Spoiler alert: The solution is to leave it alone.
the problem is…
As many of you already know Summit County is beginning the process of heavy regulation of short term vacation rentals (strs) within its unincorporated areas. Their cited reasons for doing this is that tourists who visit the area are making too much noise, generating too much trash, or otherwise bothering the people around them. Recently Summit County imposed a moratorium on new str licenses for a period of 90 days. Yes, you read that right. It doesn’t matter if you want an str license right now. You’re not getting one! Doesn’t matter if you think it’s your right to rent your property out. They think they can infringe upon that right! The Summit County commissioners voted for this moratorium despite an enormous amount of pushback from their voters. Since this is a heavily visited blog I figured I would post an open letter style response to the Summit County Commissioners. I’ve emailed all three of the commissioners a letter similar to this one earlier today. The information below was edited because I am now speaking to the public instead of the commissioners directly.
why I think my opinion matters…
To qualify myself as an affected party, I have owned property in unincorporated Summit County since 2008, and I own vacation rental property in several places across the United States. My position on this issue echoes the sentiment of thousands of str owners in unincorporated Summit County, Colorado.
the experts I’ve spoken to…
I’ve consulted with an attorney in Texas, J. Patrick Sutton, whose services I paid handsomely for by the way. J. Patrick Sutton is well known for ligitating these types of situations. The city of Austin TX tried to do exactly what Summit County is doing, citing that strs were generating complaints and thus the city seeked to regulate them. J. Patrick Sutton hired a think tank to examine the data only to discover that the vast majority of complaints actually were about long term rentals. I agree with this because long term rentals are more known for parties, noise, dense clutter, debris and otherwise unkempt spaces. I’ve owned both short term and long term rentals. I have first hand knowledge and I know this to be true of long term rentals. I urge Summit County to dissect their data closely and I believe they’ll find strs are not the majority culprit of complaints. If you don’t analyze your data you may find yourself like the city of Austin, with no case and subject to liability. J. Patrick Sutton also has Federal Cases currently in litigation that have the potential to affect all states with regards to strs and the inherent rights of property owners.
the solution that will work…
Through talking with the attorney and other industry experts around Summit County I’ve tried to come up with a solution with regard to workforce housing. The solution is for Summit County to stop what they are doing with regulation and let the free market handle this. Focus on things within your control such as new developments with HOA restrictions, and allow a space where builders aren’t afraid to build in your county for fear of what next you might have up your sleeve. These towns in Colorado have existed for hundreds of years, and it’s not the first time they’ve seen housing shortages. In every case these shortages were solved by the free market. Deed restricted condos and trailer parks need to be built in the outerlying areas. The condos being built need to stop being lavish $1M state-of-the-art spaces that attract str investors and are out of workforce budgets. They need to be dense, dormatory-style living arrangements that repel str investors because of their unsuitability to str whilte attracting the local workforce because of their affordable $100K price tags and low HOA dues. Build things that attract workforce, not str investors.
realize you’re not alone…
I implore Summit County to be aware of the fact that there is nothing unique about the situation in Summit County or the towns of Breckenridge or Dillon or Frisco. I own property all over the United States, and it is like this in every single place. Even in my one-traffic light hometown of Rosepine, Louisiana it is like this. The real estate market is experiencing inflation. Both homes for purchase and homes for rent are in short supply. When they are available the price is high, and there are often bidding wars. The entire country is going through this at this time, not just Summit County. The only thing that will fix this meaningfully is a enconomic downturn with a market correction.
take a harder look at the workforce…
I also implore Summit Clounty to take a close look at the workforce, considering other factors than just a shortage of housing. Before Covid-19 ethics in the workforce weren’t that good. Now that we are a year and a half into Covid-19, the workforce has become addicted to easy-to-get unemployment benefits bolstered with POA supplements from the Federal Government. Consider yourself as a worker making $100,000 before all this happened. You got up every morning, go into work, face adverse weather conditions, and perhaps look at the ugly face of a boss who you wish would just shut their mouth. Then along comes Covid-19 and you’re able to get $33,000 in free money while sitting at home doing nothing. No more getting up and going out into the weather, or having to look at the boss with the ugly face. There are so many people who would opt for, and continue to opt for, the $33,000. Our workforce across this entire country has gone to hell in a handbasket. It’s not that they are prohibited from working due to housing costs; it’s that they don’t want to work because of all the free money flowing around everywhere.
don’t let this fall upon deaf ears…
While this message may be terse and direct, I mean no disrespect. There is a solution to this that will work, even though I’m sure this answer will fall upon many ears that don’t want to listen. Summit County needs stop what they are doing at this time simply because there are too many market forces and social conditions right now that are beyond the control of all of us. Sit back and watch the other folks make mistakes and make themselves targets for lawsuits. Wait out these times and let’s see if this will fix itself with the free market as it has so many times before us. You shouldn’t be trying any drastic and sweeping changes during a pandemic and a destabilized national government. While you wait, build the type of housing I described above. How intuitive and strategic of Summit County it would be to say you’re going to take a hard pass on the things out of your control and only focus on things that can create a positive impact on the community. Don’t be destructive by tearing town owners’ str investments; be constructive by building housing that is attractive to the workforce. Summit County loses by diving in to uncharted territory. Allow time to pass. Allow these things to work themselves out on their own.
if you are affected by Summit County str regulations…
If Summit County str regulations have affected you please let us know by commenting below. Send an email to dennis@skisilverthorne.com so I can keep in touch with you. We have to stand together on this so that our property rights are not infringed. Feel free to call or text me at (318) 272-0951.
Let Summit County know how you feel by taking their Short Term Rental Community Survey.
sincerely,
Matthew Thompson