Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Festival Lodging Ordinance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council advances ordinance to let tenants apply for festival lodging licenses; city outlines protections and implementation timeline
Summary
On April 2 the council moved to adopt (second reading) an ordinance expanding festival lodging licenses to include long‑term rental units and tenant subleasing with owner consent; staff said the new one‑year license carries a $75 fee and applications could be accepted immediately with licenses issued beginning May 4.
The Boulder City Council on April 2 advanced a second‑reading motion to amend the city’s short‑term rental code so long‑term licensed properties and tenants (with owner consent) can participate in special festival lodging licensing, including for the Sundance Film Festival.
Tanya Pringle, a senior project manager in Planning & Development Services, presented the ordinance update and said it creates a new festival lodging tier with a one‑year term and a $75 fee. The change would allow property owners to permit tenants to sublease during festival windows and would also permit owners to list vacant units without surrendering a long‑term rental license. "Tenants would be allowed to participate with owner consent," Pringle said, and staff recommended approval and said they could begin accepting applications the following day and issue licenses starting May 4.
Council members probed how revenue splits and tenant protections would work. Pringle and staff said the city cannot regulate private lease terms such as the percentage split between landlord and tenant, but that the long‑term rental license framework and existing housing mediation and eviction‑prevention services would remain in place. Barha (a landlord association) requested a vacant‑unit‑only option for owners who don’t want tenant subleasing; Cody Ramo, BARHA’s president, said allowing a vacant‑only pathway would add units without forcing owners to approve subleasing.
Jill Grano, Sundance’s statewide director of housing, told council tenant subleasing is an equity measure and said platforms such as Airbnb already track splits and provide insurance and tax remittance. "We very much support this measure," she said.
Council member Mark moved to amend and adopt ordinance 84 75 on second reading; the motion was seconded and council discussion followed about monitoring implementation and reporting. The transcript excerpt ends after discussion and before a recorded vote.
Key implementation details included in staff presentation: a $75 fee for the one‑year festival lodging license; tenants may participate only with owner consent; the program will leverage existing mediation and eviction‑prevention services; staff reported about 250 owner licenses already exist from the earlier owner program. Staff suggested partners (Visit Boulder, BARHA) will help market the program and encourage early applications.
Next steps: Council discussion indicated the ordinance would be implemented quickly if adopted; council members asked staff to consider monitoring mechanisms and renter guidance and to return with adjustments as needed. The final vote was not present in the provided transcript excerpt.
