Larimer County commissioners voted 3-0 on Sept. 8 to deny an appeal by property owners David and Tammy Moore to allow a proposed short-term rental at 2220 Longview Drive to proceed despite being within 500 feet of an approved short-term rental. The Moore property sits in the Carriage Hills subdivision in the Estes Valley and would require special review approval if the appeal were granted.

County planners told the board the appeal asked for an exception to Article 335(B)(2)(c)(i) of the Larimer County Land Use Code (the 500-foot separation standard). Samantha Lasher, planner II, said staff found the application failed to meet three of five criteria in Article 6.72.B.5 that are used to evaluate appeals and therefore recommended denial.

The appeal stems from the short-term rental cap and licensing process that took effect after the Town of Estes Park and Larimer County split jurisdiction and licences following a lapse in an intergovernmental agreement. Lasher outlined the background: the town established a short-term rental cap in 2016; when the county assumed jurisdiction of the Estes Valley in 2020 the county received 266 of the capped licenses for residential zoning districts; the Moores bought the house in June 2021 and were placed on a wait list; in June 2023 the county adopted updated STR regulations including the 500-foot buffer; and in May 2025 a license became available that brought the Moores to the top of the wait list only to be told they did not meet the 500-foot standard and would need to appeal.

Public comment at the hearing emphasized neighborhood and community impacts. Jeffrey Arnold of Longview Drive cited census trends and workforce housing shortages, saying, "we keep selling houses to retired people ... when you keep adding in short term rentals, those are houses that can't be used or can't be purchased by small families." William Citta, a next-door neighbor, said proximity to STRs could lower property values and provided photographs of the Moore property, saying maintenance had been lacking. Bob Levitt, representing the Carriage Hills Homeowners Association, said the 500-foot limit was added to the code specifically to limit clustering and protect neighborhood character: "If you approve it, it opens the door for other similar appeals in Carriage Hills and throughout unincorporated Larimer County. This is a dangerous precedent."

The Moores told the board they purchased the house intending to use it as an STR, that they had been on the wait list since 2021, and that they were surprised to learn of the nearby STR when staff notified them in 2025. Dave Moore said, "We had to do our own investigation to where it was. We must have the quietest short term rental within 500 feet because I didn't even know it was a short term rental." Tammy Moore explained they had deliberately allowed grasses to grow naturally on part of the lot and had not necessarily failed in maintenance by choice.

Commissioners discussed the intent behind the 500-foot standard and the clustering of STRs in Carriage Hills. Commissioner Shattuck McNally and Commissioner John Kefalas both said they agreed with staff that the appeal would subvert the purpose of the standard and that several approval criteria were not met. Chair Kristen Stevens said the 500-foot buffer was adopted after public input to limit density in single-family neighborhoods. Commissioner Shattuck McNally moved to deny the appeal; the motion passed 3-0.

Action taken was a formal denial of the Moore appeal (file no. 25GNRL0572). The denial means the Moore property would not gain short-term rental approval without meeting the 500-foot separation standard or receiving a future action that changes that standard or its application. No direction to staff to modify the code was made at the hearing.

The commissioners and staff noted the broader policy tradeoffs between property owners' interests and neighborhood character, and public commenters emphasized the local workforce housing implications of increasing STR density. The board's denial preserves the county's current buffer standard and the staff interpretation of the appeal criteria.