Skip to content

Vacation Rental Response to August 24 Town Board Meeting

Vacation Rental Response to August 24 Town Board Meeting

Vacation Rental Response to August 24 Town Board Meeting

Town Trustees, Mayor, Administrator Machalek, Town Clerk, Town Attorney, and Housing Authority,
 
Thank you for your willingness to serve the Town of Estes Park and work through such difficult issues as Affordable Workforce Housing.  We appreciate the opportunity to speak at the Town Board meeting last night. After sleeping on the discussion (some of us NOT sleeping), members of the Vacation Rental Council (VRC) would like to be very clear on this point: we honestly don’t see a logical connection between STRs and affordable housing.
 
The average affordable home price is between $115,000 and $350,000.
The average vacation rental sells for $785,992.71.
 
There are 322 STRs in residentially zoned areas. The 2016 Estes Park Area Housing Needs Assessment also noted that Estes Park needs 1480 – 1690 housing units to fulfill our housing needs. If every one of them was deemed “affordable” and converted to a long-term rental, it would not make a significant impact on housing. According to our data, these homes are priced outside of the range our housing market demands.
 
Jackie said 60% of STR licenses have out of town addresses and asserted these are corporate investors, whereas most of them are actually second homeowners who vacation here every year. To deny transferability would be penalizing the very people who contribute to our tax base. If there was a cap on the number of restaurants or retail establishments that could not be transferred to a new owner, it would have a devastating effect on our economy.
 
Do you see why the correlation baffles us? We see the need to validate our own assumptions here and to make reasonable concessions on STRs caps in residential zones. We’d also like to propose that there are other possible solutions for housing, such as:

  • Purchase existing motels in inventory to repurpose as rentals for the transient workforce;
  • Form alliances with Government and Private sectors to identify locations for more dense housing that would cater to those in the workforce;
  • Partner to provide builder incentives for more developments like PeakView;
  • We have members with a vision for a eco-friendly affordable houses on the acreage above the Elkhorn Lodge that would be financed through the sale of carbon credits.
We heartily agree that your decision needs to hinge on further research. Let us join you at that table. It’s in the best interest of the whole community to understand the whole picture. The Chamber has received letters from visitors who have been coming to Estes Park for 30 or more years and cannot understand why our lodging prices and parking fees seem to be sending a message that they are not welcome any more. Town salaries are paid from tax revenue, so there is no logic in the Board’s desire to take vacation rental revenue away from the community.
 
This is so important to our industry that we’d be willing to sit down with each of you and provide some context on the STR industry and better learn your perspective. We’ll be following up with each to set a time to meet after Labor Day. Thanks again for your service to our community.
 
With sincere respect and gratitude,
 
Donna Carlson
Executive Director
Phone: (970) 480-7552 
Direct: (719) 209-9900
533 Big Thompson Ave, Ste. 103 
 
Mail to: PO Box 2376 
Estes Park, CO 80517 
www.EstesChamber.org

Leave a Comment
* Required field