FRISCO \u2014 Summit County\u2019s safer-at-home public health order encourages second-home owners to avoid visiting the county, but some people worry the recommendation, along with others outlined in the order, will have a severe impact on the economy. <\/p>\n
The order states that \u201csecond homeowners are strongly encouraged to avoid visiting their second home unless required for necessary activities or necessary travel as defined by the state of Colorado.\u201d Because the county can\u2019t legally prevent homeowners from visiting their properties, the Summit County Board of Health chose to discourage them from returning during the pandemic. <\/p>\n
Regardless of whether the county can keep homeowners from their properties, Summit County Commissioner Elisabeth Lawrence said she would feel uncomfortable putting that sort of restriction in place. <\/p>\n
\u201cI value our second-home owners, what they do for our community in Summit County,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
The order falls in line with state recommendations. Gov. Jared Polis has urged people to recreate within 10 miles of their homes and avoid traveling from county to county. Lawrence said the goal of the second-home owner recommendation was to prevent the spread of the virus.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand that (second-home owners) want to be here, and I don\u2019t blame them for that,\u201d she said. \u201cIt makes sense. Of course, they would want to come to their second home, but we might have very different rules than wherever they are coming from.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kim McGahey, a Breckenridge real estate agent, said he worries the recommendation will severely damage the county\u2019s economy, which relies on visitors to function. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe rental income that (second-home owners) generate and the renters that they attract to Summit County is really the lifeblood of the resort community,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
CJ Milmoe, who lives in Corral Condos in Breckenridge, agrees with McGahey that the order and the other restrictions will damage the local economy. Corral Condos has 65 units and only 10 of them are owned by permanent residents, said Milmoe, who is also on the HOA board for the complex. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have any data on exactly how many millions of dollars of rental revenue are going to be lost, but it\u2019s going to be in the millions, depending on how long it goes,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Milmoe said the county encouraging people not to come \u201cis the dumbest thing\u201d he\u2019s ever heard a resort community say. He believes the county should open up to visitors by Memorial Day. <\/p>\n
\u201cPeople don\u2019t come during mud season. They do come by Memorial Day,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s demand for Breckenridge accommodations that is being artificially repressed by these restrictions.\u201d<\/p>\n
McGahey believes the county should take a \u201ccommon sense\u201d approach and let people decide for themselves the risks they want to take. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think (the county) is sending the wrong message,\u201d he said. \u201cI think the message they want to send is, \u2018Hey, Summit County is open for business. Come on in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lawrence made it clear that second-home owners are not prohibited from coming to the county. They are still allowed to come for necessary maintenance or other necessary activities. <\/p>\n
\u201cI would ask for those that do come here that they pick a location, stick with it and follow along with the public health order that\u2019s here in place in Summit County,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The county has been figuring out how to enforce the rules in the public health order. In a news release sent Wednesday, the Summit County Sheriff\u2019s Office announced there have been 72 complaints related to the public health order since April 1 and that the office has issued cease-and-desist notices in two instances.<\/p>\n
In the news release, Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons said it would be counter productive to be arresting people for violating the order when that would lead to more contact between individuals that could spread the virus. <\/p>\n
Milmoe believes the county isn\u2019t able to enforce the restrictions put in place by the order. <\/p>\n
\u201cHow are you going to police that?\u201d he said. \u201cSomebody\u2019s got a home here. They come. They drive to it. They go inside. That has zero impact on public health.\u201d<\/p>\n