Town looks to extend STR moratorium while drawing up revised ordinance
Georgetown’s Board of Selectmen intends to discuss at Tuesday’s meeting what elements to include in its revised short-term rental ordinance and likely will extend its moratorium on news licenses.
The town passed the moratorium in August while it sought input from STR owners and neighbors on how to improve the program.
Town Administrator Kent Brown shared staff’s recommendations about how to revise the ordinance and address other issues with the STR program during the Oct. 13 board meeting.
One was that rentals not pay commercial water rates as bed-and-breakfasts do, which the board and community had discussed previously. Brown explained that some rentals would pay less under that system, and it would be difficult to charge those STRs operating in apartments.
Staff also recommended a one-year waiting period between home purchase and license application. Brown said Minturn, Colo., has a two-year waiting period.
“Whether it’s one year or two years, it would provide an incentive on trying to maintain the community that we have,” he continued.
Staff also recommends that STRs’ maximum occupancy be two adults per bedroom, that owners provide an information notice or brochure that identifies the residence’s parking spaces and trash locations, and that owners include their business license number in all public advertising.
While some Georgetown residents have been pushing for a way to limit STRs near each other, Brown said staff had no recommendation on that issue. He found an example in Durango, which limits the number of STRs to one per block, but Brown believed it would be difficult to implement in Georgetown. However, it’s something town officials could discuss.
August sales tax revenues up from 2019
Georgetown’s August sales tax revenues and year-to-date numbers were relatively strong, officials recently noted.
The town saw about $15,000 more in sales tax revenue this August than it did in August 2019. Almost 38 percent of the revenue is from retail and services with another 19 percent from restaurants.
While March and May revenues were down from last year, Georgetown’s April, June and July were all stronger than their 2019 counterparts.
The town has almost $695,000 in year-to-date sales tax revenues, which is about 5 percent better than it was at this point in 2019.
Special events coordinator resigns
Carolyn Hohne, Georgetown’s part-time special events coordinator, is resigning effective Nov. 2. She has been in the position since mid-April.
Town Administrator Kent Brown anticipated working with the Business Promotions Commission to find another coordinator.
“Carolyn (Hohne) got us off to a good start,” Brown said at the Oct. 13 Board of Selectmen meeting, “although there’s been some hiccups along the way, although there always would be. … We felt it would be better to part ways and pick up with someone new.”
Contact reporter Corinne Westeman at 303-567-4491 or cwesteman@evergreenco.com, and follow her on Twitter @cwesteman.