The residents of Breckenridge have clearly spoken against the Breckenridge Town Council’s decision to cap short-term rentals. However, the council seems to be entrenched in its decision to cap short-term rentals and was unmoved by the testimonies of most people at the Sept. 14 meeting. Council’s lack of interest was glaring. One council member had his back to the audience during the hearing. The protesters outside City Hall had signs declaring “7 to 0 we support our council.” Clearly, council’s mind was made up before the hearing. To quote Shakespeare, “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.”

Council’s decision has the hallmarks of pressure being applied by forces they are not willing to disclose. And the argument they are motivated by traffic congestion, preserving the town’s character and affordable housing seems like a foil. I’ll take a guess at other factors that could be motivating the council. Were there special deals made with the big developers of the multimillion-dollar investments at Peak 8 who don’t want competition from local small-business owners? Could there be some other quid pro quo deal going on? Why do they continue to approve and exempt more building of fractional-ownership and condotel units, such as East Peak 8? Isn’t it interesting Vail Resorts sold its property to Lionheart Capital of Miami, a private equity firm? Let me think about this: Increase value by increasing occupancy and then sell for many multiples. Wow, this has the makings of a Hollywood feature with big corporate interests vs. the little guy in the Wild West.

The council has clearly decided who will be economic winners and losers. Its decision will greatly reduce property values, trample on property rights and sacrifice the small-business owners on the altar of large, corporate greed.