Eagle County officials decide short-term rental regulations are best left to metro districts, HOAs
Commissioners decide on 'light' approach instead of regulation
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Eagle County officials have been talking about the possibility of regulating short-term rentals since 2021. Ultimately, the Board of County Commissioners has decided a light approach is the best.
The commissioners on Tuesday gave direction to staff to simply collect short-term rental data instead of adopting regulations, deciding that the vast majority of those rentals are already governed by either local metro districts or homeowners associations. Staff has drafted a plan to collect that data.
Jill Klosterman, the county’s chief financial officer, detailed for the commissioners information about short-term rentals in the county, as well as the pros and cons of a couple of regulatory options.
Klosterman noted that the data regarding the number of rentals in the county is a few years old, dating from 2022, but has been relatively flat. That data shows roughly 5,200 short-term rentals countywide, with 3,200 of those units in towns, and 2,000 in unincorporated areas. Those 2,000 units are the ones that a county ordinance would regulate.
Of those, most are in areas including Beaver Creek, Bachelor Gulch and Arrowhead — places that were purpose-built as a resort and that already regulate short-term rentals.
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According to a staff analysis, a single ordinance for the county would duplicate regulations already in place for a majority of short-term rental unit owners, and could result in the loss of units from the current pool.
The analysis notes that a second option, which would eliminate the duplication of regulations for those units, could open the county to litigation for disparate treatment of property owners.
The third option foregoes new regulations, and instead has county officials monitor rental, health and safety data from units.
Letting neighborhoods decide
Despite the time spent on the effort, Commissioner Tom Boyd said the effort was worthwhile.
The correct solution to short-term rental regulation, Boyd said, is neighborhood by neighborhood, through action taken by metro districts and homeowner associations.
Commissioner Jeanne McQueeney noted that the neighborhood Boyd lives in regulates short-term rentals, while the neighborhood in which she lives doesn’t.
What the county can do, McQueeney said, is develop resources for those districts and associations to create rules to govern short-term rentals.
Beaver Creek Resort Company Executive Director Jim Clancy praised the board for its decision, saying the commissioners have done a “great job” of listening to input from the private sector.
Clancy added that Beaver Creek is willing to share whatever data the county requests. And, he added, a number of properties that had been used as short-term rentals have recently changed hands, noting it will be interesting to see what the future use of those units will be.
