Judge upholds VHR ban north of Cave Rock

At the outset of a July 3 hearing on a lawsuit challenging the ban on vacation home rentals north of Cave Rock, District Judge Tod Young said he wasn’t going to rule on whether the ban was a good idea.

Last week, Young issued his ruling denying the challenge, pointing out that substantial evidence was presented to justify altering the home rental ordinance and that it wasn’t a taking.

Douglas County commissioners voted on Dec. 21, 2023, to prohibit vacation home rentals north of Cave Rock Cove except for those area covered by the Glenbrook Homeowners Association.

The ban takes effect on Dec. 31.

Attorney Rich McGuffin argued that the change in ordinance was due to the pressure from one county commissioner on behalf of one Glenbrook homeowner.

However, Young observed during the hearing that reflected the political process and wasn’t subject to judicial review.

While the ordinance prohibiting vacation home rentals north of Cave Rock stood, an effort to outlaw them in residential neighborhoods won’t appear on the November ballot.

On Sunday, organizers said they didn’t get an order from the district court denying their petition until July 24, nearly a month after a deadline to get on the ballot and around seven weeks after the hearing.

“By the time we got the order, we couldn’t do anything,” attorney Nancy Gilbert said.

Both Gilbert and Cynthia Mohiuddin said it’s possible they would try again in 2026, implementing some of the lessons learned in the last effort.

“Having vacation rentals across from you changes the whole character of the neighborhood,” Gilbert said. “We see this all over the world and communities have had enough.”

Members of the Vacation Home Rental Advisory Board are scheduled to meet 1 p.m. Aug. 28 to discuss possible changes or updates to the county code. They are also scheduled to hear an appeal from the owner of a rental on Milky Way Court in Stateline of a $2,500 fine levied for renting to occupants under 25 years old.