Breckenridge Short Term Rental Ordinance Goes Into Effect

The decision was made on September 29th to implement a cap on short term rental licenses with added exemptions and exceptions that went into effect on November 2nd. Council’s next step in managing the balance of STRs, while also continuing to work towards the community created Destination Management Plan vision of harmony of Quality of Life for Residents and Quality of Place for Visitors, will be to discuss the possible implementation of a Tourism Overlay District, as well as the administrative rules detailing how ordinance provisions will be managed. An advisory task force was created in lieu of the situation. The task force includes various stakeholders, including folks from the real estate community and other community members. As an advisory task force, it will only make recommendations to the Town Council.

The approved STR ordinance will place a cap on the number of licenses allowed for non-exempt STR properties at 2,200. Approved exemptions to the STR ordinance include:

• Ability to apply for a license, regardless of the cap, when property is transferred in circumstances that include, but are not limited to, pursuant to a will, to a family member(s), divorce or similar circumstances to be outlined in the revision.
• Any owner of a residential structure with an active building permit issued and in effect as of September 14, 2021, may obtain a STR license if a completed license application is filed with the Town no later than twenty (20) days after issuance of a certificate of occupancy.
• Any property under contract to sell on or before September 28, 2021 will have a six (6) month window to complete the transfer of title and twenty (20) days after the transfer of title to apply for a STR license.

Council may also consider additional incentives to be discussed at a future meeting that would allow property owners to obtain STR licenses for the following reasons:

• A policy that would allow for the issuance of a seasonal STR license to a property owner who provides housing for a period of time (e.g. 3-4 months in the summer) during the same year.
• Provision to allow a STR license to be issued to a property owner who brings a new deed restricted workforce housing unit into the Upper Blue Basin.

The option of a Tourism Overlay District, which Council is planning to discuss in October, is based on the descriptive language that currently exists for each of the fifty (50) Land Use Districts (LUDs) in the Town. Town staff members are currently reviewing the description of each LUD, as well as the number of housing units and STR licenses within each LUD. This analysis will be used to develop recommendations for the Council to review.

Administrative Rules and Regulations will be presented to the Council in October and will include details on the management of the ordinance. Those with existing licenses can continue to renew annually, but a license will not transfer to the new owner when the property sells, notwithstanding the transfer exemptions described above. The new owner will have to apply and will be placed on the waitlist.

The STR cap is intended to stop the rapid loss of Long Term Rentals (LTRs) to STRs that has been occurring. Through the STR ordinance, Council hopes to achieve more balance between workforce housing and STRs. The goal of the Breckenridge Housing Program is to house around 50 percent of the Breckenridge workforce in the Upper Blue Basin by supporting affordable housing throughout the community through a variety of tools and strategies including the new STR ordinance, new workforce housing construction, a “Housing Helps” program, expanded Town buy-down efforts, deed restrictions and the upcoming launch of a “Lease to Locals” incentive program.