Short-Term Rental Rules Eyed In Golden City Survey

GOLDEN, CO -- Golden has always been a tourist town, but with housing shortages causing spiking prices, the Golden City Council will be taking a look at updating regulations for short-term rentals (less than 90 days). The city asks residents to take part in an online survey to get feedback into how the city should regulate tourism rental properties.

According to the city, many Golden home-owners are interested in renting their homes or rooms within their homes on sites such as VRBO or AirBnb, although there has been some confusion as to what the current regulations are in Golden.

The Golden Municipal Code defines a “Tourist Home” as any building containing "five or fewer guest rooms used, designed to be used, let or hired out for occupancy by persons on more or less a temporary basis," the city said. Any rental less than 30 days would be considered a Tourist Home. Currently, tourist homes are restricted to areas of the city with specific zoning, and owners must apply for a Special Use Permit. On Jan. 18, the city council agreed to place a moratorium on Special Use Permits for further tourist homes for six months. The city council and planning staff are looking at what other Front Range cities in Colorado have done to regulate short-term rentals

Some of the changes the council is considering may include:

· The property in which the short-term rental is to be located must be the owner of record’s primary residence or, in the case of multiple dwelling units on one lot, the owner must reside in one of the dwelling units.

· The owner of record must occupy their primary residence for at least 10 months per year; this allows for limited short-term whole house rental (such as a “home exchange”) in residentially zoned districts.

· No more than 4 unrelated or related and unrelated individuals may occupy a dwelling unit, which can be tracked by requiring owners to submit rental agreements upon request

The council may also consider parking regulations and a lodging tax and making sure any short-term rental home is compliant with building codes.

Read more about proposed changes to short term rentals here.

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