Woodland Park continues work on short-term rental regulations
On Sept. 22, the Woodland Park Planning Commission hoped to finish the work it started at a work session earlier in the month: creating a new ordinance to regulate short-term rentals in Woodland Park. It wasn’t to be.
Planning Director Karen Schminke summarized the draft for the public, ticking off the main points one by one:
· Objectives – why the ordinance is needed.
· The licensing process, including the initial license, renewals and revocations and suspensions.
· The zones where STRs are allowed and where they are prohibited.
· Caps and spacing between STRs to be established by zone.
Because of the number of people signed up, public comments were limited to three minutes per speaker and commission chair Ken Hartsfield asked them not to repeat points made by other speakers.
Resident Tom Ferrell asked the commissioners to stop the STR invasion, prohibiting STRs entirely. The rest of the speakers agreed with his statement, although one speaker asked the commissioners to protect the right of homeowners to rent out part of their homes while staying in the rest.
Mac McVicker, who serves on the city Board of Review and the building department, said City Council recently approved increasing workforce housing and the employment opportunities as priorities for 2023.
“STRs are antithetical to what the City Council has already approved,” he said. “But you can just stop it…ban STRs – problem solved.”
Linda Martin pointed out that one of the keys to keeping neighborhoods safe is for people to know their neighbors. “Allowing STRs mean I don’t know who should be there,” she said. “You’re allowing strangers into our neighborhoods.”
Former planning commissioner Jerry Penland spoke about actual and apparent conflict of interest and how this affects decisions made both by the planning commission and City Council.
“STRs are businesses, which are not allowed in residential zones,” he said, although Schminke countered this later when she said home occupations are allowed in residential zones. “Allowing STRs in residential zones is egregious government overreach and a violation of property rights. Just stop this (ordinance) and enforce current codes.”
City Councilman Robert Zuluaga commented over Zoom. He said he is at a loss to understand why the city is considering allowing STRs in multifamily zones, why they would be prohibited in accessory dwelling units, and why the draft ordinance doesn’t set a maximum number of occupants in each STR unit.
“You need to find balance,” he said. “Disallow STRs except in commercial zones.”
After responding to public comment, the commissioners went over the draft ordinance – looking first at the amendments they suggested during the work session and then page-by-page.
They suggested dozens of changes, including adding multifamily and mobile home park zones to the zones where STRs are already prohibited – agriculture, public/semi-public and heavy service commercial/light industrial zones.
They also suggested setting a radius of 500 feet, based on property lines, between STRs in suburban zones and 250 feet in urban zones where lots are smaller.
They also agreed that STRs in a homeowner’s primary residence should be given preference.
The commissioners could have approved the ordinance citing the changes to be made. Instead, they agreed by a vote of 4-1 to continue the public hearing to 6:30 p.m. Sept. 29 after the City Council’s 6 p.m. special meeting to extend the STR moratorium.
No public comments will be taken at this meeting, but the public will have another opportunity to speak at the City Council public hearing in October.
As commissioners deliberated, City Attorney Nina Williams kept a list of their suggestions. She said she could have the new draft ready the next day, giving the commissioners six days to look it over before they meet again.
Woodland Park City Councilman Robert Zuluaga joined the Sept. 22 Woodland Park Planning Commission meeting over Zoom.