PRESS RELEASE
City of Aspen Hosts Open House and Survey to Collect Input about Short-Term Rentals
Contacts:
Phillip Supino, Community Development Director, City of Aspen, 970-319-0833, Phillip.Supino@aspen.gov
Jami McMannes, Communications Manager, City of Aspen, 970-765-4752, Jami.McMannes@aspen.gov.
Aspen, Colo. – March 24, 2022 – The City of Aspen continues to seek feedback about how short-term rentals affect Aspen’s character and economy. Community members are invited to attend an Open House on April 6 between 4-6 p.m. in the Pearl Pass Room at Aspen City Hall (427 Rio Grande Place, Upper Level) to meet with staff, learn about the project, ask questions, and share input about the process. The public is also welcome to participate in an online survey that closes on April 7 and is available at AspenCommunityVoice.com.
In December 2021, Aspen City Council placed a temporary moratorium on the issuance of new vacation rental permits (also known as short-term rental permits, or STRs) until September 30, 2022. This pause grants City of Aspen staff and the community time to evaluate how current and potentially new regulations may preserve the health, peace, safety, and general wellbeing of Aspen residents and visitors. The future of short-term rental activity, specifically, will ensure land use throughout the city that supports our community and economy and will reflect sustainable land-use practices that support the City of Aspen’s climate action policies and community sustainability goals.
“Destination communities around the West have taken more active postures on the regulations of short-term rentals for years,” stated Phillip Supino, director of Community Development with the City of Aspen. “Aspen’s STR market is robust and provides an important lodging product to the tourist economy. However, its proliferation over the last ten years has created unintended and unmitigated impacts, which the community must measure and regulate to ensure STRs remain a net positive for the community and economy.”
Public input gathered from the survey, public events, and an advisory committee will be used to design regulations that will support complementary policy goals of supporting the lodging sector, protecting community character, promoting affordable housing, and reducing emissions from the built environment.
“Public input on the proper role of STRs in the community is essential to a successful process,” Supino continued. “Aspen City Council and staff value public input to ensure that any future regulation of the STR market supports City policy. Hearing from residents provides staff with new and important ideas and perspectives.”
Current and upcoming outreach around short-term rentals is part of the larger engagement effort, “Shaping Aspen’s Built Environment,” which began in early February and will continue through April 2022. The initiative encompasses policy and regulatory development for both residential building and short-term rental activity. While these topics are intertwined, the focus of the April 6 Open House and online survey is short-term rentals and includes topics around zoning, good neighbor policies, operational standards, life safety, permitting, and financials. Additional input about all the topics under the moratoria will be collected in late April.
For more information and to RSVP for the Open House, visit AspenCommunityVoice.com.
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