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What This Map Shows
This interactive map plots all 386 licensed short-term rentals (STRs) in Arvada as of December 31, 2025, using precise address coordinates from the U.S. Census Bureau geocoding system. Each dot represents one permitted STR. The color of each dot shows how many other STRs exist within 1,000 feet of that property.
Clicking any dot produces a dashed circle that visibly shows the 1,000-foot radius around that property — giving an immediate, intuitive sense of the geographic concentration in that location. The circle scales correctly as you zoom in and out.
How to Read the Colors
| Level | Meaning |
|---|
| CRITICAL | 15 or more STRs within 1,000 feet — 118 properties citywide. These represent hyper-dense clusters far exceeding any reasonable threshold. |
| HIGH | 10–14 STRs within 1,000 feet — 120 properties. Consistent with the hotspot neighborhoods identified in complaint data. |
| MODERATE | 5–9 STRs within 1,000 feet — 93 locations. These neighborhoods warrant monitoring. |
| LOW | Fewer than 5 STRs within 1,000 feet — the majority of the city. |
| CORP/LLC | Purple border indicates the owner is a corporation, LLC, trust, or property management company rather than an individual resident. |
Why 1,000 Feet?
The 1,000-foot radius is not arbitrary. It reflects how people actually experience their neighborhood — the distance within which residents routinely interact, share street parking, hear noise, and observe activity. Urban planners call this a "pedestrian shed."
Research consistently shows that short-term rental impacts are highly localized. A peer-reviewed study of Virginia coastal communities found that STR-related impacts diminish at distances greater than 500 meters (about 1,640 feet), confirming that harm is concentrated close to the property, not distributed evenly across a ZIP code or neighborhood.
Other cities use spacing standards ranging from 250 to 1,000 feet. Arvada's current code has no proximity or density standard at all. The 1,000-foot analysis provides a framework for what a defensible standard could look like.
Key Findings
- Districts 2 and 3 hold 76% of all licensed STRs (161 in D2, 133 in D3), though they represent a fraction of Arvada's total housing stock.
- Specific neighborhoods — including areas near Grandview Avenue, Robinson Way, Balsam Street, and Ralston Road — show concentrations of 10–15+ STRs within a single 1,000-foot radius.
- The citywide STR rate of approximately 1.33% masks neighborhood-level concentrations that range from 10% to 15% or higher in specific blocks.
- Peer-reviewed research consistently links elevated neighborhood-level STR concentration to reduced housing affordability, declining residential stability, and degraded quality of life for long-term residents. Multiple census tracts in Districts 2 and 3 show estimated STR concentrations of 10–15% of housing units.
- 37.7% of identified STR operations (approximately 235 properties) appear to be operating without a current license, based on complaint data cross-referencing.
How to Use the Map
- Zoom in to any neighborhood to see individual properties. Street labels remain visible at all zoom levels.
- Click any dot to see the property's permit number, owner name, address, district, and density classification. A 1,000-foot radius circle will appear around that dot.
- Click the dot again, or click anywhere on the map, to dismiss the circle.
- Use the Layers panel (upper left) to toggle individual council districts on and off, or to hide the district boundary lines.
- The Legend panel (upper right) explains the color coding and the circle feature.
Data Sources & Methodology
- STR permit data: City of Arvada, CORA Request 2026-209, 386 active licenses as of December 31, 2025.
- Geocoding: U.S. Census Bureau Geocoding Services (public, no API key required). 385 of 386 addresses returned precise coordinates; one address used a nearest-neighbor fallback.
- Density calculation: For each STR, the map counts all other licensed STRs whose geocoded coordinates fall within a 304.8-meter radius (1,000 feet, converted to meters for the Leaflet mapping library).
- Council district boundaries and city limits: City of Arvada ArcGIS Open Data Portal, fetched live at map load.
- This map is for advocacy and informational purposes. All source data is public record.
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