At its June 18 work session, the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) heard a proposal from Rise Above Violence Housing Advocate Kristen Bair about using short-term rentals (STRs) as emergency housing for those experiencing domestic violence and sexual assault.
Bair explained that Rise was founded in 1996 and provides support for domestic violence and sexual assault survivors through advocacy, a 24-hour emergency hotline, court accompaniment, and youth advocacy to prevent domestic violence and sexual assault.
She stated that Rise has three types of housing programs:
• An emergency housing program, which provides one to three nights of housing for victims and is “designated for extreme times of safety and need.”
• A transitional housing program, which utilizes community partnerships to offer rental housing for a short period while a victim secures permanent housing.
• A long-term housing program, which provides rental support for victims for up to six months while they work to become financially independent.
She added that Rise also partners with local real estate agents and the Archuleta County Housing Authority to help secure permanent housing for clients.
Bair explained that, in rural communities like Pagosa Springs, one in three people are impacted by domestic violence and that the housing market is particularly difficult due to the lack of affordable housing and the pattern that victims often lack resources, have poor credit or no credit, and have no job history “due to economic coercion.”
She pointed out that many clients potentially have to choose between being abused or being homeless and that 80 percent of Rise clients have children.
Bair stated that transitional housing assists clients in beginning their recovery and provides an opportunity for them to work on finding long-term housing.
She explained that Rise currently has four transitional housing locations, including a couple who live outside of town and allow Rise to use an apartment above their garage for housing when it is available, a leased location in Pagosa Springs that Rise will likely lose access to during the upcoming school year, and two additional STR locations that have signed on to provide transitional housing.
She explained that Rise is working to locate STR owners who will donate the use of their STR for transitional housing for up to 21 days a year in exchange for a tax donation slip, a utility allowance for periods when the home is used as transitional housing and a $250 cleaning allowance, among other benefits.
Bair stated that Rise also hopes to secure an incentive from the county.
She explained that homeowners can sign up to donate their home via an online form and can select specific periods of the year when they want their home to be available.
Bair explained that Rise then creates a contract with the STR owner that stipulates the amount of time that those needing transitional housing can stay at the property.
She stated that Rise has been partnering with Sherpa Real Estate to promote the program and is planning more extensive outreach efforts in the future, including working with homeowners’ associations and the community.
The goal of the program is to have four transitional housing locations available at all times, Bair explained, ensuring that Rise will never have to turn anyone away or send them to a shelter in Durango due to not having housing available.
She then proposed that the county could provide a discount on its STR fees as an incentive for those participating in the program.
Commissioner Warren Brown pointed out that Bair’s presentation indicated that Rise served 351 people in 2023 and asked if that number is just people served with housing or all clients.
Bair stated that the figure is total clients.
Brown then asked how many nights a year of housing Rise provides.
Bair explained that Rise provided 147 nights of transitional housing in 2023, adding that sometimes Rise needs to provide housing for multiple people at once and that its goal is to have housing available at all times.
Commissioner Veronica Medina asked if there have been times when Rise has not been able to provide housing or has needed to send clients to the Durango shelter.
Bair explained that there have been times when Rise has had to turn clients away and redirect them to the Durango shelter, which she noted is difficult given that many clients would have to commute between Durango and Pagosa Springs if they have jobs or connections in Pagosa.
She also commented that many clients do not want to go to a safe house.
Medina asked if Rise having more transitional housing would result in the organization providing more nights of housing to clients.
Bair stated that Rise would likely be able to assist more families with more inventory, adding that the transitional housing program is “life-changing” and an effective way to “disrupt the cycle of violence.”
Medina commented that, for other county incentive programs, the county collects documentation and asked if there would be a way to acquire documentation of how many nights an STR was offered without making the addresses public.
She added that the county would likely need such documentation to provide permitting fee or property tax waivers.
Bair commented that Rise could likely provide such documentation, although it would have to be done in a “confidential manner.”
She also indicated that Rise could track this information and provide it to the county.
Commissioner Ronnie Maez asked if the STR owners providing this housing receive compensation per night or whether “it’s just the night.”
Bair replied that Rise provides utility allowances, money for cleaning and insurance coverage if damage occurs.
She emphasized that these funds are provided to prevent the property owner from losing money by providing housing and to maintain community relationships.
Interim County Manager Jack Harper highlighted that Rise also has a partnership with the Humane Society of Pagosa Springs to provide boarding for animals if the transitional housing does not allow pets.
Bair noted that pets are extremely important to many of their clients and that this partnership is important to ensure that pets are cared for.
Medina noted that Maez’s comment was more focused on if Rise is paying standard rates for renting an STR, which it is not.
Maez commented that he believes the county STR fees are too low and that he was trying to assess offering a further reduction to them.
Medina stated that the county could have a variety of options for offering an incentive, including providing a fee reduction or tax waiver.
“I just think that the more incentives that we give property owners, the more likely they are to sign on to this program and … it’s a great program and a family-transforming program, so I just really want to offer our property owners anything that we can,” Bair said.
Medina commented that the program would be a “great opportunity to use STRs as an asset instead of it being a negative as many say in the community.”
She added that many STRs are currently vacant due to reduced rates of tourism and that the program could provide owners another way to use their STRs to “benefit the community” when they are not booked.
Medina proposed that STRs could pay their permitting fees at the beginning of the year and a rebate could be offered at the end of the year based on how many days the STR was used by Rise.
Maez and County Attorney Todd Weaver expressed support for this proposal, with Weaver adding that the county could offer a graduated scale for the incentive.
Weaver and Brown then briefly discussed potential mechanisms for maintaining confidentiality while offering the incentive before Bair commented that Medina’s proposal “might be the best way to do it.”
Brown added that he would hope to give out no incentives because this would mean there was no domestic violence, but commented that this is unlikely.
The discussion concluded with the commissioners thanking Bair for her presentation and Medina commenting to Bair that they would “talk soon.”
josh@pagosasun.com
