John Scarffe, Gilpin County. The Gilpin County Commissioners continued a resolution regarding short-term rentals during a regular meeting at 9 a.m. on August 16, 2022, at the courthouse in Central City and virtually. The Board also approved a Special Use Review for a church camp, and a temporary use permit for a hiking event on Rollins Pass.

Director of Community Development Robert Gutierrez introduced a text amendment approving zoning regulations for short term rentals. He said the public notice was not published until August 11, so he requested a continuance to August 23.

According to the current staff report, modifications have been made to the draft ordinance and draft text amendments to the zoning regulations in response to comments received at the August 2 Commissioners’ meeting.

Changes include removal of the word “vacation,” removal of exclusion of “bed and breakfast” from the ordinance, fixing references to “annual operating permit” that should be “license,” adjustment to the number of housing units included in the 5 percent cap to exclude Black Hawk and Central City, replacement of the term “companion” with “domestic” under Animals, requirement that outdoor fire, cooking, or heating facilities without on/off control be contained into a pit or freestanding non- combustible vessel, modification to requirements for fire extinguishing, removing “class 2 petty offense” and replacing it with “civil infraction,” and updating license fees to reflect new estimated license cap.

Staff have determined that the total number of housing units in the unincorporated county to be 3007. This number was determined by taking the 2021 estimate of county housing units provided by the U.S. Census Bureau of 3,543 and subtracting out Central City’s 475 units and Black Hawk’s 61 units.

Staff ran an analysis of existing short-term rental permits in February 2022. They found that 13 percent were owner-occupied, 36 percent were residents, and 51 percent were non-residents. With the 5 percent cap based on total housing units within the unincorporated county, it is estimated the cap on short-term rentals would be at 150 licenses.

Using the February analysis, they estimate that of the 150 licenses, 20 will be issued to owner-occupied properties, 54 issued to residents, and 76 issued to non-residents. The previous estimate made by staff was that 75 percent of a full-time employee’s time was being spent administering short-term rental permits. Based on an employee with a salary of $55,000 annually with County-paid benefits of $28,325, the 75 percent of FTE would cost the County $62,494 annually.

It is important to note that the 75 percent of FTE calculation was based on 104 active and completed short-term rental permits. The cap would add an additional 45 licenses to process and monitor.

Staff are recommending to the Commissioners that the adopted fee structure for short-term rental licenses be able to generate enough revenue at the 150 licenses to cover the costs of a full-time employee and the software used to issue licenses and handle enforcement. The cost of a full-time employee would be $83,325 including benefits.

To meet the annual cost of the program, staff are recommending a tiered fee structure: Tier 1: $500; Tier 2: $800; and Tier 3: $1800. With this fee structure it is estimated the county could generate between $70,000 and $95,000 annually.

Commissioners recommended some fine tuning and discussed concerns about fires allowed at short-term rentals. Commissioner Web Sill said “just make sure it’s a safe fire. It’s part of the experience of being in the mountains. It has to be a permanent structure. I don’t want to take away the right for people to do that.”

Gutierrez said that when this comes back on August 23, the Commissioners can make a motion to strike a portion or amend it. The Board approved continuing the resolution to August 23.

Gutierrez introduced a Special Use Review for 3840 Highway 46. He said the Planning Commission approved the request.

Applicant Tim Politis is requesting a review for Special Use of the property located at 3840 Highway 46, Black Hawk. The property was previously owned and operated under the name “Youth With A Mission.”

The property is under contract with Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Denver, Orthodox Christian Ministries. The Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Denver intends to use the existing property facilities to run camps, retreats, and related church ministry events.

The intent of the group is to form partnerships with county leaders to identify means of supporting the local community.

The Department of Community Development has received a letter of authorization granting the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Denver permission to apply for a Special Use Permit, requesting the same limitations and conditions imposed previously, with the exception to modify the language to extend overnight stays of up to six nights. Metropolis would also like to add the following conditions: building a new chapel structure, building new shade canopies to protect visitors, building storage sheds, and the addition of photovoltaic systems.

Gutierrez said the applicant would like to extend overnight stays to seven consecutive days at a time. All camping will be done indoors.

The property has four existing buildings: a cafeteria, administrative building, a large gymnasium, and a dormitory with restrooms. They would like to add shade canopies. They don’t have plans in place yet to construct a chapel building, but they can return to the Commission for a site plan application at a later date.

The property is limited to 140 people at a time with quiet hours, and requires the septic system be inspected annually. Commissioners agreed that it is a good use of the property as long as the septic system is working properly. The Board approved the Special Use Review.

Gutierrez introduced a Temporary Use Permit for the Fjällräven Classic USA Event. He said he just got approval for the event from the U.S. Forest Service 15 minutes earlier.

It is a hiking event from the base of Rollins Pass Road. Participants will be bused up to the intersection of Rollins Pass and Tolland Road.

Applicant Matthew Szmanda of Field Athletic Management is seeking permission for a Temporary Use Permit for the Fjallraven Classic event that is scheduled for August 23 to August 26, 2022. The event route will traverse Rollins Pass on a rolling start and will cover about 30 miles, mostly in Boulder County.

The event will start and end in Gilpin County at the Jenny Lake Trailhead, off of Rollins Pass Road. Participants will be shuttled to and from Rollins Pass Road. It will involve four shuttle buses on Tuesday and Wednesday. There will be about 50 participants. They will hike to Jenny Lake and spend the first night there of the three-day hike.

This is the sixth year for the event, which previously has been held in Summit County, but they wanted to come to Rollins Pass because it is more remote.

The Commissioners agreed it is a good use of the pass, and the Commissioners approved the temporary use permit.

The next meeting of the Gilpin County Commissioners will be Tuesday, August 23, at 9 a.m. at the Gilpin County Courthouse. For more information, go to https://gilpincounty.colorado.gov/ public-meetings/board-of-county- commissioners-bocc-meetings.