Property owners in Boulder will have an easier time renting out their homes on a short-term basis when tens of thousands of visitors arrive for the Sundance Film Festival.
On Sept. 18, the Boulder City Council voted 7-1 to approve an ordinance creating a new short-term “festival lodging” license with fewer restrictions than Boulder’s existing short-term rental program. The ordinance is the first major policy shift tied to Boulder’s successful bid to host the 11-day festival, which begins in January 2027.
Councilmember Taishya Adams voted against the measure and Mayor Aaron Brockett was absent. A final vote is scheduled for Oct. 9 and is expected to pass.
Under the ordinance, property owners would be able to obtain a license for up to 29 days per year during periods when the city designates a “special festival event.” The city is still crafting criteria for such events, but initial definitions include drawing more than 50,000 attendees, lasting longer than five days and creating “a substantial lodging demand,” according to a city spokeswoman.
One of the most significant changes eliminates a rule that requires property owners to live in their homes at least six months out of the year. That restriction was designed to prevent homes from sitting vacant in a city already facing a housing shortage.
The ordinance would also allow short-term festival rentals in accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and affordable housing. Currently, ADUs are restricted unless established before Feb. 1, 2019, and affordable units are barred from short-term rentals.
City staff estimate the changes could add more than 1,000 festival rentals by 2027, in addition to the 600-plus short-term licenses already issued.
One concern raised by some councilmembers during a public hearing on Thursday is that making licenses easier to obtain will discourage owners from renting to long-term tenants, potentially driving up vacancy rates and worsening Boulder’s housing shortage. Even so, the proposal has faced relatively little pushback from residents who typically advocate for more affordable long-term housing.
“I think it strikes an appropriate balance of creating additional lodging opportunities during the festival while still making sure that housing in Boulder will be focused on permanent residents,” Mayor Aaron Brockett said in a Hotline post ahead of Thursday’s council meeting.
In response to concerns, officials kept certain limits in place: Each property may hold only one short-term rental license, and festival rentals are capped at 29 days per year. Some councilmembers are also interested in pursuing a vacant homes tax as soon as next year, which would penalize owners who keep properties empty most of the year.
Jill Grano, a realtor, former city councilmember and researcher at CU Boulder’s Affordable Housing Initiative, said she supports accommodating the festival’s attendees but doubts the ordinance will add many short-term rentals.
She said most investor-owned properties are leased year-round, and units would need to be vacant and furnished during the festival window. Additionally, many homeowners’ associations will continue to restrict condo and townhome residents from renting. She suggested incentives for HOAs to permit short-term festival licenses and allowing tenants with sublease rights to obtain them as well.
“I am thrilled for Sundance and want the city to accommodate guests but can’t imagine this will move the needle unless those extra steps are taken,” Grano said in a text message to Boulder Reporting Lab.
Michael Leccese, a member of the city’s Housing Advisory Board and former executive director of the Urban Land Institute Colorado, a research organization, said the city should support Sundance. On one hand, he said the new short-term rental license could generate revenue for public services and provide a financial boost for homeowners facing rising costs for property taxes, insurance and wildfire mitigation. At the same time, he warned that short-term rentals have a history of destabilizing neighborhoods, citing a property in his neighborhood that turned into a “party house” before the city tightened its rules.
Sundance has been held primarily in Park City, Utah, for about four decades. In 2025, it drew 85,000 in-person attendees, far exceeding Boulder’s hotel capacity of about 2,900 rooms, according to city estimates. While additional lodging is available in nearby communities, some councilmembers want festival attendees to stay in Boulder and spend money locally, supporting businesses and boosting sales tax revenue.
To secure the festival’s move, Boulder and partner groups committed $34 million in incentives over the next decade. In 2024, Sundance’s total economic impact was $132 million, according to an estimate by the organization.
This move shows the Council prizes city revenue over all their other priorities. Forget about keeping rentals open for city residents. Look for them to impose stiff fees on these short term rentals for yet more revenue.
72% of the housing structures in my New York town are short-term-rentals, a number straight out of the United States Census. None at all are Income-Capitalized for Assessed Value, resulting. in Rates Of Return from eight and a half percent to nineteen hundred percent (wanna bet?) all based on Net Income. Short term rentals are inns, lodges, hostels, fraternity houses, sorority houses and rooming houses. Seventy Two Percent
no Income Capitalization, and a Public School System that is penniless.
Sounds like a nightmare in the making. Maybe if the entire population of homeowners flee the city for that time period and rent their homes out, that would free up about half the space needed for that onslaught. And while the homeowners make bank, the renter half of the population falls further behind as rents continue to escalate. So Boulder!
I can’t see enough people leaving town to accommodate 40,000 people (1/2 of the total festival goers), some of us have jobs and are not interested in taking our vacation in January. Few, if any, festival goers are going to be in Boulder, and those that do find space in Boulder will have money. Affordable housing advocates can now see how little council really cares about you.
It’s always been obvious affordable housing is just a talking point for this council. It’s also one big reason why they elevate staff as the city’s most important asset and defer to them at every opportunity. Council does not provide leadership on difficult issues like housing, other than on paper by adjusting zoning and land use regs. Now, wildfire – that is their thing – because it affects them directly. There are not many low-income residents living in the WUI.