Over the past two months, Basalt Town Council has been discussing a hotly contested ordinance that would establish a fee on short-term rentals (STRs) in order to generate funding to address the affordable housing crisis in Basalt. After several public hearings and despite continued pushback from the community, as well as divided outlooks among council members, the final vote was 4-3 in favor of the ordinance.
The ordinance establishes a $2,532 per-bedroom annual fee for STR operators. This value was determined through an economic report written by contractor Economic and Planning Systems. The report measured STR guest spending, how that spending supports local employees and the gap between the cost of housing and what local employees can afford. The $2,532 figure is 50% of the maximum fee that could be charged for STRs, according to the report.
Until this ordinance, the Town of Basalt only charged a licensing and inspection fee adding up to a $460 annual cost.
Of the many Basalt citizens who have participated in public hearings, most have voiced their opposition to the ordinance. Many have argued that a flat, per-bedroom fee has a disproportionate impact on more affordable STR rental properties. Another argument is that STRs enable property owners to live in Basalt. .
At previous public hearings, Council has vigorously debated the fee, proposing to reduce the cost of the fee or abandoning it altogether and opting for other affordable housing strategies instead. Other proposed strategies included increased lodging and sales taxes to spread the burden of the affordable housing crisis among all Basalt residents and visitors.
Councilor Angèle Duprè-Butchart took a hard line against it. “If this ordinance harms even one current, long-time local homeowner and forces them to be in a financially precarious position where they have to consider selling their home … I cannot support it.”
Duprè-Butchart instead proposed lower fees and more comprehensive strategies for affordable housing, such as higher sales and lodging taxes.
Councilor Angela Anderson argued that opposition to the ordinance makes up a very small proportion of Basalt residents. “Debating the comfort of a small group that is able to earn money from their assets at the expense of many who earn a living with their labor … is what special interest lobbying looks like,” she stated. “When we say that the cost of this ordinance is too high, who is it too high for?”
Councilor Ryan Slack, while acknowledging that he voted yes on the ordinance the past two sessions, argued that more comprehensive, broader measures need to be taken beyond the STR fee that do not put Basalt community members at risk. He ended up voting against the ordinance.
Councilor Richard Stevens agreed with Slack and Duprè-Butchart and argued that other measures should be considered to address housing instead of acting too hastily on the STR fee. Stevens instead supported a $750 fee or lower, and higher lodging taxes. He voted against the ordinance.
“I don’t think there’s a policy that would create affordable housing that doesn’t land on someone,” said councilor Hannah Berman, who emphasized her own running platform to support affordable housing projects in Basalt. She voted for the ordinance.
Councilor Dieter Schindler kept his statement brief. “The movement here needs to be bold,” he said.
“We are trying to address the indirect costs of STRs in our community,” said Mayor David Knight. “Right now, we are all paying those costs every single day, vis-à-vis people sleeping in cars, mental health … How much is connected to housing? It’s staggering.”