Due to an oversight, an earlier amendment to the Archuleta County Land Use Code created an unintended negative consequence- that is, technically it made short term rental activity within many parts of the county a violation of the code. At the time the code was amended, it was in response to issues related to multiple cabins being placed within small acreage tracts in the county. Now, however, in subdivisions which do not have restrictions on short term rentals, a handful of disgruntled property owners have come to the Planning Department to insist they prosecute their fellow property owners that are using their homes to generate short term rental income. Some individual subdivisions have chosen to amend their Declarations to restrict rentals, (Echo Canyon Ranch and Lost Valley of the San Juans for example.) They made these changes in compliance with the governance documents of their subdivision, with a required majority vote of owners. In some subdivisions where a handful of owners have not been successful in convincing the necessary majority of its members to restrict short term rentals, they have asked the County Planning Director to step in and threaten owners with fines of $500-$1,000 plus $100 per day for failure to comply with the Land Use Code. This was not the intention of the County and they have agreed to address this unintended consequence.
Pagosa Springs’ and all of Southwest Colorado’s economy is based on tourism—that is an indisputable fact. It is not a self-sustaining retirement community—plain and simple. Our visitors come here to enjoy the friendly, safe and fun mountain environment that many of us have chosen to call home. In ever-increasing numbers, visitors are choosing to stay in private cabins, homes and condominiums rather than motel rooms. This is especially the case for a growing number of families, and not just in the mountains of Colorado, but worldwide.
The growth of Airbnb and VRBO (a subsidiary of Orbitz) is phenomenal and is expected to continue for decades. Pagosa Springs has a shortage of commercial lodging units, especially since the Pagosa Lodge went dark in early 2017. Without the extra rooms provided by private owners offering short-term rentals, we would be turning folks away during summer months, at Christmas and Spring Break.
In the fiercely competitive tourism environment, Pagosa Springs would experience very significant negative financial impacts if it were not able to continue to offer a large number of short term rentals. Without the generous and much needed revenues from tourism, it would only be a matter of time before we deteriorated into another Walsenburg or Cuchara. The folks opposed to short term rentals would find the lifestyle they thought they were protecting could not be supported when the majority of the tourism related economic activity disappeared from our community. We must oppose this short-sighted view opposing Short Term Rentals and accept and embrace the fact that we are a tourist destination, dependent on providing a great experience to our visitors, including an appropriate number and variety of lodging choices. A balanced, reality based perspective on this issue is needed.
