Two Public hearings included in the Town Board meeting result in changes in the Municipal Code and a rezoning
Bed-and-breakfast inns were defined by the Town of Estes Park as always having a host on-site who provides a bed … and breakfast.
Essentially, this was the result of one of two public hearings held during the regular Town Board meeting July 9. Long-term residents Jim and Eunice Doctor currently hold a bed-and-breakfast license in the Town limits and were critical of this definition, saying that while they live in the same building, they are not always on-site; nor do they cook a hot breakfast every morning for their guests.
Town Clerk Jackie Williamson presented the revisions to the definition, which were crafted with the help of Town Attorney Dan Kramer. The changes were made to “differentiate them from vacation homes, to align ourselves with state and Larimer County regulations, and to be as clear as possible in outlining these regulations,” said Williamson.
The innkeeper must live in the same building for a minimum of nine months of the year, they need to be present and interacting with the guests they host, and they need to be available within 30 minutes to react to any emergency or concerns.
They need to “offer breakfast,” said Williamson. “It is not required (for their guests to have breakfast), but it needs to be offered … at no additional price.
“Rather than renting the entire house as they do with a vacation home, we are talking about renting a room in a single-family home,” said Williamson. A map outlining the areas of the home that are exclusively for guest use, those that are for the innkeeper and where the common areas are is something required by Larimer County and thus, is part of the new licensing process for bed-and-breakfast inns.
There is a provision for innkeepers who are in the home only part of the year, they may hire someone else to live in the home to be the innkeeper during that time.
If multiple rooms are available in the house, multiple parties can rent them, unlike a vacation rental which typically rents to just one party.
Existing bed-and-breakfast inns, such as the one owned by the Doctors, will have until January 2026 to meet these requirements.
No public comments were received by the deadline, which was at noon July 9, said Williamson. A comment received after the deadline was presented to the Board, but not made public.
Trustee Mark Igel objected to a portion of the code that dictated the innkeeper could not give a discount to a single customer who wanted to rent multiple rooms in the house. “It feels like we’re trying to tell someone how to run their business,” he said.
Trustee Frank Lancaster agreed, and that was the only phrase he suggested be removed from the language of the code.
Trustee Kirby Hazelton alluded to the comment that was submitted after deadline, saying that the subject of the late comment was discussed “ad nauseum” at sessions attended by current owners and those considering opening their home for a bed-and-breakfast, and that their input was considered.
Williamson said she had no problem striking the “multiple parties” part of the new code; “the intent was for them to rent it room by room, not by the entire home,” she said.
During the public comment period of this hearing, Jim Doctor broke protocol by asking the board direct questions. “Why should I offer breakfast?”
“Because it’s a bed-and-breakfast,” replied Trustee Marie Cenac. “If we want to define a bed, then we define a bed. But my whole thing is a bed-and-breakfast is a bed-and-breakfast. There has to be breakfast. I don’t care if it’s hot or not. It could be a muffin. But my point is we are defining a bed-and-breakfast, not defining a bed.”
Mayor Gary Hall referenced a “hosted short-term rental” — a subject slated for a future discussion — would not need to offer breakfast.
“I have to offer them a hot breakfast, in my home. I think that’s ridiculous,” said Doctor. “The other thing I have a problem with is that I have to be present on the property at all times. I have a property manager, they are on call 24/7, that property manager will handle (problems) immediately. Why do I have to be on-site?”
“We’ve had multiple discussions on this, but this a public comment section” so questions for the board will not be answered, said Mayor Gary Hall.
Eunice Doctor commented that “I do keep my freezer full of food for them. I have bagels and breads and all kinds of things. In the fridge I put eggs, and all kinds of milk. They do not want me coming down there and interrupting their family. Is that sufficient or does it have to be a hot cooked meal?”
Local resident John Meisner commented that in his opinion, this code was unenforceable.
The public hearing was closed by Mayor Hall and Trustee Lancaster moved on to pass Ordinance 11-24, which would amend Section 5.20.110 of the Estes Park Municipal Code, after the wording about not being able to offer incentives or discounts for one party to rent multiple rooms was taken out.
“My breakfast is coffee,” said Trustee Bill Brown, who seconded the motion and also alluded to continuing discussions about “hosted short-term rentals.”
“I do think (hosted short-term rentals) would be a better fit for most of these people who have come in and got a bed and breakfast license because they couldn’t get a vacation rental license,” he said. A cap of 322 vacation rental permits in residential areas was enacted by the Town Board in 2021.
“But if we are going to have bed and breakfasts in residential zones,” then we need to differentiate from vacation rentals, Trustee Brown said.
The code amendment was passed unanimously and will take effect in 30 days.
Town Board approves a rezoning request near Elkhorn Lodge
Jim Doctor was also on hand to comment on the other public hearing of the night, regarding the re-zoning of two lots zoned multi-family residential near the Elkhorn Lodge. These lots have two buildings with a total of 15 condominiums, built in 1968 and 1970. The Elkhorn Plaza Homeowners Association, the applicant, also owns an adjacent lot that is zoned outlying commercial.
The association wanted the two lots to be re-zoned to outlying commercial. However, Town staff opinion, presented by Senior Planner Paul Hornbeck, recommended denying the request, based on several factors, including “the housing policies and intent” in the Estes Forward Comprehensive Plan, passed in 2022.
To rebut were several owners of the property, including Gerald Mayo, Jim Doctor, and Joe Coop of VanHorn Engineering.
The two lots in question were rezoned from commercial outlying to multi-family residential in 2000, making them a virtual island surrounded by lots zoned commercial. The intent is to combine all three lots owned by the association. “Split zoning is not ideal,” said Coop.
The homeowners “would like to get their zoning back to be able to do what they used to do,” Coop said.
Mayo said that his family has owned one of the units since they were built. He said that he was never notified that the lots had been rezoned from commercial outlying in the first place.
“The staff report continues to allude to the possibility of using these condominiums as workforce housing,” said Doctor. “I ask you board members, would you open your bedrooms to workforce housing?”
Trustee Cindy Younglund said yes, she currently has a person in the workforce living in her home.
“I don’t want to subject my property to workforce housing use,” said Doctor. “I feel like we have targets on our backs, short-term rental property owners. It seems like you want to severely limit or eliminate short-term rentals. The majority of the owners are in favor of the application. Rezone these properties back to CO (commercial outlying) and dissolve the property lines to make it one property. “
After the public comment section of the hearing was concluded, Trustee Igel moved to approve the rezoning, which was seconded by Trustee Brown.
“We don’t have a penchant against short-term rentals,” said Trustee Lancaster. “I support the motion, I agree it should have never been rezoned in the first place. It’s in the middle of a commercial zone. I think this makes total sense.”
“When the comp plan was approved by this board, I was opposed to reducing the number of short-term rentals,” said Trustee Brown, a recently-elected member of the board.
“We are heavily dependent on short-term rentals for lodging capacity, tax revenue,” he said. “They need to be regulated and they are regulated. It looks like part of the lodging capacity for the entire community. In my mind it’s a slam-dunk and we should approve it. It seems to be totally consistent with the usage in that area, I don’t understand why staff recommends disapproval.”
Trustee Cenac pointed out that staff were following previous directives and the comprehensive plan when providing their recommendation.
“They are bound by different rules than we are. We’re based on opinions, they can’t be based on opinions,” she said. “If we decide there’s something different that will give the community what they want, that’s fine. We have that flexibility, but we don’t give staff that flexibility.”
Town Administrator Travis Machalek warned that approving this request may open the door to others.
Town staff was highly praised for their analysis and work in coming to this recommendation. Noting the time, Mayor Hall interrupted and asked for a vote, saying “I think we have a pretty good sense of where the consensus is going.”
The rezoning request was passed unanimously.
Other Business
In other board business, three items were taken off the consent agenda by request from Trustee Igel. He felt each of the items warranted more attention from the board.
A change in the Parking Permit policy to edit the official title of the resident permit from Local 60 Minutes Free to Local 120 Minutes Free and the omission of the Daily Permit: Express Pass option was passed unanimously.
Two grants, one requiring a town match of $4,000 to get $36,000 from the Colorado Department of Transportation to create a plan to move the Town fleet to zero-percent emissions, and the other through the Ozone Season Transit Grant Program in the amount of $42,629.50 to be used toward providing free transit during “ozone season” were accepted.
Estes Park Power and Communications Director Rueben Bergsten presented a proposed electric rate increase of 5% to take effect in October 2024. Two public hearings will be held on this at the next two Town Board meetings: July 23 and August 6. Platte River Power Authority, the Town’s energy provider, gave a comprehensive report on moving to non-carbon by 2030. This report warrants a separate story that will be published soon.
Via Mobility, the transit company that provides free rides to those with little to no mobility presented on their operations in Estes Park and the Larimer County Extension Office reached out to the Board to ask where they could be of help in the community.
The next board meeting will be July 23 at 7 p.m.
Unbelievable! Once these parcels are rezoned to outlying commercial, they will NOT be subject to the STR cap pf 322 licenses. That is the main reason this rezoning was requested, don’t let the specious argument of “Oh, we just want all our properties zoned the same” obscure that fact.
Jim Doctor said “It seems like you want to severely limit or eliminate short-term rentals.” Yes sir, many people here in town DO want to cut the cancer of STRs from the community!
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