City of Greeley News

City of Greeley officials want community members’ feedback on proposed guidelines to regulate short-term rentals such as Airbnbs and VRBOs.

From 4 to 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 30, at the Greeley Recreation Center, Room 101, 651 10th Ave., city staff will hold an open house to present the draft regulatory framework and hear thoughts, ideas, comments, and concerns from community members.

In 2019, Greeley City Council adopted the Strategic Housing Plan. That plan tasked the community to develop regulations specifically addressing short-term rentals and ensure they are a positive addition to the community.

Regulations can help address common concerns regarding short-term rentals such as:

• Changes to neighborhood character
• Additional nuisances including noise, trash, and parking
• Conversion of dwelling units from residential to vacation lodging
• Effects on traditional visitor lodging such as hotels
• Unrealized tax revenue due to a lack of collection mechanisms
• Tension with neighbors due to unclear expectations
• Disillusionment with local government because of unaddressed problems caused by short-term rentals.

City staff collaborated with a group of community stakeholders assembled as the Housing Task Force. Together they developed a series of objectives to guide the creation of a regulatory framework for short-term rentals.

Those objectives are:

1. Only adopt policy requirements that can and will be enforced
2. Keep regulations and processes simple and understandable
3. Tailor regulations to the scale and intensity of an operation
4. Use existing tools and frameworks when possible
5. Maximize the availability of affordable housing options by limiting dwelling unit conversions
6. Provide a level playing field in the lodging industry by ensuring short-term rentals pay appropriate taxes and abide by expected standards
7. Ensure public services funded by lodging tax receive proper revenue
8. Minimize work on compliance personnel by requiring permits and responsible local contacts
9. Allow residents to use their property to generate another source of income to help make ends meet
10. Encourage additional tourism to drive more business to local establishments and events

With the objectives providing a foundation, members of the Housing Task Force analyzed the practices used in other cities to regulate short-term rentals and created draft strategies for Greeley.

For more information, contact Planner II Caleb Jackson at 970-350-9876 or caleb.jackson@greeleygov.com.