Short Term Rental Ordinance Passes First Reading with Frisco Responsible Agent Requisite

In the fall of 2018, the Town of Frisco started developing a short-term rental ordinance in recognition of the growth of online short-term rental platforms like Airbnb and VRBO.  In September 2018, the Town organized a Community Conversation that included a Short-Term Rental Presentation.  During the presentation, the Town enumerated the goals of its Frisco short-term rental ordinance as follows:

• Ensure a level playing field for all Frisco short-term rental owners
• Reduce Frisco residential neighborhood nuisance complaints
• Ensure all Frisco short-term rental owners are sharing information necessary to provide for their guests’ safety and to minimize impacts on neighborhoods
• Use new data and improved communication with Frisco short-term rental owners to adjust regulations as needed and to begin conversations about how to incentivize the provision of attainable, long-term employee housing

In November 2018, the Frisco Town Council engaged in a first reading of an original draft of the ordinance but decided to temporarily table it so that staff could work out a couple of issues, including occupancy limits.  After a few modifications to the language, the Town Council voted to approve the first reading of its Frisco Short-Term Rental Ordinance on December 11, 2018.

Frisco Short-Term Rental License

Sections 110-38 and 110-39 of the Frisco Short-Term Rental Ordinance require owners to obtain a license from the Town Finance Director before leasing or advertising their short-term rental units.  Among the requisites for obtaining a license, Frisco short-term rental applicants must provide the following:

• proof of lawful possession of their property
• an application fee
• a copy of the required information notices that will be posted within the property
• a copy of their valid Colorado sales tax license
• an affidavit, which certifies that their property complies with the Town’s life safety standards and that required renter information notices will remain posted within the property.

Section 110-39 of the Frisco Short-Term Rental Ordinance also sets forth a continuing obligation for license applicants to keep their information updated within 10 days of any changes.

Frisco Responsible Agent for Short-Term Rentals

Section 110-37 of the Town’s Short Term Rental Ordinance defines a Frisco Responsible Agent as “a management company or individual who is…  available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week to respond as the initial point of contact for the short-term rental property.”  And, section 110-39(A)(2) of the Ordinance requires a Frisco Responsible Agent to be designated for every short-term rental property as part of the application process.  When information notices are placed in the short term-rental unit, they must include contact information for the Frisco Responsible Agent or the property owner.

In the memo that accompanied the Ordinance, Town staff noted concerns had been voiced “relating to the vagueness of ‘responsible agent’ requirements, in particular the lack of a measured response time.”  Town staff continued as follows:

[a]dditional concerns include the ability of owners to name alternate “responsible agents” (an option not currently provided for in the ordinance) and a lack of specificity in relation to the overall complaint submittal and resolution process. Staff met internally with the Police Department to discuss the complaint process shortly before the Council meeting on November 13. Police Department staff indicated a separate call center to field initial complaints would be helpful in allaying the burden on dispatch personnel. Staff believes that the concerns raised above can be more properly handled with well-communicated administrative policies, rather than through updates to the officially codified ordinance.

Town staff publicly stated that work on drafting new administrative policies will immediately commence.  As a result, while the designation of a Frisco Responsible Agent was mandated by the Town, more detail on the precise responsibilities will be forthcoming.

Occupancy for Frisco Short-Term Rentals

Section 110-40(A)(3) of the Frisco Short-Term Rental Ordinance currently states that the following maximum occupancy for overnight use of a short-term rental property shall be the greater of:

• One (1) person per two hundred (200) square feet of area; or
• Two people per bedroom, plus four people (4).

And, it also states that a child of age 12 or under shall not count as a person.

Nonetheless, before the second reading of the Ordinance, the Town of Frisco is expected to make changes specifying that occupancy limits for short-term rental units will simply be two people per bedroom plus an additional four people.  The square footage calculation will likely be removed.  And, the Town Council is also expected to remove the child language as well, meaning that children under 12 will count towards overall property occupancy.  Of significant import, Section 110-40(A)(3) of the Frisco Short-Term Rental Ordinance also notes that the maximum occupancy may potentially be adjusted by the Town, if a physical inspection of the property is conducted.

Life Safety Requirements for Frisco Short-Term Rentals

Section 110-40(A)(5) of the Frisco Short-Term Rental Ordinance provides the life and safety requisites for short-term rental properties.  First, all units must conform to the applicable requirements of Frisco’s already-existing building, technical and safety codes.  Next, short-term rental properties must have smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and fire extinguishers installed and maintained in operable condition.  Lastly, if a unit has wood burning fireplaces or stoves, they must be cleaned on an annual basis.

Effective Date of Frisco Short-Term Rental Ordinance

Section 110-38 of the Frisco Short-Term Rental Ordinance states that May 1, 2019 is the effective date for Frisco short-term rentals to begin complete compliance with all of the new short-term rental requirements.  So, the Town did provide a bit of a grace period before the Ordinance fully takes effect.

Next Steps

Once a new draft of the Frisco Short-Term Rental Ordinance is finalized with the changes outlined above regarding occupancy, it’s expected to be presented for second reading at the regularly scheduled Frisco Town Council meeting on January 8, 2018 at 7:00 PM.

When the requirement begins in 2019, Summit Local Agent aims to help you comply in the most cost-effective way possible, by serving as your Frisco Responsible Agent.