A factual look at BME's proposed short-term rental covenant amendment — and why a registration-and-rules approach serves the whole community better than an outright ban.
Prepared by a group of BME owners. Not an official BMEPOA communication. Not legal advice.
The BMEPOA board has discussed a covenant amendment prohibiting short-term rentals (Article IV) since at least 2020. In August 2025, owners passed Article XX with 77.7% approval — changing how votes are counted so that non-votes no longer count as "no." Returning your ballot now matters more than ever.
The board has indicated a meeting is expected around July 2026, with a possible vote around December 2026 — confirm exact dates from the board's official notice once issued.
See the full timeline →The Town of South Fork caps STR permits at roughly 13% of housing units in most zones, charges a $1,500 permit fee with a life-safety inspection, collects a 2.0% lodging tax, and requires a local on-call contact for every rental stay. A BME ban would sit on top of rules that already exist.
Telluride, Steamboat, Breckenridge, Summit County, Silverthorne, Pagosa Springs — every major Colorado mountain resort community regulates STRs with licensing, caps, and behavior rules. None has banned them outright.
Minimum-night rules, occupancy caps, quiet hours, parking limits, and owner registration address the same concerns — noise, parking, turnover — without eliminating a legal, already-regulated use. BME's own 2020 STR Committee proposed exactly this approach.
Amending the declaration requires a 67% affirmative vote of the Association. Colorado courts have held generic "residential use only" language does not already ban STRs — which is why a permanent covenant amendment is required at all.
What short-term rentals mean to a Colorado mountain economy — Summit County, 2022
Statewide, lodging and STR taxes collected by 39 Colorado local governments are projected to reach $76.9M in 2026 — increasingly funding housing, child care, roads, and public safety. Sources on The Facts page →
Removes a legal, permitted use for every BME owner — including second-home owners who rely on it. Requires a 67% supermajority, stays open to court challenge and re-vote petitions, and walks away from a taxed, regulated use permanently.
Quiet hours, occupancy caps tied to bedroom count, parking limits, a required local contact, and an enforcement deposit — addressing every concern the board has raised, while preserving owners' property rights.
Compare side by side →Watch for the board's official meeting notice, read the actual amendment language, and return your ballot either way. If you support regulating STRs instead of banning them, tell the board in writing before the vote.
Sources: BMEPOA board and annual meeting minutes (Feb 2025–Oct 2025) and 2020 STR Committee findings; Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act, C.R.S. § 38-33.3-217; Town of South Fork short-term rental land use regulations. Verify current dates and amendment text against the board's official notice before relying on any specific figure or date.