Council sets direction on priorities

[  By Mark Reaman  ]

It does not appear likely that any drastic changes to the Crested Butte vacation rental regulations will be occurring as a result of the town’s effort to reevaluate the existing rules before it lifts a year-long moratorium on issuing such licenses. 

In a 90-minute work session held Monday, October 3 the council directed staff to take some concrete actions like beefing up nuisance enforcement and making the so-called “primary” licenses more permissive but made clear there was no council desire to do a wholesale restructuring of the short-term rental (STR) regulations. The biggest split amongst council came with how to spread out the concentration of STRs in town and determining what was the right number of licenses allowed — but even that was relatively tame with no councilmember coming close to suggesting eliminating STRs. The most radical reduction suggested would be to follow a staff recommendation and cut licenses by about 30% over time through attrition.

A slim majority of the seven-member council, mayor Ian Billick along with councilmembers Mallika Magner, Jason MacMillan and Chris Haver essentially argued to keep most of the current big picture rules in place stating they were working well. Three councilmembers, Gabi Prochaska, Anna Fenerty and Beth Goldstone, wanted to tweak the number of “unlimited” vacation rental licenses permitted in town but let the number drop from the currently allowed 212 through attrition to a number closer to 150. A primary intent of the tweaking was to spread out the concentration of vacation rentals in town so that no individual neighborhood was overly impacted.

“People have told me that if someone lives in a neighborhood surrounded by vacation rentals, the normal nuisances of a neighborhood that might not be worth complaining about add up,” said Prochaska. “Some extra noise or a light shining into your house might not normally warrant a complaint call, but it is more intense if it happens regularly. When you live next to an STR that is large, there can be a party every night. So, if there are fewer of these on a block, great. If we can limit the concentration of vacation rentals it would be less impactful to individuals.”

“I agree. Concentration is a big factor of having a community, a neighborhood,” said councilmember Beth Goldstone who voiced support for the staff recommendation that would lower the number of “unlimited” vacation rental licenses in town to 148 based on the town’s current overall housing stock. That is basically 12% of all the housing in Crested Butte. Staff said the cap was calculated from allowing up to 40% of the housing in mixed residential and business zones (R3C, B4 and B3) to be used as vacation rentals, while limiting the percentage of vacation rentals in residential zones (R1, R1A, R1C, R1D, R1E, R2) to no more than 20% and restricting multifamily buildings like duplexes and multifamily condo complexes to just one unlimited license per building. Those who currently hold licenses would be able to keep them until the property sold.

“The 148 feels light to me. It feels arbitrary,” said councilmember MacMillan. “I understand it would take years to get down to that cap.”

“For me, I’m good with the concentration element that would limit licenses,” reiterated Prochaska. “If it takes 15 years to get there, that’s fine. As someone who uses STRs in other places, they are an important part of coming to stay in Crested Butte. But I think we need to work with the concentration and density.”

“There are certain blocks in town with higher concentrations of vacation rentals,” said community development director Troy Russ. “Concentration limits create an absolute number of licenses. But if you are focused on a number then it doesn’t necessarily help with concentration. They could all be in the same neighborhood for example.”

“I agree with Gabi and Beth, but I think instead of using zones it makes more sense to look block by block,” said councilmember Anna Fenerty. “And I like the limited radius idea where they can’t be too close together.”

“It’s worth exploring the concentration and zoning question but I lean toward where we currently are with the number. I think we all agree that limiting vacation rentals is not going to increase the long-term housing stock in town,” said Magner. “The main issue to me is nuisance enforcement. Some nuisances impact livability.”

Not all councilmembers agreed there would be no long-term rental impact with elimination of some vacation rentals, and town staff showed data that some units that relinquished their STR licenses converted to owner-occupied or long-term rental housing. Prochaska agreed with Magner it would not be a major gamechanger given the current economics of real estate in CB.

“It seems a lot of great work went into this a few years ago and things are largely working,” said Billick. “I’m open to changes but I’m a minimalist so if something is working, I’m reluctant to change it. I’m okay keeping things where they are. By and large, what we have is working and I’m concerned with unintended consequences.”

“I too feel the more complicated we make it the more likely for unintended consequences,” said MacMillan.

Haver agreed. “I’m kind of okay where the number is right now,” he said. “There is no giant need to pull back that number. Are there areas in town, certain blocks, that are getting more complaints?”

Staff said because of the way marshals file complaints, there is no accurate record of how many and what type of complaints have been lodged regularly with STRs. 

“It should be something we track going forward,” suggested Fenerty. “That’s something to add to the 2017 regulations.” She also noted that while tax revenues from vacation rentals helped fund affordable housing projects in town, she agreed with public comments that asked that the mental health implications of having a lot of STRs in a neighborhood be considered.

As for the concentration question, Billick suggested that given the tight split with council opinion, staff come up with some other proposals for limiting concentrations of STR licenses that might impact the ultimate number of licenses issued.

Additional direction

Other direction given to staff included: 1) making sure there was a vacation rental compliance policy based on reasonable criteria that had teeth to punish serial offenders. That would most likely come in the form of a three strikes and you lose your license policy; 2) being more permissive with the so-called primary licenses that can be held by residents. Instead of limiting such licenses to 60 nights of rentals annually, the council wants to expand that to at least 90 nights; 3) reducing the suggested number of nights an unlimited license must be used in a “use it or lose it” mandate from the suggested 90 nights to 30. Goldstone said she saw no need for mandating such a “use it or lose it” regulation; 4) making sure that the license holder is a “real person” and not an LLC. The idea is that the LLC can still own the property and that would retain protections that come with an LLC but a human being has to be listed on the license; 5) using a lottery system to award licenses when they become available instead of utilizing a waiting list. 

Going forward, the council will also discuss limiting the number of unlimited licenses an individual can hold to one. Debate on whether to allow deed restricted accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to short-term rent will be held as will the ramifications of allowing a so-called “bunkhouse” provision that would let homeowners living in their house short-term rent a bedroom without any annual limits. The bunkhouse idea is that it can help someone pay their mortgage, but the flipside is that it could be a way to make the same amount of money without long-term renting to a permanent roommate, thus eliminating a long-term housing alternative. There was no movement to begin taking back licenses that are already “grandfathered” in.

Brief public comment following the work session included a concern that “doing nothing is not hearing the call of the community,” advocating to allow both units in a duplex to hold a STR license, not allowing deed restricted ADUs meant for long-term renters to have a vacation rental license, questioning the goal of the “use it or lose it” mandate and making sure those renting units longer than 31 days aren’t doing so just to avoid STR taxes and fees.

The council will see a draft ordinance from staff to consider at the November 7 meeting. “I encourage the public to give us feedback in writing between now and then,” said Billick. “This council does its homework and there are lots of ways for the public to provide feedback. We want to hear it.”

There is no silver bullet…

[  By Mark Reaman  ]

Several ideas, from the mundane to the radical addressing how to further tackle vacation rentals in Crested Butte are being thrown out for public discussion before the town council lifts a moratorium on such license applications. The ultimate intent of the council is to decide later this year on how to update the current short-term rental (STR) regulations that have been in place since 2017.  

Ideas being considered as possibilities basically range from simply increasing enforcement of STR issues in neighborhoods, to significantly reducing vacation rental licenses or restricting any individual license to be valid for no more than five years before being forced to take a two-year break. The public is being asked to provide input on the vacation rental regs through an online survey available on the town’s website.

A second public meeting on the issue was held on September 13 that was attended by about two dozen people in the council chambers and another two dozen online. Town staff heard opinions to both shake up the current regulations as well as do nothing new and let the current regulations stand since many people say the regs are working well and Crested Butte is in better shape than most resort towns.

Town staff has also held a series of focus groups to gather input from various community stakeholders. The September 13 meeting was facilitated by strategic planning consultant Miles Graham who ran the almost two-and-a-half hour meeting. The so-called “problem statement” has been adjusted by staff throughout the process and is now presented as: Vacation rentals have been regulated in Crested Butte since 2017. In 2021, the Town Council placed a moratorium on issuing new licenses. To end the moratorium, Town Council has directed staff to evaluate and recommend improvements to the current regulations.

The “success measures” have also been revised to basically 1) acknowledge and consider the economic and fiscal benefits of vacation rentals, 2) determine the role vacation rentals play in Crested Butte’s housing stock and their ability to meet the needs of the community, and 3) evaluate community and neighborhood compatibility of licensed vacation rental use. In an anonymous online Menti poll taken by 47 meeting participants, all three success measures were determined to be close in priority with the economic benefits measure topping the list.

Weighing in

“I still don’t see what the problem is,” commented Charlie Slater. “This feels like it is being set up to be a solution looking for a problem.”

Responding to a staff comment, Todd Hegstrom asked if local hotels and lodges were complaining about vacation rentals in Crested Butte. Community development director Troy Russ said the town has not received any such complaints by local lodges but noted “it is an issue all over the country.”

Jimmy Faust asked why town was spending any time “trying to level the playing field” if the hotels and lodges are not complaining about STRs.

Lindsey Freeburn noted that in terms of economic impacts, the idea of having enough workers living in the area to serve the economy should be a part of the equation. “We need enough housing for workers, so they are connected,” she said. “There is no economy if no restaurants are open.”

“To expand on that, if people can’t afford to live here, then who will be here to shovel the roofs of the vacation rentals,” added Nicole Thomas. “There is a big connection to economy.”

Russ explained that the housing stock success measure was meant to address the need for more workforce housing in the town. 

“A healthy economy includes the people who provide services in town,” said Julie Hemmings.

“One economic thing to keep in mind is that the excise tax on vacation rentals produces the revenue for affordable housing,” noted Mindy Sturm. “If that revenue is reduced or eliminated, how do you replace that for affordable housing? And also in terms of economics, I’ve heard in the focus groups that about 70% of STR revenue goes to local jobs like landscapers and cleaners.”

Russ said that metric was a consideration included in the success measures.

Wayde Koeman said workforce housing opportunities in places like CB South and Mt. Crested Butte should be part of any equation. 

Blake Hawk expressed that he was an example of someone who came to Crested Butte, stayed in a vacation rental, returned several times and eventually bought a house. He said he is spending more fulltime hours in and getting more involved with the local community. That too could be considered a positive impact in economic terms.

“The main problem as I perceive it, is that there is not enough housing for those who want to live and work here,” said Nicole Blazer. “But if I lose my STR license I will lose my ability to stay here so I will probably sell my property and that will just add to the problem. It is not likely my house will become local housing and I’d end up without a house here. I am on board with restructuring some procedures and vacation rental regs. I could for example get rid of my hot tub that probably leads to some noise issues.”

“I too think that the regulatory framework needs beefed up and enforcement should not fall on the neighbors,” said Paula Martin. “I am struck by the number of people impacted by the noise that comes from these rentals. We need more infrastructure to enforce the regulations.”

Hegstrom suggested every vacation rental have a prominent sign located on the property letting people know who to call if there is an immediate issue.

“Don’t put the squeeze on smaller units,” suggested Candace Coen. “These rentals are the only way some of us can stay in town.”

Russ and his planning staff presented in detail potential alternatives to consider that might improve the vacation rental regulations. “There is no silver bullet,” Russ emphasized. “But housing is comprehensive.”

Planner Nick Catmur presented information on how other communities dealt with STRs. Some put a limit on the number of nights allowed to be used while others prohibited them altogether or slapped a heavier tax on the houses. He said some locations pay property owners to rent their units long-term instead of as vacation rentals, but he admitted that is not a sustainable plan.

What’s the real impact of the theoretical changes?

“A lot of these actions sound great on paper,” said Slater. “But they hurt individuals who have their home and investment in town. We all agree there needs to be more affordable housing but don’t look at your citizens as being the problem. Purposely taking action to lower property values will drive people out and the property will go to a second homeowner from California.”

“I should have bought a house ten years ago but if values go down now perhaps I can get in,” said Jess Ladwig. “If the two-year license break does that, I might be okay with it. Until more affordable housing building happens, we need to incentivize more long-term renting. This is a good step.”

“Making people take a two-year break from holding a license feels punitive,” said Mike Burke. “Why would that apply to people with STRs that have had no issues?”

“Why wouldn’t you incentivize people who run a good rental and rent to people that have good behavior?” asked Faust. “The two-year break really pulls the rug out from us. We’ve worked hard to manage good rentals so that would seem to be contrary to good business sense.”

Rob Quint said in terms of the three-strike suggestion, some people could frivolously file complaints to eliminate STRs in their neighborhood. “I also suggest that as a real alternative, the council be allowed to look at doing nothing,” he said. “The current rules seem to be working.”

Russ said in terms of complaints, the town would likely have to play a role so that the rights of license holders as well as neighbors were protected.

Sturm agreed with Quint that doing nothing was a valid choice especially as she is seeing the real estate market cool off. “Give it some time to see how this all shakes out with COVID ending,” she suggested.

“The market is telling us to take a breath,” agreed Coen. “Let’s see how the economy shakes out and not pit one owner against another. Let’s build more affordable housing.”

“Let’s not forget the issue of livability. I’m strongly in favor of reducing the concentration and density of STRs,” said Kat Carpenter. “And it is important to increase enforcement.”

“Everything discussed is an option. There is no unicorn solution,” said Graham. “No decisions have been made.”

“I encourage you to take the very, very long view so whatever changes there are to the ordinance they are here to stay for a while,” said Alex Richland.” It feels like uncertainty is an issue.”

The town’s public survey that can be accessed through its website, will be open until September 26. Council will hold a work session on the vacation rental issue at the October 3 meeting.

Still along Gothic Road near cemetery

[  By Mark Reaman  ]

With a contract signed this week to purchase more Spann Ranch property near the Crested Butte cemetery and just north of the town boundary, the Crested Butte Fire Protection District (CBFPD) is one step closer to having a place to build a new fire hall and search-and-rescue building. 

The CBFPD already owns 1.8 acres in that area along Gothic Road that is also adjacent to the new Slate River subdivision in Crested Butte. The district had planned to build a safety campus along with some affordable housing units on that 1.8 acres and 1.55 acres to be given to them by the town. But some disputes over building expectations led to the district rejecting the town property and searching for other locations to build their campus. It turns out it will probably be right next to the original planned location.

CBFPD CEO Sean Caffrey said the 7.3-acre property is split by the Slate River with about 4.2 acres on the west side of the river closer to Crested Butte. He said the transaction is scheduled to be closed December 9.

“The plan is to build a fire hall and search and rescue building on that site,” explained Caffrey. “We have some better options coming together to either purchase or build the housing at alternate sites that are more residential in nature and more economical to acquire.”

“We finally have a great full site, at the right location for our needs,” said Chris McCann, Chairman of the CBFPD Board of Directors.  

A redesign of the facilities will have to be done given the new configuration of the land. “We think we can keep most of our initial programming work but will need to adjust the building footprints and layout to match the new site,” Caffrey explained. “We did not get as far as construction documents last time so there will be no duplicate costs there. I also anticipate the scope and size may be reduced as construction pricing has changed dramatically since the summer of 2021 when we did the initial pricing. Regardless we have a fixed budget so we will adjust as needed to fit the funds available.”

Given all that, Caffrey said he did not yet have an estimate of the new costs involved. The two Spann Ranch land purchases will total $2.5 million. As for timing, Caffrey said the district is doing soils and survey work now. “We hope to work on the zoning process and design work through the winter. We are hopeful for site work in 2023 and vertical construction in earnest in 2024 and maybe 2025,” he said.

Caffery is talking to the Gunnison County planning department to see what sort of review and approval process will be needed. “We anticipate going through the land use change process and utilizing our location and extent authority as a public agency,” he said. 

When asked if there were wetlands concerns, Caffrey said the issue was floodplain. “I may not be using the terms correctly but there isn’t a wetlands concern as much as there is a floodplain issue along the Slate River that we will need to be mindful of,” he explained. “The county has a variety of regulations related to floodplain development and setbacks. As for water and sewer service, we will be inquiring with the Town of Crested Butte regarding sanitary sewer and domestic water. As these facilities will serve the Town of Crested Butte, we are expecting a cooperative conversation.”

There are plans to widen the Gothic Road bridge over the Slate River near the property and Caffrey said the district is talking to county public works “to make sure our efforts are coordinated. We have no plans to develop on the east side of the river.”

“We have always envisioned a major facility for this parcel,” said Ken Spann, who negotiated the transaction for the Spanns. “The CBFPD’s current Board of Directors and administration are an outstanding, committed group. We wish them every success in bringing online a needed keystone piece of infrastructure that will serve us all for many years to come.”

Both Master Plan and Compass focus on regional collaboration

[  By Kendra Walker  ]

Both the towns of Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte have been working diligently to develop master plans that will help direct future decision making for each town. The Mt. Crested Butte town council held a joint work session with the Mt. CB planning commission on September 6 to go over the town’s Draft Master Plan. Additionally, representatives from the town of Crested Butte presented an overview of their Community Compass for feedback. 

Mt. CB Master Plan

Town staff has worked with partner Norris Design to develop the town of Mt. Crested Butte’s Master Plan, which outlines a path to increase affordable housing, improve the town’s existing multimodal transportation network, increase the vibrancy and vitality of the base area, expand access to essential services and guide responsible growth into the future. 

The Master Plan identifies Mt. Crested Butte’s four values, which includes access, community, stewardship and approachability. The town has established driving principles in alignment with those values based on feedback from the community, the town council and the planning commission. Those principles include increased housing options, multi-modal transportation, placemaking and vibrancy, responsible growth and essential services. 

Mt. Crested Butte’s Draft Master Plan is currently available for public comment until September 23. Then, between now and December, the town will finalize the plan, address comments gathered during review and then adopt the final plan. 

Crested Butte Community Compass

The Compass is a declaration of Crested Butte’s community identity and core values, a five-year strategic action plan, a decision-making framework to guide future town decisions, and a call and commitment for expanded regional collaboration. 

“We’ve been running parallel in doing our own master plan that we’ve branded the Community Compass,” explained Crested Butte community development director Troy Russ during the work session. “When we do a land use plan, a three-mile plan, transportation plan or a short-term rental ordinance that we’re doing right now, we would follow the process outlined in the Compass.”

Long range planner Mel Yemma explained how the Compass includes four key values that capture the essence of the driving principles and fundamental beliefs of the Crested Butte community. These include, “we are an authentic community,” “our community is connected,” “we are accountable for preserving our community” and “we are a bold community.”

The Compass then turns those values into actions with seven goals for the town, including approaching community challenges through active collaboration and engagement. Russ reiterated that the Compass puts a strong emphasis on regional collaboration. 

“There are so many issues that the town cannot resolve on its own and we need to have partnerships, with you all, the county, Crested Butte South as well as the City of Gunnison,” said Russ. “We want to create a shared regional collaboration. He noted the importance of a shared regional framework for land use, infrastructure and transportation, housing strategy, economic development and continued stewardship and climate action collaboration. 

Town staff will present the final Community Compass Draft to the town council on October 17.

I thought I had it bad waiting around for billionaire and major valley property owner Mark Walter to call me and share his ideas for our community — the idea being that we could collaborate and disclose his future vision of Crested Butte and the East River Valley through the paper. I haven’t heard much. But Crested Butte town manager Dara MacDonald might have it worse with an even richer billionaire. She is trying to figure out how to get the owner of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, to answer her about how to have his company not drop a ton of packages every day at the Crested Butte post office. You see, if Amazon orders were dropped at people’s homes instead of the PO like in most of the rest of the country, his customers would be more satisfied, and the town would be less stressed as our residents have to stand in an hour-long line to pick up their parcels. For some reason, neither billionaire seems interested in calling either of us back. Shocking!

Make no mistake, both these guys have major bank so they might have other things on their mind than our piddly community here at the end of the road. As impressive as Mark Walter’s net worth is — he was tied at number 665 (out of 2,668) on the Forbes 2022 billionaire list of richest people in the world earlier this year with $4.3 billion dollars— Bezos is number two after Elon Musk with $171 billion. I suppose Jeff has a lot on his mind like how to maybe land on the moon in one of his phallic rockets. And Mark is probably busy gearing up for an end of the season run for a World Series ring with his Los Angeles Dodgers or working on his English accent so he sounds authentic when dealing with the Chelsea Football Club of which he is a part owner. 

Oh well…I’ll keep throwing the offer out to Mr. Walter to see if he has 15 minutes to talk local restaurants, vacant land and buildings, future hotels and employee housing. My number is 349-0500, extension 109. I would love to help him get his ideas out to the rest of the community that he is part of now. And Dara is probably waiting by her phone at Town Hall for a call from Mr. Bezos. In case Jeff is reading this, her number is 970-349-5338.

Now I suppose I should be careful writing about rich fellas. Several people have asked me if I’ve been watching the drama at the Aspen Times. The former standard bearer for ski town newspapers has imploded so quickly and so badly this summer that no one would be surprised if it ceased to exist as much more than a thin pamphlet before the end of the year. The paper’s sad demise started when reporters, columnists and letter writers wrote about a rich but apparently thin-skinned Russian guy who got his hackles up and sued the Times. That started a chain reaction of fear and loathing in Fat City that turned a community against its once main communication outlet. Bad journalistic decisions made by the West Virginia-based newspaper conglomerate that owns the Times and that apparently has no idea about local Rocky Mountain culture has destroyed the paper’s reputation. Watching from this side of the West Elks has been interesting and the demise has come quickly and with a lot of drama. You can read about it in the NY Times or the Atlantic. I for one am thankful we aren’t seeing that happen here…unless Mark or Jeff takes offense at my editorial and decides to sue me for mentioning how rich they are.

Speaking of rich…there is a financial situation with the local fire district that I am sure no one, including the district officials, wants to see right now. And it’s not a lack of money but the fact it has a boatload of cash sitting in a bank.

While I am super appreciative of what the local firefighters and EMS people do for our community — and I’ve taken the ride to GVH under their excellent care and am thankful they are here — people could rightfully be tweaked that the CB Fire Protection District board of directors has $29 million in the bank. It’s not Walter or Bezos money but it’s more than most have in their savings account. The $29 million is the bond money approved by voters to build a new safety campus in CB’s Slate River subdivision. I was never a fan of the district plan for a giant 30,000-square-foot fire station, a 10,000-square-foot search-and-rescue building and a fourplex of affordable housing in that spot but I lost that argument when voters approved the bond issue to provide just that last November. Things turned when the CBFPD board got offended after the town of Crested Butte pushed them for some climate sustainability measures and the affordable housing to be included in the first phase of the project. The CBFPD board picked up its plans and said ‘so long’ to the town. But they had no definitive place to go and so now they have a bunch of money in the bank and this year will pay back $1.7 million with no solid plan on when, how or where to build their new facility (see story on page 16). They’ve spent about a million dollars of the bond money on architects, planning and some land acquisition, and I assume they’ll have to do most of it again when they find a place for their new campus since the old plans were for the town property.

I am sure no one, including the board, is happy with that much money in the bank but it is what it is. The $1.7 million they’ll pay in interest and principal this year would have paid for a nice fourplex of workforce housing. And let me be super clear — I like and appreciate the people that sit on that board and those that work in the district’s administrative offices. They’re good people with good intentions and have always been super easy to work with. But it sure feels like that big bank account is indicative of a big blunder and maybe moving too fast without a Plan B in place. Still, they always call me back, unlike…

That brings me to upcoming bond issues. Those putting issues on the November ballot likely will have a hard path ahead. I’m thinking of the Gunnison Watershed School District and the Met Rec District. Rising property taxes — and they’ll likely rise considerably next year given new valuations that will come out based on this spring’s real estate boom — are making it harder for working class people with property (not people like Mark or Jeff) to keep living here. 

Proponents of both measures will need to make strong arguments and given the difficulties the fire district has had with things like inflation and volatile construction costs, financial accountability will have to be buttoned up with solid plans and definitive goals that make the future path crystal clear. We are just entering the election season so we can all expect to hear why we should vote to again raise our property taxes. Frankly at this early stage, I’m a skeptic but still have an open mind on both issues.

Speaking of open minds… There’s no harm in Crested Butte’s effort to relook at its vacation rental policy and while it’s early in an extensive process, some good points were made at the first public meeting to consider not upending the policy in its entirety. The current short-term rental regulations and limitations came from a long, sometimes contentious citizen task force process that ended with no one being completely happy. In government, that’s a good thing. The final ordinance was one of the first truly bold attempts in Colorado to deal with short-term rentals. The STR license limits cap vacation rentals at about 17% of the town’s overall housing stock but most importantly it provides a stable revenue source for affordable housing tied directly to the very thing many people see as a detriment to local housing. The excise tax on STRs should bring in close to $800,000 or $900,000 this year. Add that to what the town of Mt. Crested Butte is bringing in annually for affordable housing and there is real North Valley money that could be leveraged for significant workforce housing projects and maintenance. I have no idea what the right path is now or what the council will decide out of this current review process, but hopefully they are open to all outcomes…including smaller tweaks versus a complete rewrite. Let’s see what all the data and the community opinion shows.

In the meantime, I’m here hanging out by the landline waiting on that Mark Walter call…

—Mark Reaman

Are current regulations working for or hindering the town with affordable housing?

[  By Mark Reaman  ]

The first in a series of public meetings being held to gather feedback on what direction the town of Crested Butte should take regarding updated vacation rental regulations was held August 24 and it included viewpoints on all sides of the issue with a majority tilt toward pro-STR (short-term rental) positions. More than 30 citizens attended the meeting in person at the town council chambers with another two-dozen participating through Zoom. Staff used a technological tool called Menti to gather the thoughts of the participants. The more than two-hour discussion was at times heated, but the Crested Butte planning department said that while the issue was hard, the goal was to work together to come to some sort of consensus direction.

The town staff provided STR data as part of, but not before, the public meeting and this tweaked some participants. Probably the most relevant information posted by the town was what had happened to houses that gave up short-term rental licenses. That has been frequently requested information. Vacation rental licenses have been required since 2017 and were capped at 212 and designated to certain town zones. The 212 is about 17% of the town’s current overall housing stock of 1,243 units. At full build-out town is anticipated to have 1,379 units. Because of a moratorium implemented in 2021 on issuing any more vacation rental licenses, there are currently 192 so-called “unlimited” STR licenses and about ten limited licenses that max out with 60 rental nights. 

Town data showed that since 2018 55 homes have obtained and then relinquished their licenses. Approximately 30% of those properties became owner occupied homes, 18% have been long-term rented, and 52% became second homes. Seventeen of those 55 licenses were relinquished since the moratorium began and one became owner occupied, three became long-term rentals and 13 are now second homes. As for the new long-term rentals, the town does not have data on what the rents are for those units.

“That’s the data with no interpretation,” Crested Butte community development director Troy Russ told the crowd. “Most that gave up the licenses turned into second homes and there was a small increase in long-term rentals. We’re trying to build trust and represent the collective. We haven’t interpreted the data, just collected it.”

But some in the audience felt that was incomplete. “So the council agreed to a ‘North Star” problem statement without the data?” asked Karl Zachar. “That doesn’t make sense. The data should also include the price of what the houses that gave up their licenses through a sale sold for.”

Resident and realtor Mindy Sturm said the data should include who is long-term renting the former STRs. She postulated it wasn’t frontline worker types like waiters or teachers but more likely retirees or remote workers with high paying jobs outside the valley. She sees the local ski bums as an “endangered species” and said they deserve first crack at long-term rentals to have a chance at that lifestyle. She said with remote work decreasing she hopes there will be more rentals on the market for locals but said the current STR regulation seems to be working.

Crested Butte long-term planner Mel Yemma explained the vacation rental discussion was being conducted through the framework of the emerging Community Compass plan that is based on the four primary community values of being “authentic, bold, connected and accountable.” Developing a “problem statement” to define what problem is trying to be solved is the first step in the process. In this case, the statement drafted by the town staff says: The Town should regulate vacation rentals in a way that acknowledges their economic and fiscal impacts, confirms the licensed use meets the intent of existing zoning districts, supports the Town’s affordable housing goals, aligns the housing stock’s use with the needs of the community, and ensures neighborhood livability.

Yemma said the August 24 meeting was meant to focus on what success would like with updated vacation rental regulations. 

“There is some confusion here,” pressed Zachar. “What’s the goal? Do we all agree with the council’s problem statement? Is this where we all want to head? We all agree we want more local housing but is this the way to get there?”

“Shouldn’t we also be including and asking our tourists?” suggested Laurel Walker. “We are a unique tourist town after all.”

Quick online thoughts

The staff used Menti to solicit thoughts on a number of topics and so-called success measures. Thoughts were displayed on a screen in the council chambers, but no name was associated with individual ideas.

When asked what being connected meant in terms of vacation rentals, ideas included: Being sensitive to your neighbors, not saying nasty things about tourists and second homeowners at the Post Office and store, making lasting relationships, providing an authentic experience for visitors, welcoming all to town, knowing the people around you.

Being accountable meant: people understand and ensure they follow the ordinances, realizing that there are no hotels and tourists need places to stay, that there needs to be transparency and consequences of new regulations.

As for being bold it solicited thoughts of: supporting a vibrant STR environment, understanding that STRs are Crested Butte’s hotels, not giving into the vocal minority, following the data and not just special interests and coming up with unique solutions that fit Crested Butte’s style.

Property manager Steve Ryan was part of the original citizen’s task force that helped come up with the current STR regulations in 2017. “When I look at the data I see a trend that limits vacation rentals but provides a needed service. If the 2018 regulations are accomplishing the goals, what is the point of this if the regulations are working?” He also explained that the task force concluded STRs played a very small role in potential affordable housing since most people bought a place in CB so they could use it for themselves and their families and thus were not conducive to long-term renting the property.

“There have been short-term rentals in this town since the time the ski area opened,” added resident Bob Bernholtz.

“There have been such drastic changes in the housing situation between 2018 and now,” responded Russ. “We declared a housing emergency and the vacation rentals have exploded with things like VRBO and the Internet. But if this doesn’t make sense, we don’t have to make changes.”

Ryan expressed he felt a “vocal minority” was driving the housing emergency narrative and said all his employees have found housing with the biggest hurdle being for those with pets. “One employee said that if he didn’t have a dog, he had several choices of housing opportunities.” Ryan also noted that STRs generate a significant and stable amount of tax revenue earmarked for affordable housing. 

Do STRs prohibit full time occupancy goals?

Russ noted that the relationship between housing and jobs in town is out of whack as the number of jobs in town has grown faster than the number of houses being built and significantly faster than the growth in full-time occupied homes. 

“There’s been an increase in housing too, but they are now mostly in the multi-million dollar range,” said Walter Schoeller.

Russ asked what the impact of the STRs is on the town goal to have 75% fulltime residents living in Crested Butte. He said that currently the town was comprised of about 65% fulltime residents and that would be increasing somewhat once the Sixth and Butte/Paradise Park affordable housing project is completed. Having 65% full-time residents occupying the housing stock in town is considered to be quite high for a resort community and Crested Butte is top among ski towns. Russ noted that while Crested Butte’s percentage of full-time residents is number one for ski towns, it is down from Crested Butte’s 79% of full-time occupied homes in the year 2000.

One participant noted that if STRs are only 17% of town then there is opportunity for 83% of town to be filled with full-time residents.

“When it comes to a vibrant town, income doesn’t matter,” Russ said. “We want a rich, functioning community that includes members of the workforce, retirees, remote workers.”

“All these success measures are subjective,” concluded Yemma. “Everything is on the town website and this meeting was recorded and will be included. Focus group meetings start next week. We are working on this together. The issues are hard but we can do this together.”

Fireworks, laser show, live music and light show

[  By Kendra Walker  ]

After reflecting on this year’s Fourth of July celebration, and weighing options for future events, the Mt. Crested Butte town council plans to move forward with a fireworks show, laser show, live music and light show for next year’s Fourth of July celebration. 

During the August 16 town council meeting, Mt. CB events coordinator Rebecca Schroeppel presented several options and combinations of Independence Day performances to consider based on costs, availability, and “wow factor.” 

Most of the council agreed they prefer the tradition of fireworks, but also recognize that doing a light or laser show aligns better with the town’s strategic plan to focus on environmentally friendly practices and reduce wildfire risks that come with fireworks. 

Schroeppel noted that there are only three fireworks companies in the area willing to do shows in Mt. Crested Butte, and only one can guarantee a show for next year with the requirement that the town supplies its own certified technician. There are currently no technicians in the area and the town would cover the cost to train a technician from the police department or fire department. 

Community feedback from this year’s laser show was generally in favor of a light/laser show with a live music component, however, the story board laser show fell short of expectations. 

Schroeppel also presented the options for drone shows, however, a drone show would probably cost at a minimum of $150,000. While intrigued by the concept, the council agreed it was too expensive and would revisit the option in the future when prices potentially go down.  

“My only concern with a drone show would be optics of spending a quarter of a million dollars when we’re trying to build affordable housing,” said council member Roman Kolodziej. 

The council agreed to pursue a bigger event that will include fireworks, a laser show (without a storyboard), live music and light show. The town would also like to increase the presence of base area offerings and activities. In the chance that the fireworks show gets cancelled due to fire restrictions, the logic was that the crowd would still get the laser/light show. 

Schroeppel noted that the cost of this combination option will range from approximately $53,000 to $75,000.

Kolodziej also requested that a parallel event be explored to accommodate people and animals affected by the fireworks noise. “I’d like to provide a safe place or event for people to go where they’re not going to hear the fireworks, to show that the town recognizes the problem fireworks cause for people and animals.”

“They cannot retaliate against tenants”

[  By Katherine Nettles  ]

After having their mobile home park sold, rent rates hiked 70% and a series of frustrations such as water supply interruptions, residents of a local mobile home park north of Gunnison took legal action against their new owners and last week secured an initial victory in the case. Gunnison District Court granted the residents of Ski Town Village mobile home park, formerly named Country Meadows, a preliminary injunction request to prevent the rent increase until the lawsuit is settled. 

The 300-plus residents of Ski Town Village formed a resident association, Organización De Nuevas Esperanzas (“ONE”) when their offer and efforts to purchase the land beneath their mobile homes was ignored by its previous owner, Riverwalk LLC in 2021. The park was sold to Ski Town Village LLC for almost the exact same price ONE had offered, and representatives have stated they would have expected rent to go up about $90  per unit if their offer had been accepted and they could own and manage their own park. ONE filed a lawsuit in June alleging that Ski Town Village raised the rent as  a retaliatory measure for homeowners voicing complaints about the conditions of the park, such as loose tree branches, poor roadways, chronic water supply shortages and other issues of deferred maintenance. 

The Gunnison District County judge ruled that rent will remain at its former rate of  $425 per month and that in light of the affordable housing shortage in Gunnison County,  ONE demonstrated a reasonable probability that the rent increase was done for retaliatory purposes. The temporary injunction will prevent the rent increase, late fees or any retaliatory actions against residents. 

The case will proceed to trial, likely beginning in 2023 and a status conference is set for August 30 at 1:30 p.m.

Colorado Poverty Law Project (CPLP), the nonprofit organization representing ONE in partnership with Gunnison County attorney William P. Edwards, called this a major milestone for ONE and for mobile home park residents statewide.

“This is a significant victory for mobile home residents. Rarely—if ever—has a court in Colorado enjoined a landlord from raising rents,” according to CPLP. 

“CPLP is proud to serve as an advocate for mobile home residents throughout the state,” says Shannon MacKenzie, executive director of CPLP. “We are hopeful that this ruling serves as a warning to park owners everywhere that they cannot retaliate against tenants for raising safety conditions and other maintenance issues.”

I understand why people are skittish over Mercury going retrograde (starting September 9). I get why Pitas are the favorite to be season ending softball champions this week. I understand why someone in their 90s with a full life behind them passes to the other side, but don’t understand why a 21-year-old with so much ahead of them does as well. 

I really don’t understand how Trumpers can twist their brains like soft pretzels in the blazing sun and not see Donald is a divisive conman who constantly accuses the other side of things for which he seems guilty. Oh, maybe I should read the Justice letter on page 4 —or better yet, maybe David should, but with an open perspective.

Anyway…there were a few local things that baffled me this week.

One — I know we as a community are experiencing pretty flush financial times right now, but I don’t understand the Crested Butte town council and staff showing zero interest in analyzing the direct financial impact of moving away from vacation rentals in town. When discussing the update and public engagement process last Monday, they wanted to know several details about the issue and its future ramifications but money wasn’t one of them. We must have so much money, that money doesn’t matter…which is sort of our current reality. Still…

I would not expect the financial implications of perhaps eliminating or reducing the number of STRs in town to be the primary reason to not do something that could better the community, but it sure seems it should be part of the initial conversation since quick math indicates the impact would be in the high six figures (or more) for the town budget …including directly dinging the affordable housing budget line item.

But in the opening discussion about revamping Crested Butte vacation rental regulations no one asked what it would cost the town if all or some STRs were eliminated. The town receives a 7.5% vacation rental excise tax on top of the 4.5% sales tax, and so close to 12% of all rental income generated by Crested Butte STRs goes to the town budget. The 7.5% excise tax is entirely funneled to the Crested Butte Affordable Housing fund. Because an additional 2.5% was added to the previous 5% excise tax for the first time this year after the 2021 election, no one is sure how much will be collected in 2022. The ballot language basically put a 2022 cap on the excise tax revenues of $300K for the added 2.5%. Given that, town officials guesstimated that a total excise tax revenue max could be estimated to basically be about $900,000. That’s not necessarily how much will be collected this year but it’s likely the maximum for the excise tax. Then remember there is the sales tax. Whatever the end financial result, we can assume town tax revenues generated from vacation rentals will bring in significant revenue. As a mediocre math guy, I’d project something in the neighborhood of $1.3 million. Even in flush times, that’s real money for Crested Butte.

Look, I get that everyone is looking at how best to improve quality of life in Crested Butte and everyone hopes that owners of houses being used for high-end STRs will turn it into ski bum crash pads if they are no longer permitted to use them for vacation rentals, but I’d suggest that a potential million dollar hit to the town budget that helps fund workforce housing, parks, plowing and marshals should be part of the discussion. It may not change any council minds and council may rightfully choose to move away from vacation rentals in CB, but that decision comes with impacts and a big one is the town budget. That no one seemed to even think of it as they started down the path of pulling in vacation rentals that can make up 17% of the town housing stock was odd. I don’t understand that. 

Two — Call it a small bump in the road that will be forgotten soon…and given the new structures in place  the recent CB South election was overall a good democratic step forward for one of the biggest population centers in the north end of the valley. But communication over a sometimes-controversial vote in the CB South subdivision was perplexing. While moving from a loosey-goosey small governing association to more of a professional run organization has hiccups, I don’t understand why CB South officials wouldn’t release election results immediately Monday evening after voting concluded before the dinner hour. It’s not like this hasn’t been an election steeped in just a little bit of controversy. 

Results were finally shared on Tuesday evening 24 hours after the voting was concluded. It was initially like a TV network stopping the broadcast in a tie football game with no time left as a 45-yard field goal was headed toward the goalposts. POA officials were eventually able to inform their constituents after a little day trip but even a 24-hour delay felt like the goal was to make something that should be easy, harder than it needed to be. Someone commented how that’s so CB South these days. Election results are basically tabulated numbers that don’t change and the people that vote deserve to know those numbers when they are counted.

I figure it’s all part of the learning curve and now, the fact they have in theory figured out a way to hold objective, tight elections, seems a great improvement for the growing subdivision that attracted 10 people to run for five spots on the board. It’s getting realer out there in CB South. Knowing the new team, I figure they’ll figure it all out as they continue to evolve. 

Honestly, the weirdest thing about the CB South election is the requirement that passing an affirmative vote to change stuff takes not just a majority of the votes cast but a majority based on the number of all eligible voters. That’s close to impossible and starts every issue with 900 “no” votes. Not voting is an actual no vote. I don’t understand!

Three — I don’t understand why the Crested Butte Post Office officials apparently won’t even consider the many offers of assistance coming from locals wanting to help them out. I have heard from several people that said they approached the post office with an offer to step up and work one or two days a week doing the work that might help make that facility function more efficiently. Lord knows, the people working there are doing their absolute best to keep the mail going but the long line seen on a daily basis is physical evidence that something is wrong. And if people here are offering to step up and try to be part of a solution, it seems crazy that no one is even considering how to use those offers. People want to help on a volunteer or part-time paid basis to perhaps hand out packages and make all the other worker’s lives easier… and they are all being rebuffed. 

I emailed my contact at the USPS, James Boxrud, and he was “impressed with the out of the box thinking.” I’d say it’s less out of the box and more “Crested Butte pick up the bootstraps to get something done to help fix a problem thinking.” But he patiently explained to me that the USPS does not allow volunteers. “It’s a job and the Fair Labor Standards Act requires compensation for all work performed. We are also very serious about the sanctity of the mail,” he said. “Employees go through a rigorous background check before being allowed to handle the mail.”

He didn’t really respond when I asked if qualified part-time workers would be considered but he did send the link to apply for a paid position (https://about.usps.com/careers/welcome.htm). So, I’d say don’t expect the daily line to go away any time soon. 

I guess I understand — but I don’t understand…

—Mark Reaman

[  By Dawne Belloise  ]

If you find yourself traveling up the meandering dirt road leading to Gothic and decide to stop in that tiny camp town full of research scientists and marmots, you might be greeted by Rick Horn, the manager at the Rocky Mountain Biological Lab (RMBL aka “Rumble”) Visitor Center. Rick, who was once titled information technician, is now the center’s manager and has spent nine summers at the base of the spired mountain. As info tech, he’d give talks about RMBL’s history and research. After his first summer there in 2014, he was asked to be manager. “I love the organization for so many reasons,” he says and notes that the tourist traffic into the visitor center has increased exponentially since he first started. “We’ve gone from about 10,000 visitors during the summer season to about 20,000. There’s certainly more people coming from other parts of the country who have found their way to Gothic,” he explains.

Growing up in Des Moines, Iowa, Rick touts that’s he’s a real Midwestern kid but quickly adds, “We love having grown up there, we just don’t want to live there as adults.” He also had the ideal American family life. “My father was a World War II vet and mom was a part-time librarian. We grew up in an Ozzie and Harriet household. I was a hardcore baby boomer.” 

Even though he was in a big city, Rick was very outdoors oriented. He’d often spend time with his grandparents who lived in small towns in Iowa and got him outdoors. “One grandfather was a farmer, the other hunted and fished every day and I was influenced by both.”

In his Midwestern school, Rick recalls that team sports ranked as most important for everyone. “I was too small, so I wasn’t going to make any of the teams, but I had a talent for writing and journalism.” He became editor for his school paper. “I really liked journalism and if you were the editor, you could have your own column on the front page.” Rick was part of the generation who was profoundly affected by the assassinations of President JFK, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, the latter who died on his commencement day. There were 800 graduates in his class of 1968.

Rick was a good student but laughs that he wasn’t the greatest. However, he knew he was going to college because the Vietnam War was raging and the draft was in full effect and boys could get a student deferment. “My sophomore year in high school was when they had the first draft and my number was 80, and up to number 150 were going to Vietnam.” 

Rick enrolled at the University of Iowa, where there was a small ski club of about 30 people and as a freshman in 1969, took his first trip out to Colorado, spending five days at five different resorts. “I took a half-day lesson from a college-aged girl with a great tan and I loved everything about the experience – the fresh air, the beauty of the mountains, the snow, that beautiful blue sky. It was before the Eisenhower Tunnel was built so you drove over Berthoud Pass. It was just a life changing experience for me.” After that, during spring or Christmas break, “Whoever had a car that would run, we’d road trip to Colorado, usually Steamboat, Aspen and Vail where a lift ticket was only $6.50. So, for a couple hundred dollars, a college kid could go skiing in Colorado.” 

On May 4, 1970, four Kent State University students were shot dead and nine others injured by the Ohio National Guard for protesting the war. All hell broke loose across the country, and it was yet another life changing event for Rick and his generation. “Every campus exploded with riots and demonstrations. The school was shut down right after and they wanted us to leave campus and go home. It became really personal because now there were college students being murdered on their campus and it radicalized all of us. It was very personal,” he says of the shootings, “because a lot of us were going to be drafted.” 

Rick received his degree in business in 1972. It was a mere two weeks after graduation when Uncle Sam called up his number for the draft and Rick received his papers. He was determined not to get drafted and fortunately, he was rejected because he had grown up with asthma. “I was ready to go to Canada. I was not going to be the last person killed in Vietnam,” he affirms, as the war was declared over in 1974. “I put my dog, skis and road bike in my car, and I moved to Steamboat in the fall of ‘72.” 

With no affordable housing, Rick moved into a trailer park 11 miles west of Steamboat, essentially living in a closet and working as a diver at the Holiday Inn. He didn’t even make it to ski season there because of his housing situation. 

After a trip up north to see if there were any other desirable small town ski resorts in Montana or Wyoming, he headed to the newly opened Snowbird and moved to Salt Lake City where he felt confident that he could find work and housing, and eventually wound up in Sandy, Utah. “I spent four years waiting on tables at night and had a ski pass at Alta and Snowbird. It was an exciting time. I didn’t know how to ski that well, but I met a few friends who helped me learn. I just sort of followed them around,” he laughs. “We had over 600 inches the first two years I was there.”

Living the dream ski bum life was fine but Rick decided to return to the Midwest to seek a real career in 1976. “I thought I’d have better luck finding a job back in Iowa than in Salt Lake City, because of the Mormon influence, since you might not be hired if you weren’t a Mormon.” 

After a short, unfinished stint at Drake University in Des Moines, Rick had an opportunity to help open a restaurant in Minneapolis, which moved him into the Twin Cities. “I liked it because there was snow, better skiing and bike riding, it was better in a lot of ways.” He spent the next 22 years there entirely in the restaurant industry.

In 1984, after managing various restaurants, he was hired by a small company of restaurants called Applebee’s, he grins, and tells that there were only nine restaurants in the newly started franchise. Over the 15 years he was with them, he built out about 20 Applebee’s in various locations, including Washington state, and saw the company grow from nine restaurants to over 1,000. He eventually moved from the franchise side to the company side of business as VP of operations as well as VP of concept development.

With his background and now years of experience, Rick was snatched up by an Italian restaurant company in 1999. “They were expanding to Naples and Fort Myers, Florida, and they needed a guy who had grown a restaurant company before.” He traveled for work from Minnesota to Florida to open those new restaurants but after spending way too much time on planes, phones and in hotels for two years, he and his wife felt a change was needed. “My wife was tired of being a lawyer,” he tells of his spouse, Susan Holappa, who he met through Applebee’s where she was a lawyer. They married in 1989. 

 The couple had been spending their vacations in the West and one night after dinner and wine in Grand Junction they decided to make the leap. “We were returning from a Lake Powell trip, and we decided to sell the house and move to Grand Junction. We weren’t sure we wanted to live year-round in the snow and Moab is an hour and a half from GJ. I thought GJ looked like an undiscovered gem.” They bought a home there in 2001. Rick did some restaurant consulting but three years later, anxious to hit the slopes with a pass, he applied to be a CBMR ski instructor. To his utter surprise, they hired him. Rick and Susan bought a tiny studio condo at Skyland Lodge, splitting their time between CB and GJ since his wife still had her law practice on the Western Slope.

With his management skills, CBMR moved Rick into ski school supervisor his second year there. The following year, he was promoted to Adult Ski School manager. Unfortunately, two years later, CBMR hired a new ski school director who fired everyone and Rick returned to being an instructor with no salary or health benefits. But he continued to teach skiing in the winter until 2014 when he went to work as an information specialist up at Gothic. “I love being part of the RMBL team. I felt so fortunate to find a home like I’ve found at RMBL. I’m older than billy barr by one week,” he laughs, “so I’m the eldest there. I have a wonderful staff who come back to work every year at the visitor’s center. We keep growing each year and I’m thrilled that I’m making a contribution there.”

As with most Buttians, what he’s enamored with the most about this valley is, “The people who live here, the environment, the beauty. Just like the first time I ever went skiing, the beauty is overwhelming. I love the size of the town, going to the post office, grocery or having a beer on Elk Avenue and seeing people I know. There’s no place I feel better and no place else I’d rather be.”