Jefferson County considers legalizing short-term home rental

When Cheryl LoVecchio looks out her living room window, all she can see are the "no parking" and "no trespassing" signs she says she has put up around her Evergreen home to fend off intrusions from the house next door.
LoVecchio says the house is illegally used for short-term vacation rentals — and invariably a few vehicles end up parked on her property. The absentee owner tells her that the strangers are just friends staying at his house.
Jefferson County doesn't permit homeowners in residential zones to rent their homes out for less than a month.


Read more: Jefferson County considers legalizing short-term home rentals - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_18744 ... z1VxB59H8O
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From the article...

"The rights of neighbors don't supersede the rights of property owners," said Commissioner Donald Rosier.

Imagine... Rosier is not on the local resident's side of an issue. Who'd have guessed that?

But hey, at least it's not what's-her-face that's allowing your neighbor to rent their house to weekend party animals.

Legalize short-term home rentals? When did it become illegal to rent your own property? No one notified me - this is just another example of a regulation that is not necessary and should never have become a law.

This is a private property owners right that has been taken away from us. Add it to the hundreds of other restrictions placed upon property owners.

And it never stops amazing me how they find one lady to complain in defense of property restrictions- if she has people parking on her land- then address that issue- this is also a property owners right. It's called trespassing.

I totally agree with Rosier on this one- property owners and their rights should always come first, there are hundreds of other laws to protect the neighbors.

BearMtnHIB wrote: Legalize short-term home rentals? When did it become illegal to rent your own property? No one notified me - this is just another example of a regulation that is not necessary and should never have become a law.

This is a private property owners right that has been taken away from us. Add it to the hundreds of other restrictions placed upon property owners.

And it never stops amazing me how they find one lady to complain in defense of property restrictions- if she has people parking on her land- then address that issue- this is also a property owners right. It's called trespassing.

I totally agree with Rosier on this one- property owners and their rights should always come first, there are hundreds of other laws to protect the neighbors.

Short term rentals should be regulated the same as hotels and inns. When you promote short term rentals, you've changed the occupancy of the property from residential to commercial in violation of the zoning restrictions in place when you bought the property.

Your neighbor can't open a gas station, and you can't open an Inn. Both are incompatible with residential only zones.

You and Rosier are a homeowner's nightmare.

Short term rentals should be regulated the same as hotels and inns. When you promote short term rentals, you've changed the occupancy of the property from residential to commercial in violation of the zoning restrictions in place when you bought the property

TOTAL Bullsh**

Renting my cabin for a week does not change the occupancy of the property - except in the minds of a few idiots like you.

It does not change the property from residential to commercial except in the minds of a few idiots like you.

There were no such restrictions on my property when I bought it- but thanks to a few idiots like you they keep adding more every damn year - restricting my right to use my own private property as I see fit.

And more fools like you keep moving in damnit!

BearMtnHIB wrote: TOTAL Bullsh**

Renting my cabin for a week does not change the occupancy of the property - except in the minds of a few idiots like you.

It does not change the property from residential to commercial except in the minds of a few idiots like you.

There were no such restrictions on my property when I bought it- but thanks to a few idiots like you they keep adding more every damn year - restricting my right to use my own private property as I see fit.

And more fools like you keep moving in damnit!

Short term rentals have always been excluded from residential zoning. It's been like that for as long as the zoning has been in place.

Short term rentals will only subject your neighbors to a bunch of yahoos turning it loose on their vacation that don't give a rat's ass about the neighbors. You want to run a business? Fine, do it in a place zoned for business.

There's to damn many short sighted, greedy, self-absorbed people around like you - that's why the zoning didn't allow for that kinda sh** in the first place.

My place didn't have any of those restrictions when I bought it- in fact the property was a summer retreat all through the 1920's up through the 1970's like many other Evergreen properties. The entire subdivision was comprised of summer cabins. I have notes written on logs that date back to 1922 - stating what a good time this or that family had that summer.

Try not to lecture about stuff you don't know about. This is a property right that belongs to the owner- and in these tough times, there are people in my area who have tried to rent their property for short term stays- and been hassled by the county. One story made the front page of the Courier last year.

A family who rents a home for a week is no more of an imposition to the properties neighbors as the owner's family staying there for a week. And if the owner wants to rent it for a week to a bunch of partier's - that's his or her right too!

We are not greedy for wanting to retain (or in this case recover) our property rights.

Lighten up.

BearMtnHIB wrote: A family who rents a home for a week is no more of an imposition to the properties neighbors as the owner's family staying there for a week.

That is subjective to each individual case. What if the original owner has been an a**hole to the neighbors in the past? What expectation should the neighbors have about the people he rents to? While some short term tenants may be respectful (or even not noticeable), they can quite often be uncourteous and disrespectful, as reported from neighbors in the same Courier articles.

I think at issue with the neighbors is that the homes in that particular area are very close, lot sizes are small and there is not much room for the full time residents to park let alone the renters. The renters often do not care about walking through properties to get to the lake or other attractions. Sometimes they bring dogs that roam where they will. They can be loud and there is really no limit to the number of people that may occupy the 'rental'.

If they want to rent then they should be required to change the zoning on that property or pay lodging taxes or meet commercial licensing, safety or liability requirements.

Maybe you have a big lot and your nearest neighbor is a bit farther away, but consider what the residents in this area expected when they bought thier little piece of heaven. Would you feel comfortable not knowing who would be living next door to you from one week to the next?

Well I think you all are missing the point here- Evergreen used to be all about short term rentals. Evergreen was the Vail and Aspen of it's time. Folks would come here and stay for a week, or a month just to get away.

The county then comes along and changes the rules on all the property owners, really what is the difference between a week and a month? These arguments are "what if" and the default should be in favor of the property owner. Every property owner has more of an interest in his/her own property than any county official will ever have. We wouldn't want to rent it out to someone who would be disrespectful any more than anyone else. I say let the property owner make those choices.

Yes I do have more space than many of my neighbors- I own 12 lots. The property also borders a DMP with 1000 acres of open land. I have no plan to rent it out right now but I sure don't want the county telling me I can't do that with my own land.

So now to address your unlikely senereos .....

The renters often do not care about walking through properties to get to the lake or other attractions. Sometimes they bring dogs that roam where they will. They can be loud and there is really no limit to the number of people that may occupy the 'rental'.

Walking through properties without permission is called trespassing- there's a law against it, call the cops.
Loud parties would be in violation of noise laws- call the cops.
Any short term lease can easily limit the number of people.

In the unlikely event of those things happening- there are other ways to resolve those issues, and if I rent the place for 1 month these restrictions no longer apply- If I were the neighbor - 1 week of idiots is less intrusive than 1 month or more. Think about it.

As for those properties so close to each other- I dont think they would be very attractive as short term vacation rentals anyway.

You are worried about problems that don't exist- and are very unlikely to exist. Evergreen used to be a vacation destination, and it could be again to some extent - if we can remove these ridiculous restrictions that our local government has enacted against most property owners wishes.

And I know some people want further restrictions, especially those who are ignorant of Evergreen's historical past.

Actually, I think we'd all be better off in the long run if we got rid of most zoning altogether. Let's just have residential and commercial for tax purposes and no other.