Members of the Dallas City Plan Commission decided in a split vote Thursday to define short-term rentals as lodging use and limit them to areas where such uses are permitted, effectively banning short-term rentals in residential areas.
During the nine-hour meeting, there was talk of enforcing regulations against “bad actors”, allowing STR by law, by authorizing them by permit for specific use, or by simply prohibiting them in single-family neighborhoods. The commission heard from dozens of residents on both sides of the issue.
CPC Vice President Brent Rubin tried to change the motion to allow STRs in some multi-family districts, but that failed.
Planning Commissioner Joanna Hampton moved the motion to approve what has been called the “Keep it Simple Solution”, seconded by Deborah Carpenter. Commissioners voting against the motion included Rubin, Brandy Treadway, Tony Shidid and Tipton Housewright.
“We had due process deliberations,” Hampton said. “We received hundreds of letters. We heard testimony today with overwhelming support for defining short-term rentals as lodging use and removing them from our residential neighborhoods.
Short-term rental policy is an ongoing debate
The issue of short term rentals was widely debated for three years in Dallas and other American cities.
The CPC is a referral organization. The case will eventually go to the Dallas City Council, however, the council more often than not accepts the plan commission’s recommendation.
The commissioners of the plan held a lengthy public hearing November 17 and then decided to take the issue forward to a one-day workshop, which happened on Thursday.
Several measures are already in place to monitor STRs, but those who don’t want them in their neighborhoods say the code is not being enforced in a timely manner.
STR operators are required to register with the city and pay hotel occupancy taxes. Airbnb platform bans party homes and assistant city attorney Casey Burgess said Thursday that the city does not allow STR operators to rent homes to more than four unrelated adults in a single-family neighborhood. Those who violate city code can be fined up to $2,000 or prosecuted in city court, Burgess said.
Short Term Rentals in Dallas
It’s a complex issue with passionate people on both sides of the issue – tax-paying citizens who run decent rentals and don’t complain, and long-time residents who have concerns about a brothel or sex trafficking den operating in their neighborhood. Lodgify has in-depth knowledge breakdown STR usage in Texas, city-specific restrictions, and lawsuits.
About 2,628 STRs operate within Dallas city limits, representing less than 1% of the city’s housing stock, according to data prepared by city staff at the request of City Manager TC Broadnax.
Plan commissioners discussed Thursday how another set of data shows the number of STRs in Dallas is closer to 6,000. City officials said they used the MUNIRevs supplier for its data because a contract with the city is already in place.
More than 88% of STRs generated no 311 or 911 calls in 2022, city officials said. Plan commissioners pointed out that due to high response times and lack of enforcement, many nuisances, such as on-street parking or noise, go unreported.
“We looked at other orders,” Hampton said. “We looked at other cities. We looked at other approaches. The proposed zonings, as we have heard, do not prohibit STRs. They simply define where they can operate and give everyone certainty of how they will be used. They are usually found in our downtown mixed-use shopping districts. There will be [planned developments] where they will be allowed. There are several areas where they will be allowed. Most importantly, we are meeting the intent of our residential zoning districts.
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