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Steamboat Springs — The Steamboat Springs City Council voted Tuesday not to extend the city's 90-day moratorium on vacation home rental permits.

The ban on new permits will expire May 2.

"I'm terribly disappointed," said Bill Moser, with the Ridge Road Homeowners Association. "That's all I'm going to say."

The vote was 4-3. Council members who voted against extending the ban on new permits said the ban was hurting people's pocket books and it could be summer before a solution is found.

"To me, we elevated an item that was nowhere near the priority list," said City Council President Susan Dellinger.

Revising the 2001 vacation home rental ordinance has led to an emotional debate from both sides. Homeowners like Moser are concerned vacation rentals can be a nuisance in neighborhoods. Others argue a few properties are giving the business a bad name.

A council meeting March 27 drew three hours of public input, but no action by the council.

The city has issued more than 50 vacation rental permits since adopting the ordinance in 2001, but in recent months - spurred by a raucous wedding last August that brought more than 100 guests, and the police, to a vacation home rental on Ridge Road - the issue has led to revocation hearings and a lawsuit filed against the city by homeowners.

In February, the City Council placed a 90-day ban on new vacation rental permits, citing a need to address residents' concerns and revise unclear sections of the 2001 ordinance.

"I'm going to vote against this," said council member Paul Strong. "It doesn't seem like we treated this like an emergency."

Joining Strong in voting against the extension were Dellinger, Karen Post and Loui Antonucci. Towny Anderson also expressed concerns, but voted in favor of the extension that called for definitive dates from city staff as to when the issue would come before them again.

"I think we either need to get right on it or come up with something else," Anderson said.

He was joined by Ken Brenner and Steve Ivancie.

After the meeting, Strong said he was surprised there were enough votes to prevent an extension of a ban on new permits.

Dellinger said it would be May 8 before the vacation home rental ordinance is discussed by council again, and it likely would not be discussed at length.

Council members had a brief discussion on sticking to their priorities and giving clear direction to city staff.

"We have created such a crunch on the amount of things we have put on the priority list," Dellinger said.

City Manager Alan Lanning said city staff is feeling the crunch and strain as well, especially since the city is currently understaffed and struggling to find new staff in the planning department.

"There is a larger issue than prioritizing and giving us direction, Lanning said. "We have a staffing problem that we can't get resolved, and maybe that needs to be looked at."

Also on Tuesday, new waterslides and pools planned for Old Town Hot Springs got rave reviews from the council.

The council voted to approve the final development plan for a makeover at Old Town Hot Springs.

To reach Matt Stensland, call 871-4210 or e-mail mstensland@steamboatpilot.com