Will a Zoning Change Solve Short-Term Rental Problems? Dallas Council Vote Set June 14

New information on short-term rentals was presented to the Dallas City Council on Wednesday, with some city leaders asserting that a zoning change would not solve the problem of nuisance and crime-ridden properties. 

Planning and Urban Design Director Julia Ryan recommended regulating short-term rentals by building into the registration ordinance things like density caps “so you have all of your requirements within one ordinance that is streamlined and easy to enforce.” 

“We’re looking at an operator issue rather than a land use issue,” she said. “You can’t regulate the operators through the zoning because the operation of an STR is more of a code compliance issue.”

It appeared that District 14 Councilmember Paul Ridley didn’t like the substance of the recommendation; Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Omar Narvaez didn’t even like that Ryan was making a recommendation, pointing out that staff was asked to gather data and not provide personal opinions. 

City Manager T.C. Broadnax countered that Ryan was asked for her professional opinion. Assistant PUD Director Andreea Udrea said staff has discussed the matter over a period of years and Ryan’s statements express “the opinion of the department.”

Later in the meeting, by request of a few council members, Broadnax said his team would prepare a collective recommendation addressing questions that arose during Wednesday’s three-hour briefing. 

The staff recommendation is expected by Friday, and a vote on STRs is planned June 14. 

Wednesday’s presentation was compiled by Ryan, Director of Code Compliance Chris Christian, Director of Data Analytics and Business Intelligence Brita Andercheck, and Director of Development Services Andrew Espinoza. City Council archived videos are posted here, typically within 24 hours of the meeting’s adjournment.

Wednesday’s City Council Meeting 

Once again, homeowners, short-term rental operators, housing advocates, and fed-up neighbors packed Dallas City Council Chambers for the briefing — which focused narrowly on zoning options, code enforcement, data, and certificates of occupancy.

Again, there was about a 50-50 split between those who support the Keep It Simple Solution recommended by the City Plan Commission and those who encouraged the council to seek alternatives to allow compliant, taxpaying STR operators to continue renting their properties.

Plano recently imposed a temporary, year-long ban on new STRs, an option that some Dallas STR operators suggested Wednesday could be a quick fix locally. 

Councilmember Chad West suggested a multi-pronged approach: aggressively pursuing regulations, 24-hour enforcement funded through hotel taxes, parking requirements, limitations on occupancy, a party ban, and a two-or-three-strikes-you’re-out program.  

“We’ve got to crack down,” West said. “These guys are out of control. Us debating this for four years is making it worse.”

Under West’s proposal, single-family neighborhood STRs must have an on-site caretaker, and any new STRs would be subject to a distance requirement of 2,000 feet from currently registered STRs.

“My understanding from talking to at least one of my colleagues is that would pretty much mean we’re not going to have any new STRs in the city,” he said. 

West said multi-family STRs should be allowed without stipulations because they regulate themselves.

“We’ve been talking about this for four years, and I think we’ve been all over the board as a city,” he said. “It’s important that we give [staff] some guidance so we can get this vote done eventually.”

District 12 Councilmember Cara Mendelsohn thanked the “super-advocates” on both sides of the issue. 

“While I respect the opinion of both of you, I’m not here for you,” she said. “I’m here to represent the typical homeowner and apartment-dweller and their plight with short-term rentals. I believe in strong private property rights, but that has to include the rights of the neighbors. I don’t see how single-family neighborhoods should include commercial hotels.” 

Data on Short-Term Rentals

Data supports the argument that crimes have occurred at Dallas STRs — most recently, multiple hospitalizations were reported after a May 14 STR shooting on Southland Street in southwest Dallas and another occurred last weekend in Midway Hollow — but those on the other side of the argument say crime also occurs in owner-occupied homes and hotels. 

District 4 resident Tom Forsyth said eight shootings have occurred at Dallas STRs since 2019. 

“This is what happens when entire homes and apartments are turned into hotels with no staff or security and no accountability,” he said. “STRs are breeding grounds for the worst in human behavior … There are countless daily assaults on nearby residents that never get reported. There is no relief for homeowners, not from police, not from code. This is why zoning is the best solution. It is clear and clean and the easiest to enforce.”

Andercheck said 14 analysts spent over 1,100 hours reviewing data and added 147 properties to the total number of known STRs. About 1,765 Hotel Occupancy Tax-paying STRs were within the city limits as of March 27, about 95 percent of which are in residential-zoned areas. 

District 13 Councilmember Gay Donnell Willis further analyzed the data.

“You presented the data as 80 percent of STRs did not receive any calls but the flip side of that is that 20 percent did, and only 9 percent of non-STRs did,” Willis said to Andercheck. “Though we’re talking about a small percentage of this 0.82 percent of housing stock, it’s still over-indexing. It’s still generating more.”

Zoning Options

There are four zoning options on the table: Permitting in more districts such as areas that contain apartments, home-sharing in accessory dwelling units, a neighborhood overlay (opt-in or opt-out), and considering STRs as a residential use. 

Director of Code Compliance Chris Christian said an enforcement plan could launch within six months, as requested by the City Council, but it would be challenging to move that quickly. 

“You can expect enforcement to be achieved with the following limitations: Reactive complaint-based enforcement only, no after-hours enforcement, but Monday through Sunday enforcement, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.,” Christian said. “Late-night or after-hours calls would be investigated the next business day. We would be enforcing failure to register as an STR and/or illegal land use, primarily, until the staff and resources requested are granted and/or the software we have requested is approved.”