Airbnb email creates concern and anger

[ By Mark Reaman ]

After hours of sometimes emotional public discussion on Monday evening, Crested Butte City Council agreed to move forward with two initiatives to address so-called community preservation efforts. The first was to approve a 12-month moratorium on accepting and processing applications and issuing licenses for short-term rentals (STRs) with no primary residence. The council also agreed to put a wildcard on the November vote to potentially allow Crested Butte citizens to impose a tax on homes that are not occupied by full-time residents and / or increase the Crested Butte sales tax to fund community conservation efforts. A special meeting will be held in August to finalize the details of the possible tax proposals (see page 16).

City officials admitted that there was "no silver bullet" to solve the housing crisis, but advocated a moratorium on STRs to gather information on how the STRs are affecting the community in general and its housing stock in particular. The idea is to watch a period when it is impossible to get a STR license and see if that puts off some homebuyers or brings down prices in Crested Butte.

"This will give us time to evaluate the city's STR policy," said city planner Mel Yemma. "We must consider all possible instruments to investigate the displacement of our residents. When a home is sold that is rented by locals, the upgrades often lead to gentrification and that home is unlikely to return to the long-term rental market. This ordinance can change the use of our existing housing stock within the community. "

Yemma said the moratorium will not affect the primary STR licenses that locals can get to rent their homes for less than 60 nights a year, and those who currently hold STR licenses will not be affected either. There is currently a maximum of 212 STR licenses in use in Crested Butte for non-primary residences.

Mayor Jim Schmidt reiterated that a good compromise was reached in 2017 when a citizens' committee and council worked out the 212 house ceiling in the city.

"All over the world, STR are having an impact that was not expected with the introduction of short-term rentals," said Councilor Jasmine Whelan. "No study has been done on a community like ours, so we have an opportunity to determine the impact of STRs on our community."

Whelan, along with several others, expressed concern that Airbnb sent an email to the hosts of the Crested Butte area asking them to attend the Crested Butte council meeting and speak out against the regulation.

"We urgently need your participation NOW," read the email that instructed hosts to make public comments. "It is important to speak out against the proposed moratorium on all new permits. Hosting is a vital lifeline for economic recovery and can be an important source of income for many of our hosts. It should not be restricted at a time when many residents are still struggling under the effects of the ongoing pandemic … "

No one at Monday's meeting appeared to be taking the advice of the email.

In about two hours of intense public comment with up to 122 attendees at Zoom and another 75 in person in the council chambers, the overwhelming feeling of shutting down the $ 83 billion Airbnb company and putting the moratorium in place was the overwhelming feeling.

Public submission
There was no shortage of people who wanted to get involved on this topic, so Schmidt opened the floor and the comment cascade flowed.

"It's the opportunity to be the little mountain town that saw the problem and done something about it," said Cass Rea. "It could lead by example."

Neil Watko of the Meridian Lake subdivision said a small community began to see the effects of STR where people viewed it as a commodity rather than a community.

"The city is seeing a lot of changes coming very quickly," said native Robbie Vandervoort, who said he is building a home that is likely to be for short-term rental. "I support this moratorium."

Lauren O'Rourke said she started work at 7 a.m. on Monday and had more to do. She spoke around 8 o'clock and said, "Enough is enough. This is crazy and has to stop. "

Speaking of Zoom, James Steyaert said he was in the process of building a house in town that he would eventually move to but would rent on short term in the meantime to pay the mortgage. "Changing the rules on a whim is not fair," he said. "That could ruin me financially and I'll have to sell the house I'm working on. And it will not go to a long-term tenant. "

"We have left the mountain. Crested Butte for Meridian because the neighborhood became a vacation spot, "said Sandy MacNamara. "All short term rentals should be taxed as a business, not a residence. Tax them, tax them. You are making too much money at our expense. "
Brendan Riley has been with CB for 45 years, dividing time between Crested Butte and Texas. He said people who live in STRs in Crested Butte are more likely to spend money in Crested Butte stores. "When we bought our apartment, we paid more for our house because we could have it on short notice," he said. "The really expensive multimillion dollar homes won't be short term, but we had to do it. I made $ 29,000 in sales last year and of that $ 19,000 went to local workers. "

"Every restaurant is overwhelmed, but we have no employees," says Eric Rankin of Butte Bagels. "You can't make money if you don't have workers in the city."

"Wouldn't it be great to be the first and say enough is enough?" Asked Martha Keene. "The people who work in the service industry here are getting crushed. It is not sustainable and we do not create a return experience. If we lose the STRs, gardens will still have to be tended, streets plowed, and meals served. It gets better balanced. I don't want to live next to a shop, I want a neighbor. Put a moratorium on STRs to catch their breath and develop a plan. Airbnb is like an infection and we need to get rid of it. "

Bill Smith said he and his wife moved out of town and rented their home to locals. "But I see our valuations rise, our taxes rise, our insurances rise. Can the locals afford it? "He asked. "If not, what should I do? I have no answer."
"Perhaps the council is offering Bill incentives to rent it out to longtime locals," Rea said.

"I live in a long-time local house, but our landlord got a realtor through today," says Jess Ladwig. "That is worrying. It's crazy how many houses have been built in the city since I came here in 2007, but the workers can't find a place to live. Take care of the community. We need places to live, not just to visit. A moratorium could make people think about not buying a house, and that could allow locals to stay where they are. "

"I work for a hospitality company in town," said Tom Barry. "I have everything to gain with short term rentals, but this Airbnb email was alarming to me. I support the moratorium. It is said to be something that caught Airbnb's attention. It is advisable to take a break because the game changes quickly. "

"I support the moratorium and the eventual abolition of short-term rentals," said Emily Artale (who lives in Buckhorn). "I live near a STR and that destroys the quality of life in our neighborhood. We can be part of a really advanced solution. I am also deeply concerned about the Airbnb email that was sent. "

"We all hear the frustration, but it won't add affordable housing to take it out on STRs," said Bob Bernholtz. "We need documentary limited affordable living space for people. That is the bark of the wrong tree. "

"Short-term rental is a business and the council can zoning regulate STRs," said Eric Davis. "Residential quarters should be residential quarters"

"We have too many STRs and too many people," said Audrey Anderson. "We used to have the off-season. Now there are people here all the time. We have to go back before 'Whatever' came here. "

"I don't think the moratorium will make any difference," said Susan Kerns. "What is going to be the construction of apartments."

"Another thing to keep in mind is that we did it for a year without losing anyone to mental health problems," said Martha Keene. "This decision has an impact on people's mental health."

Advice weighs in
"The staff assured us that this research will not slow down housing construction," Whelan said. "We'll evict locals if we don't do this moratorium. The Airbnb email is worrying. When a $ 75 billion company is trying to measure the size of our small town, the crested butte debate is wrong. You may be concerned about the precedent. But we are a community that values ​​people over profit. "

"I love this grassroots show," said Councilor Mona Merrill. "I think the moratorium can raise morale and unite us. It is community-oriented and can give people hope. "

"I don't want to go the route of labeling people as" bad STR owners "because I know a lot of really good people," said councilor Chris Haver. "I don't know if this will lower the cost of houses, and if so, to the extent that it could be bought by a working local? I still have a lot of questions because I don't know the long-term consequences. "

"I think the 212 allowance for STRs is too much for the city," said councilor Jason MacMillan. "I want the number to be reduced and the licenses distributed more evenly across the city. I think more STRs lead to evictions and a moratorium could keep some long-term rentals that way. A 12-month moratorium allows us to realign ourselves. "

"I find it unfortunate what Airbnb did," added Schmidt. "And the local brokers, all of whom signed the same form letter, were lazy. Our community is made up of more than the people who spoke tonight. I've heard from local homeowners who lived here long and counted on the house to support their retirement.

"The people were very convincing tonight," said Schmidt, who could read the room and joke about self-preservation. "If you think there are too many people here, start a petition to get rid of the lodging tax that is funding marketing. I sign that. I don't know if this moratorium will keep everyone in place, but I will go ahead and vote for the moratorium. "

He did, as did the other five council members present. Councilor Mallika Magner was not present at the meeting.

source https://seapointrealtors.com/2021/07/22/crested-butte-council-unanimously-approves-str-moratorium-the-crested-butte-news/

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