Our Readers Write

Hank lost his way on short-term rentals
Editor:
Hold on there, Hank. I love your column, your research is great, but have you lost your way on this subject? That was then; this is now. The majority of the houses were built as summer vacation homes. Our population mushroomed in the summer. It was a vacation, seasonal community. Short-term rentals were appropriate. Live and let live! But …
Evergreen made a drastic change starting after World War II. Over the next 15 years or so, it evolved from a delightful small remote community to the start of what we are today. Simply speaking, we grew up, got responsible, realized the new Evergreen was inevitable — so, like it or not, we had to adjust. Volunteer leaders accepted the challenge, and off we went. With the help of special districts, we now have top-quality fire protection , sanitation, water and recreation. With this came county requirements and controls covering plannning and zoning, building codes and so forth.
We have grown up! We are here to stay. I feel we have handled this unavoidable change pretty well.
We no longer build what we want, where and how we want it, and how we use it. We live by the law. The law says no short-term, less-than-30-day rentals. We have lodges and hotels in approved areas — legitimate, taxpaying businesses. They are also legal.
Short-term rentals are not legal. The people operating them are ignoring the law. Fortunately, there are very few of them at this time. The law is there for a reason. Let’s just live with it.
The question is: Do you want the house next door to you to potentially become an unsupervised motel/party house?
Do you want to be the supervisor who reports what is going on in the middle of the night? Think about it. Waiting for police help is no fun.
Things are pretty nice the way they are.
Ross Grimes
60-plus-year Evergreen resident, former fire chief, chairman of the fire district board, 30-year chairman of Evergreen Metro District

Evergreen is not a resort destination
Editor:
To Hank Alderfer: We are very impressed with your knowledge of the past. First and foremost, however, this is 2011. Evergreen is a residential, bedroom community, not a resort destination.
Vacation rentals are not just about renting a room. By definition, they are classified as mini-motels. They are entire houses that are mainly used for family/group reunions, wedding parties, concert-goers, etc.
They are inappropriate for single-family residential neighborhoods due to the lack of supervision, ability to enforce regulation, safety, privacy, noise, traffic hazards, inconvenience, neighborhood integrity, and a litany of other reasons that are at odds with single-family residential use.  
This is not the 1940s before there was zoning to protect and dictate land use. Vacation rentals should continue to be required to go through a strict zoning procedure to qualify as such. Evergreen has more than enough supply of legitimate lodging venues.
We certainly don’t remember you at any of the many community and county meetings meetings over the last three years discussing this issue with the many residents of Evergreen adversely affected. We certainly don’t want our home next to a vacation rental.
 Cleo Boyd
Chris Bentley
Evergreen

Dumping old signal lights a waste
To see the scrap pile of used-to-be-working traffic lights is wrong. Why not re-use them elsewhere instead of throwing them away?
Also, the timing of the local lights is the worst. such as those at Lewis Ridge Road or Highway 65. I know folks avoid the intersections because of the terrible wait times. How about letting CDOT know what you think about it?
Jeff Chase
Evergreen