A short-term rental proposal at a luxury cabin at the back of Aspen Mountain sparked a contentious and sometimes bitter split among Pitkin County commissioners on Tuesday.
Commissioners Greg Poschman and Kelly McNicholas Kury vehemently objected to the use of a cabin in the Rural and Remote Area District for rental. They felt this opened up the area to commercial-type uses.
“This is an example of what worries me the most in rural and remote areas,” Poschman said.
The property in question is at 100 Upper Hurricane Road, about 4 miles south of Sundeck Restaurant on Aspen Mountain. The cabin was built in 2007 by Aspen natives Colter and Bridger Smith. It sits above 11,000 feet and offers stunning views of the Castle Creek valley and surrounding mountains.
The Smith family waived further development of their 692 acres through the sale of 19 transferable development rights, which shifted the square footage to areas the county deems more suitable for development.
Rural and remote zoning was created by Pitkin County in the mid-1990s to preserve backcountry areas and prevent the construction of large homes that proliferate in more accessible locations. Development on rural and remote lands is limited to residences of 1,000 square feet. Like all other properties in the county, the demand and value for these limited structures has skyrocketed.
The Smiths started renting out the three-bedroom property a few years ago, mostly to friends and acquaintances. Rentals are by word of mouth, Colter told the commissioners.
“It’s not like they can go on Airbnb and rent my cabin,” he said.
He planned to rent the luxury cabin 25 nights a year for low-key meetings. “I don’t try to rent this every weekend,” he said.
Poschman wondered if the use has really been low-key or if the continuous model would open up a rural, remote area to heavy commercial use. He said a quick search online indicated the cabin was available for commercial use. For example, he said, it’s advertised by a wedding planner in Texas, with services ranging from catering to DJs and transportation.
“There’s a disconnect between what’s depicted to us and what’s going on up there,” Poschman said. “I’m not buying it.”
He later added, “You used this as a business venture, didn’t you? I don’t believe this is the proper use in rural and remote areas.
He brought a motion to deny the request, which was seconded by McNicholas Kury. The other three commissioners rallied to the defense of the Smiths. Commissioner Francie Jacober said the “conundrum” for the council was that it had said in previous meetings that it would consider short-term rentals in rural and remote areas on a case-by-case basis. The Smiths’ application meets the necessary criteria for a short-term rental, including a history of use, she noted.
Jacober said she has reservations about the county telling people what they can and can’t do on their property, something many people argue the county has been doing since a massive downgrade in 1978. She said she could “take it in good faith” that the Smiths would not rent the property for large special events.
County rules limit a rural, remote site to one event of up to 50 people once a year.
Commissioner Steve Child said the Smith family had contributed significantly to the community by limiting the development to one cabin on 692 acres. “I don’t want to punish them” by banning them from short-term rentals, he said.
A handful of speakers urged the commissioners to reject the request. They said it would set a bad precedent by allowing commercial use in areas that were supposed to be protected from heavy activity.
“What is rural and remote? Do we appreciate that? asked Tom Barron, a landowner in Little Annie Basin, at the back of Aspen Mountain.
He and other speakers said renting properties at high altitudes in rugged environments accessible by four-wheel-drive roads invites disaster. Many tenants will not be accustomed to life in the mountains and will expose themselves to health and safety risks. Neighbors will be forced to act because first responders are so far away, they argued.
The motion to dismiss the application failed. Commissioner Patti Clapper, chair of the board, tried to broker a deal and succeeded on a major issue. The board agreed that they did not want the cabin rented out when snow travel was required. The back roads are not plowed during the winters. Smith agreed not to rent between November 1 and June 1, if that was what it would take to get an STR license for the other months.
But Clapper was visibly frustrated with Poschman’s questioning of Smith about the property’s past use. She raised her voice impatiently as the debate dragged on toward three o’clock. The board was ultimately unable to resolve the issue. Poschman and McNicholas Kury offered to continue the debate and decision until January 25. Clapper reluctantly followed them while Jacober and Child were opposed.
“It sounds like what you’re hoping for is to convince us to vote differently,” Jacober told Poschman. He confirmed that was his intention.
The commissioners asked the planning staff to gather all possible information about Smith’s cabin rental history and brainstorm ideas for avoiding big events in the future.
Another short-term rental request at 2750 Little Annie Road didn’t generate as much of a stir on Tuesday. The board unanimously rejected BA Colorado LP’s proposal for year-round rental on the property about 1.5 miles from Castle Creek Road. The property was purchased in March by an owner who resides in Montreal and vacations in Aspen, according to his representatives.
Clapper justified his “no” vote by saying there was a lack of rental history, which is required for an STR license. She said she also believed the owner needed a better understanding of “the nature of the beast” of rural and remote land. Other council members also agreed that the landlord would be well served to learn more about the fragile and isolated environment to better understand the responsibility of renting such a property.
Some board members have suggested that BA Colorado LP could reapply for lease starting in 2024 and try to demonstrate a better understanding of the issues.
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