Creede’s Board of Trustees held a work session on the city’s Water Efficiency Plan and a North Creede Bureau of Reclamation project before convening their March 17 special meeting, at which they approved two major ordinances, establishing short-term rental registration requirements and rezoning ten properties to allow multi-family housing development. The board also reversed course on the Lower Willow Creek cleanup project, deciding to keep city control over the restoration process rather than returning the contaminated property to the mining company. Other actions included approving Resolution 2026-09 waiving utility billing penalties through June 30, approving a budget restructuring for a billing system conversion, and reviewing the status of housing consultant proposals and the wastewater sludge removal project.
Public Comment
During public comment, a board member raised concerns about a duck derby event application submitted by a community member for Second Street. The board member noted questions about spectator safety and crowd management and said the sheriff had reviewed an alternate location proposal. No action was taken.
Short-Term Rental Registration
Council unanimously passed Ordinance 466, requiring all short-term rentals to register annually beginning July 1. The ordinance defines short-term rentals as any paid rental lasting fewer than 30 consecutive days and excludes traditional hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, and inns.
Property owners must equip rentals with fire extinguishers, carbon monoxide detectors, and smoke detectors. Emergency contact information and 911 instructions must be posted. Quiet hours run from 11 PM to 7 AM, and registration numbers must appear in all advertising. The annual registration fee will be set by separate resolution at a future meeting.
Trustees advocated for a $1,000 enforcement fee for non-compliant operators, double the $500 amount recommended by the Short-Term Rental and Lodging Tax Committee. A committee member present at the meeting said the group would revisit the fee at their April meeting, noting the committee’s priority was encouraging registration rather than penalizing operators, but acknowledged a higher fee could be appropriate if compliance becomes a problem.
City Manager Katie Sickles explained why the base registration fee was lowered from the originally proposed amount: several properties in B-1 commercial zones operate as short-term rentals but would have been exempt under the original language. The revised ordinance captures those properties while still excluding traditional commercial lodging.
Zoning Changes for Housing Development
Council unanimously passed Ordinance 467, rezoning ten parcels from R-1 (single-family residential) to R-2 (two-family and multi-family) to support potential housing development and bring existing non-conforming uses into compliance. The affected properties include parcels along Third Street and Loma Avenue, plus the area north of Creede Repertory Theatre housing. The ordinance takes effect approximately mid-April, 30 days after publication.
Betsy Strong, who identified herself as the owner of properties at 209 and 205 Loma Avenue, opposed the amendment during the public hearing. She argued the city’s R-2 standards are not updated sufficiently to support the change, warned that reducing minimum lot sizes from 5,000 square feet to 1,500 square feet could lead to overdevelopment, and called the rezoning an attempt to settle the 300 Loma Avenue lawsuit and reopen Third Street through the back door.
Neil Harrison framed the broader issue for trustees: some Creede residents oppose population growth, while local businesses are struggling to survive on six months of seasonal revenue and need more year-round residents. Trustees were asked to decide whether they want to limit or encourage growth.
Trustee Tom Roden acknowledged concerns about overdevelopment but said affordable and workforce housing are the most pressing needs in Mineral County. He noted R-2 zoning has been on the city’s books since 1946 but has never been applied to any parcel. He also cited the need to bring Creede Repertory Theatre housing into zoning compliance.
City Manager Sickles confirmed no developers are currently lined up to build multi-family units. Water tap limitations would also prevent rapid construction regardless of zoning status. The Planning and Zoning Commission plans to update R-2 standards within 60 to 90 days, and Strong agreed to participate in that process.
Lower Willow Creek Restoration Reversal
The board reversed its previous direction to exercise a reversionary deed that would have transferred contaminated Lower Willow Creek property back to Hecla Mining Company for cleanup. Instead, the city will maintain the existing Lower Willow Creek Restoration Company, with Headwaters Alliance serving as administrator, giving Creede a seat at the table in directing the restoration.
A consultant brought in to advise the board explained the two paths lead to very different outcomes. Under the reversionary approach, Hecla would pursue a voluntary cleanup agreement with the State of Colorado, meeting minimum environmental standards but retaining permanent land use restrictions on the property. The likely result, the consultant said, would be modest environmental remediation with little change to the property’s current appearance.
Keeping the Lower Willow Creek Restoration Company intact allows the city to pursue grant funding, including a potential $2 million GOCO grant unavailable to mining companies. Headwaters Alliance has developed a $5.3 million comprehensive restoration concept that would include flood mitigation engineering to protect the city’s water treatment facility, oxbow restoration, and community amenities such as trails.
Trustees Tom Roden and Shane Castleberry volunteered to serve as the city’s two representatives on the Lower Willow Creek Restoration Company board. Roden said he would be satisfied with basic improvements and clean recreational access, and that more ambitious restoration would be a welcome outcome but should not complicate the core goal. Both trustees emphasized they want the property transferred to the city with a clean environmental certification and no liability.
Mineral County commissioners declined to join the process after a work session review, but future Lower Willow Creek Restoration Company meetings will be publicly posted so the county can participate as an interested party.
Utility Billing Penalties Waived
Council unanimously approved Resolution 2026-09, waiving utility penalties from January 1 through June 30 during the city’s transition from the Assist billing system to Caselle software. The Assist system failed to process automatic payments in January, leaving customers unknowingly behind on bills through no fault of their own. Sickles said the conversion is a significant project for a small staff and additional billing errors are likely, making it unfair to hold customers to standard penalty provisions while the transition is underway.
Budget Restructuring Approved
The board approved a comprehensive budget restructuring to align the city’s account numbering with the Caselle system. The new structure separates previously combined operations, including giving the Virginia Christensen Multi-Use Facility its own fund with properly itemized labor and expenditure categories. All approved expenditure amounts remain unchanged.
Housing Consultant Selection Delayed
The city received nine proposals for a combined housing needs assessment and land use code update — far more than the one or two submissions expected. City Manager Sickles said she has reviewed the submissions and eliminated four firms: Ayres Associates, Goldstone Consulting Group, HR Green, and KLJ Engineering LLC. Five firms remain under consideration: Acuity Consulting Services LLC, SEH, Kwame Spearman/Aspire Colorado KS LLC, Sunflower Peak Planning, and Turquoise America LLC.
Sickles gave copies of the proposals to Neil Harrison for independent review before the two compare evaluations. The city has budgeted approximately $50,000 for both projects combined. A decision is expected at the April 7 meeting.
Sludge Removal Update
The wastewater treatment facility sludge removal project will dispose of material as wet dirt at a landfill after regulators declined to approve a dewatering pilot project. State regulators require bench testing rather than pilot projects for such disposal methods, a process that could take years. Sickles said the city is now pursuing direct landfill disposal.
The city’s preferred option is Mineral County’s landfill, which would minimize transportation costs. Monte Vista’s Rio Grande County landfill is the backup option. Sickles said removal costs alone are less than half a million dollars, but transportation of wet material will push total costs well above the original $400,000 estimate based on dry material. Engineers and county officials are evaluating whether the Mineral County landfill can environmentally accept the material.
Third Street and Future Rezoning
Sickles said Third Street could reopen by May 1, pending the rezoning ordinance taking effect in mid-April and completion of surveyor deeds related to the ongoing lawsuit. The street requires basic cleanup and safety review but no significant construction in 2026. A new culvert is needed where drainage crosses Third Street, but that engineering work is budgeted for future years. The street has been closed approximately two years.
At the April 7 meeting, Sickles plans to bring forward a proposal to rezone properties along the east side of La Garita Street — from the Creede Arts Center north to Snowshoe Lodge south — from R-1 to B-2 commercial. She said a 2016 ordinance that attempted a similar change for those parcels constitutes illegal spot zoning. The Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the proposal April 8 if the board approves moving forward. Trustees directed that the owner of the former elementary school property also be notified and given the option to be included.
Support Independent Local Journalism — High Country Advocate was created as a real alternative to regional media that too often silences dissenting voices while taking sides in the political struggle. Producing in-depth, unflinching reporting like this series and others is expensive: servers, editing, research time, and legal review all add up quickly. If these articles have informed you or given you new perspective, please consider supporting HCA with a paid subscription — every subscriber helps keep this reporting strong and independent. 