By Brendan Henry
The Surveyor

There has been a recent influx of both complaints and confusion to Berthoud’s town board regarding short-term rentals in town, so Mayor William Karspeck and Trustees May Albrecht, Tim Hardy, Karl Ayers and Chris Kurtz got together for a study session on the topic on Nov. 7. As it was only a study session, there was only discussion with no action taken at the meeting.

Senior Planner Tawn Hillenbrand started the study session by providing a background on the town’s short-term rental policy, or the lack thereof. Hillenbrand laid out the purpose of the study session, that being the town’s current position on the topic, a discussion over the most common issues related to short-term rentals, addressing possible options for regulation, and hearing feedback in addition to getting direction from the board.

Currently, the town defines a short-term rental as a dwelling unit rented to guests for short-term lodging (30 days or less) when not occupied by the owner or operator. Short-term rentals are an unlisted use in the town development code and are therefore not allowed in Berthoud.

That being said, bed and breakfasts are allowed in certain zoning districts with the town defining them as “an establishment operated in a private residence or portion thereof, which provides temporary accommodations to overnight guests for a fee, and which is occupied by the operator of such establishment.” Approval is required to have a bed and breakfast in town by way of either a site review or conditional use.

The previous planning commission defined a short-term rental similarly to an inn, where an inn is defined as a building intended for use of occupancy as a temporary abode for individuals who are lodged with or without meals in which there are less than 12 guest rooms. What differentiates an inn from a short-term rental, according to Hillenbrand, is the intent. Short-term rental properties are intended to be a single-family dwelling rather than an inn.

Inns are only allowed in an R-4 district (mixed-use) or commercial district. Town Administrator Chris Kirk said that many of the short-term rentals were located in R-1 districts which are primarily used for single-family detached homes. Inns would not be allowed to operate in an R-1 district.

Community complaints are not unique to Berthoud, with surrounding communities expressing similar concerns. These issues were identified in the study session as being the saturation of short-term rentals in neighborhoods, loss of sense of community, parking, trespassing, noise, parties and enforcement. The primary concern is whether short-term rentals are appropriate in residential neighborhoods.

Hillenbrand presented six approaches that could potentially minimize issues regarding enforcement. These options include the requirement to have a property manager, the property owner is required to reach out to neighbors within a specific distance of the approved short-term rental and provide property manager information, the short-term rental license is required to be renewed annually with confirmation that code requirements continue to be met, the requirement for penalties or fines for violations, an alternative to the previous by revocation of the short-term rental and finally the provision of good neighbor guidelines.

After providing the potential approaches, Hillenbrand laid out three options for the board. The first option would be to continue as is by disallowing short-term rentals within town limits, the second option is to allow short-term rentals after adopting regulations, and finally, the third option is to make no modifications while staff watch and gather information on state legislature on short-term rentals with the intent to revisit the topic in Spring 2024.

Kirk urged the board to think of why they would want to change the town’s policy. He clarified that change is not necessarily a bad thing, but that there should be an intent for the change such as increased tax revenue or the creation of an avenue for more available housing.

There were many Berthoud residents in attendance for the meeting to express concerns including the maintenance of rental spaces, implementation of a “good neighbor” policy, concerns for those that have already booked a short-term rental in town, support for short-term rentals for people that are struggling due to the current housing market, expenses on monitoring short-term rentals whether the code changes or not, safety concerns and hope for regulation, allowing for the town to have lodging for people from out of town, fair representation when hearing multiple sides of the current argument and neighbors of properties rented out that have dealt with large events taking place on said rented property.

Trustee Albrecht feels that having no policy creates more confusion than having a policy on the subject. She sees the potential increase in lodging after passing a pro-short-term rental policy with regulations and taxes that could help bring in revenue to the town and new people to Berthoud’s local businesses.
Mayor Karspeck is in favor of the aforementioned option two which would allow short-term rentals with regulations. Trustee Hardy agrees with Mayor Karspeck and wants a good quality policy over an expedited one. Trustees Ayers and Kurtz seemed to be on board with this as well.

Ending the discussion, Mayor Karspeck informed those in attendance that there would likely be another study session and that there would be more opportunity for public input.