Summit County Passes STR Ordinance On Second Reading With Changes

Yesterday, after 5 hours of debate and public comment with record attendance, the Summit County Board of Commissioners passed a sweeping Short-Term Rental (STR) regulatory ordinance to limit STR licenses in unincorporated Summit County, and cap the number of bookings in each rental per year. 

The new STR ordinance was designed to reduce the overall number of Short-Term Rental permits in Unincorporated Summit County Neighborhoods. At yesterday's second reading, the County made one notable change to the ordinance, tabled another change for future consideration, and reiterated their lack of interest in exempting other neighborhoods from the regulations. Below is a breakdown of the ordinance's new STR Caps per water district and the projected year in which new STR permits will become available. 
 

*Projected year of new STR permit availability is an estimate only, based on historical attrition and sales data. 

Key Highlights of The New STR Ordinance

1. For those that are able to get or currently have Type 1 & Type 2 STR licenses, the number of bookings allowed per year was increased on the final ordinance from 30 to 35. This policy was recently imposed in Palm Springs, which is where the Summit Commissioners got the idea. It allows owners "flexibility" in how they rent their property. In theory, it encourages week-long bookings versus single night or long weekend reservations. 

As an example, if a property owner books all 35 reservations as week-long stays, that is a total of 245 nights rented per year. If a property owner books 35 three-day weekends, they will only have 105 nights rented per year. It will be up to each owner as to what combination of nights they want to book for the year, and there will be a portal to manage booking reporting.

2. The Type 3 permit that previously existed in Summit County was eliminated. However, the Commissioners made a commitment to revist the Type 3 licence in the near future. The Type 3 permit is intended for investment owners whose property meets a significant number of criteria that make it more suitable as a high-volume Vacation Rental. We anticipate Type 3 licenses being reinstated eventually for single-family properties on acreage that have the amenities and bedroom count to host large groups, business retreats, family reunions etc. The Type 3 license would be exempt from the 35 bookings per year restriction, and possibly, the water district caps. 
 

3. Type 1 Licences, which are exempt from the water district cap, are available for properties with a "Qualified Occupant" who lives at the property full time and works in the county. A "Qualified Occupant" can be the property's owner or a renter. Type 1 licenses will still only be able to have 35 bookings per year, and have occupancy restrictions beyond Type 2 licences. 

4. Properties in the "Resort Overlay Zones" of Keystone, Copper Mountain, Unincorporated Peak 8 Breckenridge, and Tiger Run remain exempt from these new regulations. In the exempt Resort Zones, 100% of properties may obtain an STR permit. There is also no cap on the number of bookings allowed per year, or number of rental nights allowed. 

Please find more information on the Summit County STR Ordinance here

If you have any questions at all about what this means for your Summit County property, or your property search, please reach out at any time! We are here to help you navigate these new developments, and make sense of a very complex situation. Rely on our 10+ years of professional experience in local Vacation Rental Management to help you make the right decisions in this time of change.