Dallas City Council’s Wednesday Briefings: Short-Term Rentals, DART Funds, And Ethics Code

It’s going to be a long day at Dallas City Hall on Wednesday, as council members are slated to tackle short-term rentals, get an update on the dispute with Dallas Area Rapid Transit over excess sales tax revenues, and hear a briefing on the city’s code of ethics. 

Council briefings begin at 9 a.m. June 7 and can be viewed in person in the sixth-floor council chambers at 1500 Marilla St. or online. 

Short-Term Rentals

The short-term rental discussion was put on hold in April after council members said they wanted more data on zoning options, code enforcement, data analytics, and certificates of occupancy.

If an outright ban is pursued in residential neighborhoods, council members wanted to know how soon that could be implemented, how much it would cost, and what the effects would be on residential STR operators who aren’t causing any problems. 

It appears a majority of the council wants to shut down the “bad actors” who are operating party houses and using their rentals for things like sex trafficking and drug deals. Some elected officials appear open to zoning that would allow neighborhoods to decide for themselves if they want STRs, but numerous questions have been raised about whether a residential ban could be enforced. 

Here’s Wednesday’s presentation, prepared by Director of Planning and Urban Design Julia Ryan, Director of Code Compliance Chris Christian, Director of Data Analytics and Business Intelligence Brita Andercheck, and Director of Development Services Andrew Espinoza. 

Dallas City Council Briefing on Short-Term Rentals Set For June 7 at Earliest

DART Funds

We last heard about the City of Dallas versus DART dispute in February, when officials with the bus and train system appeared to renege on a deal to distribute excess sales tax revenues to its 13 member cities. Dallas was expecting a $111 million piece of the pie, but DART leaders said that number would be reduced because of the city’s lack of cooperation in issuing permits and providing comments on the design for the Silver Line project. DART also already spent a portion of the funds on “betterment projects” within the city limits.

“In addition to the potential reduction of $36.0M in betterments from $111.1M in excess sales tax revenues, through continued discussions, DART sought to deduct an additional $43.5M in delays associated with Silver Line permit reviews and approvals,” Assistant City Manager Robert Perez wrote in a June 2 memo to the Dallas City Council. “The reduction of $36.0M in Silver Line betterments and $43.5M in Silver Line permit review and approval delays would have resulted in a $79.5M reduction of the $111.1M excess sales revenues, leaving approximately $31.6M in excess sales tax revenues being allocated to the City of Dallas (COD).”

The two entities have been in mediation discussions and it appears they’ve agreed to a $90 million allocation for the City of Dallas to spend on DART projects.

Here’s Wednesday’s presentation, prepared by Perez. 

DART Agreement With Dallas Went Off The Rails But Leaders Are Working to Get Back on Board

Code of Ethics

We began hearing about the city’s Inspector General office during last summer’s budget hearings. 

The matter resurfaced again on the campaign trail ahead of the May 6 City Council elections, with candidates asking what the IG’s office does and whether its investigations are effective in holding elected officials accountable for their actions. 

In addition to a discussion on the IG’s office, Wednesday’s briefing also provides an overview on conflicts of interest and disclosure of confidential information — a topic that came up recently when council members were instructed by the city’s communications office to stay quiet on a ransomware attack. 

Here’s Wednesday’s presentation, prepared by Laura Morrison of the Dallas City Attorney’s Office.