages and often require a physical reset. This purchase should be the final component to create a facilities and communications system for the town that will remain fully functional during power outages. The reallocation was approved by the BOT. 

A motion was made and approved to hire Karen Goldman, former Aurora Deputy City Clerk/Colorado Municipal Clerks Association President and educator for municipal clerks on elections to oversee any potential protest petition. A protest petition is provided for in Title 31 of the Colorado Revised Statutes and is a process by which a registered elector of a municipality may protest the validity of a recall petition. The Town Clerk thought it prudent to retain a professional with experience and some distance from the recall petition itself, in the instance that such a protest petition may be filed, the last date to file such a petition is October 11, 2019, for the current recall before the town. The motion was approved. 

Before the meeting was adjourned at 8:31 p.m., Mayor Larson brought up the traffic issues residents have been dealing with as the leaf-peepers try to find their way through old town, in an attempt, to bypass traffic. The BOT discussed the need for Public Works and Emergency Services, possibly in partnership with the Nederland Downtown Development Authority, to find a way to mitigate traffic.  It was also suggested that an additional advisory board be created with representation from public works and Nederland neighborhoods, especially as the BOT does not always have representation from all neighborhoods.  

(Originally published in the October 10, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)