The ongoing debate over short-term rental enforcement reached a boiling point at the regular City Council meeting in Steamboat Springs on Tuesday, as residents, business owners and city officials clashed over the fairness and impact of current policies related to noncompliance.

The meeting, marked by emotional testimony and pointed exchanges between council members, underscored deep divisions and confusion surrounding the city’s approach to STR regulation and penalties.

During the public comment period, Jordan Harper, a Florida resident and second homeowner in Steamboat, described his shock at receiving a court summons two months ago for an alleged STR violation.

Harper’s hearing resulted in an $18,600 fine and a two-year ban on renting out his property, which he referred to as “non-negotiable.” 

“The biggest thing that hurt me today, though, was my boy’s dream of owning and retiring in a home in Steamboat Springs was crushed,” said Harper. “It’s making me want to maybe potentially sell and move to a different city, and that truly crushes me.”

Grey Schuhmacher, president and CEO of Mountain Vacation Lodging, urged council to treat STR enforcement as an “emergency,” calling for more discretion and leniency. 

“Your enforcement officers working for the city, the attorney’s office and the prosecutors need direction from the city to be lenient on a case-by-case basis within reason,” said Schuhmacher. “Please schedule this for the next City Council meeting. Put it on your agenda. Please.”

Kim Haggarty, who spoke during public comment at the June 3 meeting on behalf of her partner Pat Waters, reiterated her concerns, highlighting a lack of advance notification and the abruptness of enforcement. 

“For five years, email, $75, I renewed every year … 2023 comes along, no notice, no nothing,” said Haggarty. “Then I had a meeting with (the prosecutor), and she said, ‘Well, you have a certificate on your wall. Didn’t you know it expired?’ ‘No, I don’t look at my certificate because I usually get notices.'” 

Haggarty said she is facing an initial fine of $260,000, with a settled offer from the prosecutor of $53,000. She was told that if she goes to trial, she could end up paying over $500,000.

Caroline Fisher, a longtime resident and STR operator who previously spoke to the newspaper about her experience being penalized for STR noncompliance, described her attempt to be in compliance.

“When the city changed the rules to the new STR permit system, I stopped by the planning department to find out what I needed to do … I was told at the time they weren’t ready for those of us who had already had a permit,” said Fisher. “They were inundated with bringing all the new properties into compliance. I assumed I would receive an email or a snail mail once they were ready for us current legal permit holders.”

When Fisher later realized she was in noncompliance, she reported herself to the city, where she said she was “met with total disdain” and ultimately fined $21,200. 

“This whole situation felt so intentionally underhanded and punitive that it makes me wonder if I’ll want to live here in the future,” Fisher added.

Hanna Haggarty, daughter of Kim Haggarty, warned council of the “ripple effect” of the impending fine on their family business, Schmiggity’s, and her individual livelihood. 

“I guarantee that if Pat is forced to pay these ridiculously high violation fees, he would be forced to sell his house to do so, because he just doesn’t have the cash to pay those kinds of fees,” Hanna said. “That would put a huge financial strain on Schmiggity’s, which I would take over, and it would effectively close a small business that I’ve dreamed of owning someday.”

City Attorney Dan Foote provided context for the city’s enforcement strategy, noting differences with the town of Telluride, as mentioned in a previous newspaper article.

“Telluride is a little bit different than Steamboat in that the majority of the court cases that have been cited for operating without a license involve properties in their red zone and the yellow zone,” said Foote. “So those properties, they don’t have an opportunity to come into compliance, because they are not eligible to operate as a short-term rental.” 

In Telluride, however, noncompliance for short-term rentals seldom leads to a court summons to begin with because of their process of providing three months’ worth of notice, according to Telluride STR Program Administrator Ashley Berard. 

“We haven’t really had to go that route, because typically, when we say, ‘Hey, we’re going to involve the legal department,’ that typically gets people’s attention,” said Berard. “If you don’t take that olive branch, then we’ll have to go a different route.”

Foote had noted that while Steamboat has 2,300 licensed STRs, Telluride has only 800. But the most relevant difference between the two, in the context of the complaints from those prosecuted and fined for STR noncompliance, is the existence of that olive branch — or in Steamboat’s case, the lack thereof. 

Councilor Steve Muntean said that he had spoken to several of the aggrieved violators, including Harper, whose $18,600 fine was a settled amount from an initial fine exceeding $70,000.

“I’m wondering, what kind of policy are we following here — is the judge following here? Is it consistent across everybody?” Muntean asked. “Because it’s a slippery slope to me, a little bit, that we get into intimidation if we don’t watch ourselves, and I certainly don’t want to get to that point.”

Councilor Michael Buccino questioned the origins and consistency of the policy.

“I think what we need to do is we need to look at who determined that policy. And please do not say City Council, because I have not made a decision on a $1,000 fine, a $2,600 fine,” said Buccino. “If that changed somewhere, it was never put in front of me.”

“The City Council did by ordinance change the penalties that are applicable in municipal court cases to $2,650 per offense, specifically for licensing violations, and that was done in the June 2022 ordinance adopting the STR regulations,” said Foote. “With respect to what my office does, we responded and continue to respond to express direction from City Council in 2022 that these regulations should be strictly enforced.”

Councilor Bryan Swintek defended city staff.

“I want to say what Dan can’t say … staff is simply doing their job, and it did come on your desk,” Swintek said to Buccino. “I wasn’t on council then. I could sit here and say I didn’t approve it, but you did approve it, and we are in this position because of the council you participated in.” 

“Please do not put staff on blast. They’re doing their job,” Swintek added. “They’re doing an excellent job and they don’t deserve that from you or any of us.”

“I disagree completely. Either that, or I’m stupid, and I didn’t get any part of this, because this whole process, I’ve asked for two years, because there’s always been questions in it, and I’ve been keeping my mouth shut,” Buccino responded.

Buccino, an interior designer, was recused from short-term rental discussions in early 2022 after he said he had clients who purchased property near the base of Steamboat Resort for the purpose of renting them nightly.

“Councilor Buccino, I hear you, and I would like to remind us all, if you’ve forgotten, you were recused from those conversations,” said Councilor Dakotah McGinlay. 

“Oh, I know,” said Buccino. “Four times.” 

Swintek then asked if there was a way to “hold” the pending cases that have garnered complaints while council reassesses the current policies. Buccino agreed, requesting that the attorney’s office “put a stay” on such cases.

President Gail Garey clarified that putting a stay on those cases was not a decision council could make that evening, as it was not previously noticed to the public as an agenda item.

Council members agreed to discuss the issue at the next city council meeting on July 1, with the hope of striking a better balance between enforcement and fairness.