Know the Facts Before the Vote
Beaver Mountain Estates | Proposed Short-Term Rental Covenant Ban
1
STRs here are already regulated. BME is outside the Town of South Fork. Rio Grande County requires a vacation-rental permit, tax compliance, insurance, a local property manager, posted occupancy and rules, life-safety measures, trash service, and on-property parking. BME can add community-specific rules.
2
They generate real local revenue. STR stays pay Colorado sales tax plus a county lodging tax, and guests spend money at South Fork restaurants, outfitters, and shops that depend on tourism.
3
A ban is not the only option. BME's own 2020 STR Committee developed minimum-night rules, occupancy caps, quiet hours, parking limits, guest restrictions, and an enforcement deposit. A 2025 committee again advanced supplemental rules.
4
An outright ban is a high legal bar — and a real risk. It requires a declaration amendment under the official Article XX voting process. Colorado courts have also held that generic "residential use only" language does not already ban STRs.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Watch for the board's official meeting notice. Read the actual proposed amendment language. Whichever way you lean, return your ballot — since Article XX passed (Aug 2025), non-votes no longer count as "no," so sitting out a vote no longer protects the status quo. If you support regulating STRs instead of banning them, say so, in writing, before the vote.
Learn more & get involved: southforkforward.com
Prepared by a group of Beaver Mountain Estates owners, updated July 31, 2026. Not an official BMEPOA communication and not legal advice. Sources: BMEPOA records (2020–2026), including the board's July 31 memo and 2020 STR Committee findings; Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act, C.R.S. § 38-33.3-217; Rio Grande County vacation-rental permit conditions and fee schedule. Verify current dates and amendment text against the board's official notice.