Centennial residents question increase of short-term rentals

But some owners of the units say the accusations are misdirected and that short-term rentals provide lodging for tourists and allow individuals and families to afford homes in the Centennial area.

Short-term rentals, also known as vacation rentals, are often offered and available online, through travel services such as Airbnb, or Vrbo.

Recently, the Albany County Planning Department received an unsigned letter outlining the negative effects of short-term rentals in the Centennial area. It was presented to the Albany County Planning and Zoning Commission on Sept. 13.

The lengthy letter can be read in the Sept. 13 planning commission meeting minutes document and online with this link: https://tinyurl.com/4shbuky9.

The planning commission declined to discuss the letter. When contacted later, Chairman Bern Hinckley said that the board was sympathetic to the concerns, noting that this is a problem in communities that range in size from Centennial to New York City.

Hinckley would like to research how other counties have approached the issue.

Possible impacts converting long term into short term

The letter to the planners states that the conversion of long-term rental homes to short-term rentals has had a negative impact on the Centennial community.

“There are almost no long-term rentals left, and workers can no longer work here because they can’t find a place to live,” the letter states. “The community itself is shrinking because properties are being bought up by businesses instead of people who contribute to the community and the economy here. All the local businesses are short-staffed because there is no housing available.”

Among the complaints are the lack of housing for workers, out-of-town owners who do not participate in the community and lack of regulation.

Other complaints concern the additional traffic and noise that short-term rentals bring.

Maira Wentworth, a Rainbow Valley Road District resident, has found her ability to enjoy her home in the mountains has been diminished after a short-term rental opened nearby.

She would like to see these properties regulated, and allowed only in commercial areas.

The rental property is 120 feet from her home. It has been a short-term rental since summer of 2022.

“We moved to this neighborhood and know all of our neighbors. We did have a relationship with our neighbors,” Wentworth said about the time before the home was rented.

The owners live in Cheyenne and aren’t always available to address problems, she said.

“They have a flood light, which is another violation; stray dogs in the yard a lot. We have people on our property, cutting across. In the winter, we have people stuck in our driveway; we’ve almost been hit by those speeders,” Wentworth said.

Wentworth’s neighborhood has its own road district, which keeps the roads open and is responsible for road repairs.

“They’re making money off the people that live here, maintaining these roads for their commercial businesses,” she said.

She also echoed concerns expressed in the letter about safety regulations for short-term rental properties, including no requirements for fire inspections or health inspections or spa/hot tub licensing, which commercial businesses must have.

Increases in disturbances?

Centennial does, at times, has a spike in the number of calls for noise or other disturbances. But those are based more on the time of year than the type of lodging, according to Albany County Sheriff Aaron Appelhans.

“In general, we don’t see many problems and Airbnb’s and Vrbos’ specifically,” he said. “It’s more in correlation with the number of people in that area. In peak ski or snowmobile season, our calls go up in that area, summer recreation types. More directly correlated to tourism than whether they are in a motel or Airbnb or some other type of residence.”

Kim Sherwin, an Omaha resident whose family has owned a cabin in North Fork for eight years, believes that rentals are being blamed for a crisis they didn’t create.

“My husband grew up skiing at Snowy Range, and we have taught all our kids to snow ski at Snow Range,” she said. “So we have a lot of family history right there,” she said.

“We have a cabin, house in North Fork. We rent out our house twice a month mainly for families to enjoy Medicine Bow National Forest and they also enjoy the Snowy Range Ski Area. But the majority of renters are families with their children,” Sherwin said.

The family is at the cabin about six times a year, and rents it out twice a month to offset its cost. The original intent was not to run it as a rental, but to use it. She has had no complaints about her renters.

“The argument is there is a housing crisis. I couldn’t disagree more. That’s making short-term rentals an easy scapegoat for something that is just part of a growing community,” she said. “This has nothing to do with businesses going under. That would be completely the opposite, because short-term rentals bring tourists into a community.”

Is rising overall cost of housing the problem?

Sherwin countered the argument that short-term rentals are creating a housing shortage. Instead, she blamed the cost of housing on the effects of COVID-19, supply and demand, the marketplace and interest rates.

Though she does not live in the area, Sherwin supports the community as the secretary for the North Fork homeowners association. The family donates to the local fire department and supports businesses in Centennial and Laramie.

Sherwin says that she does pay taxes on the rental, a Wyoming sales tax of 4% and state lodging tax of 5%. She is not opposed to the concept of additional taxes.

Sherwin would be open to more regulation of short-term rentals, and is disappointed that some of the residents abandoned the idea of discussing regulation and are circulating a petition to shut the properties down.

“Finding solutions is important and pointing fingers is a waste of time. Many heads together will help find a better solution than arguments at a table,” Sherwin said.

County not ready for additional regulations

Regulating short-term rentals is not something that Albany County is currently set up to do, said Albany County Planning Director David Gertsch. The county sees short-term rentals as any other residential property.

Because the town is not incorporated, changes to zoning and other regulations have to come from Albany County. The county does not have a building code or building inspectors.

“In our land-use table, we define what a dwelling is, as defines a structure with kitchen, bathroom and living space, and that’s the definition we use. If it is used as a dwelling, then we don’t consider it commercial property,” Gertsch said.

He said that while the planning and zoning commission has not taken action yet, he anticipates that his department will be asked to assess the concerns of the Sept. 13 letter.

“I did a quick query, and in the Centennial area, there are 600 properties with around 21 short-term rentals. With the short-term rental issue, I’m not sure if this is a problem or not,” Gertsch said.

“A good next step for my office and planning and zoning is to really kind of understand the issue, rather than going off on a couple of people bringing in letters. I think those are good, bringing it to our attention, but better planning and a survey of the community would go a long way to see if there is an issue with those,” he continued.

Communities in Wyoming and Colorado have adopted different ways to regulate short-term rentals, he said. The city of Laramie does not regulate short-term rentals, according to Deputy City Clerk Ryan Shoefelt.

Fort Collins, Colorado, requires licensing and safety standards. Jackson does not allow new short-term rentals, though the ones in place prior to regulation can stay open.

Both of these communities have hundreds of these types of rentals. With fewer than two dozen in Centennial and probably fewer than 50 throughout the county, Gertsch said a good question for the county is whether or not this is widespread enough issue to address.

He offered the idea that Centennial could incorporate and set its own building standards.

Hinckley also suggested that option, saying that by incorporating, the community could control its own land use.