This weeks editorial from the Estes Park Trail Gazette

[Michael Romero]

Good afternoon, hope all is well with you all. I wanted to share our editorial with you all this week as many of the residents in Estes Park are a bit frustrated and confused by the actions being taken against short-term rentals given the recent passage of 6E. Would any of you care to comment?

Thank you for your service and I hope that you all will take the time to listen to the residents of Estes Park, our economy depends on tourism, and Estes although small is a very important part of Larimer County and worthy of being heard on this very impactful decision! 

https://www.eptrail.com/2022/11/17/editorial-county-should-not-backtrack-on-estes-valley-workforce/

--

Michael Romero, Publisher Estes Park Trail Gazette 

mro...@prairiemountainmedia.com

970-214-4254

[John Kefalas]

Thank you Michael, and I have read your editorial about the proposed updates to the STR regulations and the process. My comment is this. "We have extended the public comment period till December 14th based on the level of interest and feedback from folks in the EV. As commissioners we are reading the emails received, and this input helps us to make informed and balanced decisions when the time comes in 2023 to adopt any new STR regulations and guidelines. Our community development staff has been transparent and responsive about the process and any proposed changes that may be adopted".

	John Kefalas County Commissioner, District 1
	Commissioners' Office 200 W Oak St | 2nd Floor PO Box 1190, Fort Collins, CO 80522-1190 W: (970) 498-7001 Cell:  (720) 254-7598 jkef...@larimer.org | www.larimer.org

[Michael Romero]

Commissioner Kefalas and Stephens, thank you for your response and it is my hope that you will indeed give the residents of EV their just due on this issue, it is detrimental to the economy of our community and to our future in regards to affordable housing and child care. 

Commissioner McNally, I look forward to hearing from you soon. 

Thank you

[Michael Romero]

Commissioner Shadduck- McNally, I hope that your family's medical issues have improved and I thank you for your response.

Although I understand and respect your response and am happy you are still in support of the Lodging tax. As such, I hope you all understand the impact that this possible decision on STR's will have on the amount of money we will have to support Child Care and Workforce housing. I am also unsure about your comment on speaking with other county officials, are you of the belief that one size fits all? Our issues in Estes are not the same as other Mountain Communities especially given our cap of less than 10% of living units.   

I think it would be a good idea to meet with William Brown and Greg Rosner to discuss our communities issues so as to better understand this impact on the Estes Community. I would be happy to broker such a meeting if necessary, my interest is simple, and I want to be sure that our issues are completely understood and taken into account before such a decision is made. I have served in Estes Park for 8 years and the 6E initiative is the biggest opportunity I have seen since to help our community going forward. 

Thank you for your consideration and thank you for serving our county. Happy Thanksgiving!

On Mon, Nov 21, 2022 at 12:07 PM Jody Shadduck-McNally <shad...@co.larimer.co.us> wrote:

Mr. Romero,

Thank you for reaching out regarding your opinions. I am dealing with some family medical issues over the weekend and was not going to answer emails from the hospital. Here is my initial response, I will be responding more in the future. 

I stand by my efforts for the Estes Lodging tax, stand by my comments in the letter to the editor, and I stand by the hours of stakeholder involvement that I invested. Born and raised in this area, I have a deep affection for the Estes Valley. I wish to protect the quality of life for the Estes Valley and all of Larimer County. After administering the STR regulations for several years, the County recognizes the need to revisit and evaluate the existing regulations to better align with the ever changing and expanding home sharing and rental industry and concerns expressed in the community about impacts. I also hear from county commissioner colleagues around Colorado and western states who are experiencing the same concerns and impacts.
The County understands that short-term rentals lead to advantages and challenges. While STRs provide some increased revenues and options for visitors and owners, Larimer communities are hearing increasing levels of complaints from neighbors about traffic, noise, trespassing, public safety and growing concerns about commercial uses in residential neighborhoods. 

I have attended in person community open house forums in Estes Park, listened in on webinars, read dozens of emails from the coordinated efforts of EVSTRA , and have listened to dozens of phone calls from concerned residents. Our community development staff have put a tremendous amount of hours of time and work into an open, transparent, public process. This process has added extra time and meetings (including today) for STR owners who are a part of the EVSTRA group to accommodate the Estes opportunity to make public comments to the EVPAC. We are gathering input from ALL areas of the county which helps us to make informed and balanced decisions for the entire county. Adjustments have been made to the timeline to respect the requests made by the Estes STR owners and EVSTRA coordinated group. I believe we need to give the same amount of opportunity to local residents who are not STR owners who have concerns. Our community development staff have been transparent and responsive about the process and about any proposed changes that may be adopted in 2023. 

	Jody Shadduck-McNally Larimer County Commissioner, District 3
	Commissioner's Office 200 W Oak St, Fort Collins, 80521 | 2nd Floor W: (970) 498-7003| M: (970) 939-0558 jshadduc...@larimer.orgl | www.larimer.org

[Michael Romero]

Ok thank you, in talking with them in attempting to get all the facts on this issue, I have garnered (maybe my poor interpretation) that communication between the commissioners and this local group (which seems to be growing) has been limited at best. For what it's worth, you can never over-communicate when it comes to this group (children and workers) and I would expect that all venues of resolution would be worked on before moving forward. 

The people whom we intended to help with 6E are the ones who could be jeopardized by a quick and one-sided decision on this matter. The needs of every one in particular those under-represented must be of the utmost importance from both sides on this issue. It seems odd to me that the possible issue of the noise ordinance being violated in some cases regarding STRs is a small price to pay to help this group that is clearly in need in our community. Is this simply the rich homeowners of a community utilizing the buying power and influence to better their neighborhood? Again at what cost to those that are underserved in Larimer County and in particular Estes Park? 

I do understand that this issue regarding STRs goes beyond my description of noise, but again, my goal in this is to ensure the maximum amount of revenue for 6E so that it can be used to benefit these two causes! 

Thank you!

On Tue, Nov 22, 2022 at 7:29 PM Jody Shadduck-McNally <shad...@co.larimer.co.us> wrote:

Mr. Romero,

I do not speak for other commissioners. My record shows that I look for the best solution that fits Larimer County's needs and its unique communities. I have had multiple and ongoing conversations with both Mr. Brown and Mr. Rosner. They reach out through multiple avenues.