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HomeMy WebLinkAboutresolution.council.106-22RESOLUTION NO. 106 (Series of 2022) A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, SUBMITTING TO THE ELECTORATE OF THE CITY OF ASPEN AT THE NOVEMBER 8, 2022, COORDINATED ELECTION A CERTAIN QUESTION IMPOSING A SHORT-TERM RENTAL TAX FOR THE PURPOSES DESCRIBED IN THE BALLOT QUESTION. WHEREAS, the City Council desires to place before the electorate of the City of Aspen certain ballot questions; and, WHEREAS, the City Council is authorized pursuant to Section 5.7 of the Aspen City Charter to, on its own motion, submit questions to a vote of the electorate; and, WHEREAS, the members of the City Council of the City (the "Council") have been duly elected and qualified; and, WHEREAS, Article X, Section 20 of the Colorado Constitution ("TABOR") requires voter approval for any new tax, the creation of any debt and for spending certain moneys above limits established by TABOR; and, WHEREAS, TABOR requires the City to submit ballot issues (as defined in TABOR) to the City's electors on limited election days before action can be taken on such ballot issues; and, WHEREAS, November 8, 2022, is one of the dates at which ballot issues may be submitted to the eligible electors of the City pursuant to TABOR; and, WHEREAS, the Council hereby determines that it is necessary to submit to the electors of the City, at the coordinated election to be held on November 8, 2022 (the "Election"), the question of imposing an excise tax on short term rentals in order to contribute to the funding of workforce housing and infrastructure maintenance and repair (the "ballot question"); and, WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 2.1 of the City Charter, all elections of the City are governed by the Colorado Municipal Election Code unless otherwise provided by ordinance; and, WHEREAS, Section 31-10-102, C.R.S., contained within the Municipal Election Code, permits any municipality to elect by resolution to utilize the requirements and procedures of the Uniform Election Code which will thereby permit the City to participate in the coordinated election being conducted by Pitkin County (the "County") on November 8, 2022; and, WHEREAS, the steadily increasing activity in the short-term rental market throughout all zone districts within the city has increased the pressures on the community to provide essential services and affordable housing; and, WHEREAS, taxation is an equitable means of recovering costs to the community incurred through the delivery of essential services to residential and lodging exempt properties used as short-term rentals, including community policing, utilities services, transit, transportation, and pedestrian infrastructure, and affordable housing; and, WHEREAS, affordable housing, community infrastructure, and a clean and resilient environment are essential to maintaining a world -class, competitive, economically sustainable tourist economy; and, WHEREAS, a tax on short-term rentals within the City will generate revenue for local government to fund affordable housing, community infrastructure, and environmental initiatives for the benefit of the public and a sustainable community; and, WHEREAS, in keeping with the goal of the City's Comprehensive Plan to preserve small town character while maintaining livability, the City desires to mitigate the negative impacts of short-term rentals on Aspen's neighborhoods, affordable housing supply, economy, and environment; and, WHEREAS, the City of Aspen depends on a lived-in community of year-round locals to support community culture, provide labor and capital to support the local economy, ensure public safety and peace through the presence of first responders, health care and essential service workers in the community, and ensure the long-term viability of the community and tourist economy; and, WHEREAS, the availability of housing for local workers and residents including first responders, health care workers, and other essential service workers is diminishing, the system for delivering affordable housing is not keeping pace with need, and the housing market in the region and state of Colorado are in crisis; and, WHEREAS, the Aspen Area Community Plan includes policies directing the City of Aspcn to address affordable housing in the cunnnunity; and, 2 WHEREAS, a functional residential housing sector is essential to sheltering Aspen's populations, supporting a stable economy, maintaining the health, peace and safety of the City of Aspen for its residents and visitors; and, WHEREAS, Aspen is a tourists destination, attracting tens of thousands of visitors a year in all seasons, visitors which require transient tourist accommodations and participate in and support Aspen's tourist economy; and, WHEREAS, a tourist -based economy such as the City's requires a sufficient number of employees to provide the services required to serve such an economy. Without adequate workforce housing, a tourist -based economy cannot thrive; and, WHEREAS, to allow for a sufficient number of employees to be hired to provide the services necessary to sustain a tourist -based economy there must be an adequate supply of workforce housing; and, WHEREAS, historically, the long-term rental of residential property, or at least the long-term rental of space within a residential property, has been an important means for providing workforce housing within the City; and, WHEREAS, short-term rentals are extremely valuable to the City's economy and exist in various locations throughout the City; and, business; and, WHEREAS, the operation of a short-term rental in the City is the operation of a WHEREAS, tourist visitation, the operation of tourist accommodations, the goods and services demanded by tourists, and the transportation systems required to move tourist to and throughout the community have environmental impacts, measured as Greenhouse Gas Emissions; and, WHEREAS, the difference in property tax rates for commercial and residential properties contributes to gaps in fimding for affordable housing, essential government services, infrastructure, and a healthy environment capable of supporting a sustainable economy; and, WHEREAS, the Council now determines it is necessary to submit to the electors of the City, at the Election which will be held as a coordinated election with the County on November 8, 2022, the election questions; and 3 WHEREAS, it is necessary to set forth certain procedures concerning the conduct of the Election; and, WHEREAS, the Council finds that the adoption of this Resolution is necessary for the preservation of the public health, safety and welfare. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ASPEN, COLORADO, THAT: Section 1. All action heretofore taken (not inconsistent with the provisions of this resolution) by the City and the officers thereof, directed towards the Election and the objects and purposes herein stated, is hereby ratified, approved and confirmed. Section 2. Unless otherwise defined herein, all terms used herein shall have the meanings defined in the Uniform Election Code of 1992, Title 1, Articles 1 through 13, C.R.S., as amended (the "Uniform Election Code"). Section 3. Pursuant to TABOR and the Uniform Election Code, and all laws amendatory thereof and supplemental thereto, the City hereby determines that a special Election shall be held within the City on November 8, 2022, and that there shall be submitted to the eligible electors of the City the election questions set forth herein. Because the Election will be held as part of the coordinated election, the County Clerk and Recorder (the "Clerk") shall conduct the election on behalf of the City and officers of the City have been previously authorized to enter into one or more intergovernmental agreements with the County for the conduct of the Election pursuant to Section 1-7-116, C.R.S. Any such intergovernmental agreement heretofore entered into in connection with the Election is hereby ratified, approved and confirmed. Section 4. The Council hereby authorizes and directs the officers of the City to certify on or before September 9, 2022, the following election question in substantially the form 4 hereinafter set forth to the Clerk, which such question shall be submitted to the eligible electors of the City at the Election: CITY OF ASPEN — SHORT TERM RENTAL TAX. SHALL CITY OF ASPEN TAXES BE INCREASED NOT MORE THAN $9,140,000 COMMENCING MAY 1, 2023, AND BY WHATEVER AMOUNTS ARE GENERATED ANNUALLY THEREAFTER BY THE IMPOSITION OF AN EXCISE TAX OF NOT MORE THAN 10% ON THE AMOUNT CHARGED ON A NIGHTLY ROOM RATE AT ANY ACCOMMODATION OR BUSINESS THAT IS REQUIRED TO OBTAIN A SHORT-TERM RENTAL PERMIT FROM THE CITY; PROVIDED HOWEVER THAT: • SUCH TAX SHALL BE APPLIED TO "LODGE EXEMPT PERMIT PROPERTIES" AS HEREAFTER DEFINED IN AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL WITH A SHORT-TERM RENTAL PERMIT STR-LE AT 5.0%; • SUCH TAX SHALL BE APPLIED TO "OWNER OCCUPIED UNITS" AS HEREAFTER DEFINED IN AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL WITH A SHORT-TERM RENTAL OWNER OCCUPIED PERMIT STR-00 AT 5.0%; • AND 2ND HOMEOWNER, INVESTMENT PROPERTY UNITS AS HEREAFTER DEFINED IN AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL WITH A SHORT-TERM RENTAL PERMIT STR-CLASSIC AT 10%; AND SHALL AT LEAST 70% OF THE REVENUE GENERATED FROM SUCH TAX BE UTILIZED FOR THE PURPOSE FUNDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND SHALL THE REMAINDER OF THE REVENUE GENERATED FROM SUCH TAX NOT UTILIZED FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING BE UTILIZED FOR INFRASTRUCTURE MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR AND FOR ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES; AND SHALL THE CITY BE AUTHORIZED TO COLLECT, KEEP AND SPEND THE REVENUES FROM SUCH TAX AND ANY INVESTMENT INCOME THEREFROM NOTWITHSTANDING THE LIMITS OF ARTICLE X, SECTION 20 OF THE COLORADO CONSTITUTION? Section 5. Pursuant to the intergovernmental agreement entered by the City to participate in the Pitkin County coordinated election, the City Clerk of the City of Aspen (the "City Clerk") has been appointed as the designated election official of the City for purposes of performing acts required or permitted by law in connection with the Election. Section 6. Pursuant to Section 1-11-203.5, C.R.S., any election contest arising out of a ballot issue or ballot question election concerning the order of the ballot or the form or content of 5 the ballot title shall be commenced by petition filed with the proper court within five days after the title of the ballot issue or ballot question is set. Section 7. The officers of the City are hereby authorized and directed to take all action necessary and appropriate to effectuate the provisions of this resolution. Section 8. If any section, paragraph, clause or provision of this resolution shall for any reason be held to be invalid or unenforceable, the invalidity or unenforceability of such section, paragraph, clause or provision shall in no manner affect any remaining provisions of this resolution. Section 9. All resolutions or parts of resolutions inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed to the extent only of such inconsistency. This repealer shall not be construed to revive any resolution or part of any resolution heretofore repealed. Section 10. The effective date of this resolution shall be immediately upon adoption. INTRODUCED, READ AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Aspen on the 29'' day of August 2022. Torre, Mayor I, Nicole Henning, duly appointed and acting City Clerk do certify that the foregoing is a true and accurate copy of that resolution adopted by the City Council of the City of Aspen, Colorado, at a meeting held on the day hereinabove stated. Nicole Henning, City Cler 6