Staff from Excise and Licenses and Community Planning and Development—in partnership with Councilwoman Mary Beth Susman—will be hosting four town hall meetings and presenting to Denver’s Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation’s Zoning and Planning Committee to outline the proposed STR licensing framework, answer questions and get feedback from the community.
No room at the inn on Christmas Eve? No problem: You can still snag a “luxury loft in the heart of downtown,” as well as a “Curtis Park charmer” and a “cozy Capitol Hill apartment.” These are last-minute holiday miracles you wouldn’t have dreamed of finding a decade ago — but that was before Airbnb and other short-term rentals moved in on Denver. But now some residents are wondering if a lack of rules governing such rentals are turning this town into a motel hell.
In the spring of 2008, George Mayl discovered that the owners of the house next door to his in the quiet Cory-Merrill neighborhood of southeast Denver were renting the property out to guests for short-term stays of under thirty days — which is illegal under Denver’s current zoning codes.
Denver has been known for its highly livable neighborhoods which contain more single
family homes than almost any comparable city in the United States. But single family
homes have been deemed by some progressive urbanists as a villain in the fight against
urban sprawl and the cause of much hated suburbia.
There has been a call for ever more density in Denver by individuals such as Denver
Planning Executive Director Brad Buchanan (who lives on a 1,500 acre ranch outside of
Denver) and former councilman and failed auditor candidate Chris Nevitt. Nevitt demanded
in a speech explaining why he was voting for high density rezoning of Mount Gilead Church
property that every neighborhood in Denver must do its share to absorb high density. His
views were condemned by neighborhood groups and even by The Denver Post in a scathing
editorial. But his views are believed to be supported by a significant majority on the Denver
