Woodland Park ordinance restricting short-term rentals on hold as legal fight continues
WOODLAND PARK, Colo. (KRDO) - As the clock struck midnight closing out 2024, a new ordinance was supposed to go into effect in Woodland Park, but KRDO13 Investigates learned that legal challenges have left things up in the air.
A 2023 ordinance, passed by voters, would kick short-term rentals out of residential zones unless the owner lives at the property. Otherwise, short-term rentals would only be allowed in commercially zoned areas, which is less common.
That ordinance was supposed to go into effect at midnight, but KRDO13 Investigates is learning that the city is delaying enforcement.
Nicole Waggoner is part of the Teller County Short Term Rental Alliance, the group suing the City of Woodland Park over the ordinance. Waggoner tells KRDO13 Investigates she owns several short-term rental properties in Teller County. One property is located off Pine Road, less than a mile into a residential zone, meaning the city would not renew the short-term rental license for her property.
"There's confusion over what we should do come tomorrow [Jan 1] when this ordinance technically goes into effect. But we still have this legal battle going on. So a lot of us with short-term rentals are just confused," Waggoner says she doesn't know what she'll do with this property long term if they lose their case.
Late Tuesday afternoon, the city said they are not going to enforce the policy until the court rules on a motion for a preliminary injunction, which was filed by the Teller County Short-Term Rental Alliance.
Waggoner says she and her husband spent thousands renovating the home that needed to be completely gutted when they originally purchased it.
"I don't know what we would have to do if we'd have to look at making it a long-term rental, which might not yield as much income for our family, or we might be forced to sell it and find something else to do," Waggoner admitted.
KRDO13 Investigates reached out to many Woodland Park Elected Officials. The city issued the following press release, explaining that the city will continue to fight the lawsuit:
Outside of the Woodland Park Post Office, one long-time Woodland Park resident of close to 40 years said she's never had any issues with short-term rentals while living here, and at one point shared a street with a handful of the rental properties.
Another Woodland Park resident said he didn't think the local government should control what people do on their private property as long as they're doing it by the book.
However, overall very few Woodland Park residents KRDO13 Investigates spoke to today had strong feelings about short-term rentals in their town.
