Keystone became its own town in 2024

For most of its life, the Keystone resort area was governed by Summit County, not by a town of its own. That changed recently.

In early 2024, after a community-led effort, Keystone completed the legal process of incorporation and became a town. Residents formed a charter commission, wrote and approved a town charter, and elected the first town council. With that, Keystone joined the county’s other towns as its own local government.

Why this matters, especially for buyers: when a place incorporates, the rule-maker for that address changes. Decisions about zoning, building, short-term rentals, parking, and local taxes can now be made by the Town of Keystone instead of the county. Because the town is new, some of its rules are still being built out, and they may differ from the county rules that applied before. Older online information may still describe Keystone as unincorporated.

If you own or are buying in Keystone, confirm which rules apply with the Town of Keystone directly, since this is a recent change still settling into place.