Prudential Steamboat Realty

Steamboat Springs €” City officials are ready to once again set regulations for vacation home rentals, an industry that allows short-term vacationers to stay in neighborhood settings but which draws the ire of year-round residents who complain of noise and traffic. The Steamboat Springs City Council on Tuesday will conduct the first reading of its revised vacation home rental ordinance. The public discussion will be the latest round of debate about an issue that in the past year has led to revocation hearings, quasi-judicial proceedings, and a lawsuit filed against the city by homeowners on Ridge Road. In a meeting April 20, the City Council voted to extend a temporary ban on new permits for vacation home rentals through Aug. 7. The City Council enacted an initial 90-day ban in February, to address citizens' concerns and revise unclear sections of the ordinance originally passed in 2001. Vacation home rentals are homes in residential neighborhoods that are rented to short-term vacationers and sometimes used for private functions. The city has issued more than 50 vacation rental permits in the past six years. City staff and vacation home renters have said the Steamboat Springs area likely harbors more than 100 vacation home rentals, many of which currently are operating without a permit. A draft of the revised ordinance already is spurring debate. "Instead of tweaking the code, we feel like they've gone totally overboard," Robin Cragen, vice-president of the Steamboat Springs Vacation Home Rental Alliance, said of city planning staff and city attorney Tony Lettunich. "We feel like they have gone 180 degrees in the wrong direction." Cragen said tighter regulations, such as parking requirements and annual city reviews of vacation rental permits, place an undue burden on the vacation rental industry. Ridge Road resident Bill Moser, an outspoken advocate of tighter regulations, could not be reached for comment. Tom Leeson, director of the city's planning department, said Friday the draft ordinance is "a good start." "But I think there will be changes," Leeson said. "The whole point of a first reading is to give us a chance to hear what everybody has to say," City Council President Susan Dellinger said. "I'm pretty happy with the ordinance. I think Tom (Leeson) and Tony (Lettunich) did a great job." Tonight's meeting begins at 5:30 at Centennial Hall. Also on the agenda is a reconsideration of the fee-in-lieu policy in the city's inclusionary zoning and linkage ordinance, which sets local affordable housing requirements for developers. €” To reach Mike Lawrence, call 871-4203 or e-mail mlawrence@steamboatpilot.com