[bouldercouncilhotline] Hotline: *

[cmosupport at bouldercolorado.gov]

Sender: Cowles, Macon

Dear colleagues:

The last Hotline dealt with STR’s and the Livable Boulder (LB) Neighborhood Initiative. This email shows what would be required as a consequence of the passage--if it happens— of the LB “New Development Shall Pay its own Way” Initiative.

The baseline: STR’s are currently illegal in every zoning district in the City. To the extent Council passes an ordinance allowing STR’s, it will be authorizing a change in use in all residential and mixed use zoning districts. This change in use invokes not only the (LB) Neighborhood Initiative, but also the LB New Development Shall Pay its Own Way (“Shall Pay”) Initiative. See lines 19-20 of the Shall Pay Initiative, attached.

The Shall Pay Initiative requires New Development to "fully pay for or otherwise provide all the additional facilities and services required to fully offset the burdens that otherwise would have been imposed by such new development on City facilities and services,” lines 8-10 of the attached. Authorizing STR’s where no right to have STR’s previously existed is “New Development” under the LB Shall Pay Initiative. Here is the text at lines 12-20:

"For purposes of this Section, "new development" shall be defined as:

*(b) Any change in use of an existing building or site, except for changes of use that have a de minimis effect on the facilities and services referred to in this Section."

While one could argue that any single STR has "a de minimis effect on facilities and services,” LB has written the Initiative so that the City MUST CONSIDER the cumulative impacts of STR’s that are authorized across the City. That requirement
 is laid out in lines 31-34 of the Shall Pay Initiative which  requires that "multiple developments [shall be] evaluated in aggregate.”

So:  the Shall Pay Initiative defines the change of use authorizing STR’s as "new development” in line 19. And the Shall Pay Initiative requires that  "multiple developments [be] evaluated in aggregate” at line 34. This means that the City will have to analyze all of the costs and burdens imposed by STR’s on  "police, fire-rescue, parks and recreation, public libraries, housing, human services, senior services, parking services, transportation, and open space and mountain parks.” See lines 5-7. And having analyzed the costs of STR’s, the Initiative will require that STR operators pay for those costs through fees or taxes.

Everyone agrees that STR’s should pay a fair share of costs and burdens. But how an analysis of costs and burdens could reasonably or rationally be done is going to be difficult to do and, because it is difficult and data intensive, would likely
be very expensive.

Macon Cowles
Boulder City Council Member
1726 Mapleton Ave.
Boulder, Colorado 80304
CowlesM at bouldercolorado.gov
(303) 638-6884
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