Park County is on track to vote May 12 on a new short-term rental ordinance that would impose licensing, safety, and advertising requirements on every STR operator in the county, after commissioners resolved most of the outstanding language disputes at their May 5 regular meeting. The board also repealed a 2020 mining moratorium, rezoned a 602-acre ranch outside Guffey, and heard a public complaint alleging failures of accountability across multiple county agencies.
Short-Term Rental Ordinance Nears Final Vote
The board worked through its third reading of two competing draft ordinances and a revised fee schedule, with Assistant County Manager Brandon Heacock and STR licensing administrator Georgia Comstock presenting. The board resolved most disputes and directed staff to return May 12 with a fully engrossed final draft for adoption.
On fees, the board approved language clarifying that the initial STR license application fee is $550, with a $300 document review charge embedded in the $850 new-owner application — eliminating prior confusion about whether the two figures were additive.
The board settled on 24 consecutive months of licensed operation as the threshold for a “responsible owner” designation, which carries reduced documentation requirements at renewal. For advertising disclosure, the board chose language requiring operators to provide all “web-based and print” advertising rather than simply listing URLs, to maintain consistency with defined terms elsewhere in the ordinance.
The home exchange question — whether platforms that allow homeowners to swap properties without direct monetary exchange require an STR license — drew the sharpest disagreement of the meeting. Chair Dave Wissel said private house-swapping predates Airbnb and questioned whether regulating a non-monetary transaction could constitute a taking under the Fourth Amendment. Commissioner Jason Gemmer said frequent turnover raises the same safety concerns as a traditional rental regardless of whether money changes hands. The board referred the question to County Attorney John Evans for a legal opinion and said the provision would likely be struck if legal counsel finds no jurisdiction.
A licensed STR operator appeared in person after his Zoom connection failed to raise a problem the board agreed must be resolved before adoption. He said his property relies on a holding tank rather than a leach field, and that the ordinance’s occupancy language — tied to septic design capacity — would effectively revoke his license at renewal despite years of approved pumping records and a quote of more than $50,000 to install a leach field. Chair Wissel proposed allowing holding tank properties to be licensed subject to an inspection and ongoing pumping management requirements. The board directed staff to develop that language with the environmental health department.
The board also left the potable water standard open, referring it to legal counsel to tie any requirement to an existing state definition rather than creating a county-specific standard.
During public comment on the third reading, Dave Santo urged the board via Zoom to strike the home exchange language entirely, saying the platform relies on community vetting and background checks and creates no greater occupancy than the homeowner’s normal household. A second commenter could not be heard due to a technical failure and was invited to submit written comments. The board closed public comment 3-0.
Mining Moratorium Repealed
The board repealed Resolution 20-06, a 2020 measure that placed a temporary moratorium on mineral development and 1041 permit applications related to mineral resource operations in Park County. The new Resolution 26-23 also affirms the protection of private, public, and company-owned mineral rights. The vote was 3-0.
Heacock said a Development Services review found legally problematic language in the 2020 resolution. Wissel said the moratorium was a reaction to community concern over gold rush activity along the Middle Fork of the South Platte River, where historic mining zones and later residential subdivisions had come into conflict. He said land along the Middle Fork has been zoned for mining since 1975, when the state first required counties to adopt land use regulations, and that no current board can encumber a succeeding one.
Guffey Ranch Rezoned to Agricultural
The board approved Resolution 26-22, rezoning 602.77 acres at 10587 County Road 102 in Guffey — owned by Lorrayne Ranch Holdings, LLC — from Conservation Recreation to Agricultural. The parcel was state land board property transferred to private ownership in 1992. Under county regulations, the Conservation Recreation designation applies only to government-owned land. Wissel described it as a correction that was missed when the parcel left public ownership. The vote was 3-0.
Nuisance Ordinance Advances with Unresolved Questions
The board took up the second reading of Ordinance 2026-006, which addresses rubbish, nuisance, and environmental blight. The most discussed addition was a new agricultural exemption protecting land in bona fide active agricultural use from the ordinance’s requirements, with conditions designed to prevent property owners from obtaining token grazing leases to avoid cleanup obligations.
Commissioners raised two concerns. A provision classifying leaves, pine needles, and slash as lawn and garden waste subject to enforcement drew objection from Commissioner Gemmer, who said rural residents often cannot remove such material promptly, particularly under fire restrictions that limit chainsaw use. The board directed staff to consult fire chiefs for language tying any enforcement threshold to existing fire department standards on hazardous debris volume.
Commissioner Gemmer also asked for a procedural trigger mechanism for code enforcement, warning that a single complainant could file repeated complaints and burden staff with responses to retaliatory or frivolous reports. Heacock proposed addressing the trigger in a separate departmental procedural policy rather than in the ordinance text. The board agreed. No public comment was offered. The third reading is scheduled for May 19.
Hold Harmless Agreements Approved for Three Events
The board approved release and hold harmless agreements for three recurring events on county roads: The Hundo endurance cycling event on County Roads 68, 70, and Road P627 in Bailey; Race in the Clouds in Alma; and the Human Potential events on Silverheels and Sheep Mountain in July and August. Staff confirmed The Hundo’s camping component draws a maximum of 40 to 50 participants, below the county’s threshold of concern. The vote was 3-0.
Resident Alleges Agency Accountability Failures
During general public comment, Chelsea Aguilar addressed the board in person and said she has exhausted internal escalation channels — including the district attorney’s office, the sheriff’s office, and the courts — without receiving consistent responses to concerns involving discrepancies in how reports are documented, inconsistencies between what law enforcement reports and what reaches the district attorney, and treatment she described as retaliatory after raising her concerns. She said others share similar experiences but prefer to remain anonymous.
Wissel acknowledged the board lacks direct supervisory authority over elected officials other than through the budget and directed County Manager Lucas Meyer to meet with Aguilar and the county attorney to review her documentation. The board closed general public comment 3-0.
Routine Business
The board approved the agenda, vouchers, and minutes from the April 21 regular meeting and the April 28 special meeting, all 3-0.
Charter School Opens Meeting with Student Showcase
High Rockies Community School opened the meeting with a presentation by Head of School Laurel Dumas, Jeff Jordan of Mountain Area Land Trust, and three students. The school, in its second year at Sacramento Creek Ranch outside Fairplay, enrolls 50 students with 26 on a waitlist. Students described raising rainbow trout from eggs for release into the South Platte, weekly water quality testing on Sacramento Creek, and a curriculum tied to forestry, railroads, and local ecology. Jordan said Mountain Area Land Trust completed a barn renovation at the ranch last year, creating an Environmental Education Community Center that serves as the school’s primary indoor space.
Executive Session
At 3:46 p.m. the board voted 3-0 to adjourn into executive session pursuant to C.R.S. § 24-6-402(4)(b) for a conference with the county attorney on pending litigation.
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