In a 4-3 vote, the Estes Park Town Board of Trustees narrowly approved a revised intergovernmental agreement between the Town of Estes Park and Larimer County regarding the operation of the Town’s Local Marketing District, Visit Estes Park.
The approval came after lengthy discussions on Wednesday, as well as throughout the year, regarding the Board’s configuration and the establishment of a marketing advisory committee.
VEP operates to promote year-round tourism and drive visitors to Estes Park. Through 2024, the Estes Park lodging tax extension generated more than $12 million in funds. Half of the funds are used to promote Estes Park as a vacation destination, and the other half supports workforce housing and childcare services in the community. In the 2026 operating plan, approved by the Board on Wednesday, VEP anticipates a 2% increase in lodging tax revenues, with a budgeted revenue of $10.6 million.
The restated IGA, approved on Wednesday, updates the coordination of oversight and responsibilities between the two governments for the District’s marketing efforts. In this revised IGA, the VEP Board of Directors will be reduced from seven to five members, comprising three Town-appointed Directors and two County-appointed Directors.
Board membership will now include two Town Trustees, one County Commissioner, and one resident appointed by each jurisdiction. This reduction in positions will occur over time as terms expire and will shift voting control of the organization to elected officials. The Board of Directors will act as the decision-makers, and the marketing advisory committee will provide marketing insights.
Other business
Beyond the VEP debate, the Board worked through a broad mix of budget, development, and policy decisions.
Trustees discussed a major update to the Town’s vacation home regulations, including allowing hosted vacation rentals, creating a new lottery-based waitlist for licenses, and requiring all future licensees to be real individuals rather than LLCs.
The ordinance to amend the code regulations would impose fines of up to $2,650 per day for advertising an unlicensed rental and add a $200 application fee for new permits. Existing bed-and-breakfasts would receive a one-time opportunity to convert to hosted vacation homes, provided they are above the current license cap.
Major concerns were raised by Trustees, and after some lengthy discussion, a motion to continue the public hearing for further review failed 2-5. The Board ultimately approved the ordinance as written 4-3, with Trustees Igel, Brown, and Lancaster opposing the resolution.
The Board also reviewed a slate of budget items, adopting the Town’s $88 million 2026 budget, along with a resolution setting the property tax rate for the upcoming year. The rate will remain the same, and the only personnel change within the budget is the addition of a seasonal parking and transit assistant.
Trustees also adopted the Highway User’s Trust Fund to improve street systems, finalized allocations for 2026 spending, and signed off on the five-year Capital Improvements Plan.
With a lengthy agenda, the Board also approved a small update to the town’s parking policies, revisions to financial policies relating to spending authority, a revision to Policy 1101 giving clarity on the Police Chief’s authority to sign contracts for the town, and a letter to the U.S. Postal Service urging the USPS to launch a Space Constraint Study for the Estes Park post office. The request comes amid long-standing concerns that the current facility is undersized for the town’s population and mail volume.
The Board ended their meeting in executive session with an attorney to receive legal advice on Ballot Initiative 300. With many significant development projects underway, the Initiative may bring serious financial and timing challenges to many Town projects