A new Boulder short-term rental license for festivals is all but passed now, meaning property owners most likely can rent out their homes for the
The Boulder City Council voted 7-1 Thursday to approve the second reading of an The third vote on the ordinance is slated for the council’s next regular meeting on Oct. 9. Taishya Adams was the sole “nay” vote, and Mayor Aaron Brockett was absent.
The festival lodging license allows a property owner to rent out their home for up to 29 days per year during and around the time of what the city deems to be a festival. The city is still ironing out the specifics, but the city’s working definition for a festival is an event that runs at least five consecutive days, draws more than 50,000 attendees and is expected to exceed the capacity of Boulder hotels. As of now, it appears that Sundance is the only event that checks all of those boxes.
Unlike existing short-term rentals, the festival lodging license does not require property owners to live in their homes for at least six months in a year. Accessory dwelling units are also eligible for the festival lodging license. Any property ownership type could hold a license, according to a city memo.
The license costs $190 but only needs to be renewed every four years, as opposed to every year for the existing short-term rental license. The license is valid for the length of the festival, 10 days prior to the festival and nine days after. Property owners can only hold one rental license type, meaning that someone with a long-term rental license cannot also hold a festival lodging license.
A memo to the council from city staffers notes that Boulder renters and prospective homebuyers could be hurt by the license. A renter, for example, might be displaced from their living space for January.
Adams and councilmember Tina Marquis echoed those worries during the meeting. Both wanted to put a cap on the number of second homes that could get the festival lodging license.
“I believe we should’ve started with the things that we know do not directly oppose one of the biggest challenges in our community, which is affordable housing,” Adams said Friday. “That has been an explicit, explicit, explicit challenge for our community for decades and itap only continuing to exacerbate given the economic downturn that is already happening.”
The city memo says that the 29-day limit and the rule restricting property owners to holding one license type will curb those negative impacts.
Adams acknowledged the benefit that Sundance can bring to Boulder’s businesses and larger community, but believes the proposed ordinance is rushed.
What’s the impact?
The city memo anticipates $375,000 in annual revenue from the short-term rental tax. That assumes 500 property owners apply for the license in the rest of 2025, and all of 2026 and 2027. The festival licenses are also subject to a 7.5% on the price paid for the rental. The memo assumes that there are 1,000 licenses and that each unit is occupied for 10 nights at a rate of $500 per night.
Helen Cartwright, of Creekside Association Community Management, manages homeowner associations, or HOAs, all around Boulder.
She said she hasn’t heard much from property owners in the HOAs she manages about the proposed license. She said some are optimistic about the license while others worry it could bring more noise or property damage to neighborhoods. Cartwright added that the license has been discussed more by property owners downtown.
“We anticipate some lessons learned about this, so we anticipate some additional amendments,” City Attorney Teresa Tate told the council on Thursday. “That doesn’t mean that we have to wait a full year for those amendments.”
City manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde said that the city knows there will be amendments as Sundance-related policies are crafted. With that in mind, she said itap “extraordinarily critical” for the city to move forward as it works with partners such as the Sundance Institute, the non-profit arm of the film festival.
Councilmember Mark Wallach asked Rivera-Vandermyde if not moving forward with the ordinance would have an “adverse material impact” on the city’s relationship with Sundance sponsors.
“Honestly, I believe it could,” Rivera-Vandermyde responded.
