City council passes temporary ban on new short-term rentals

During its July 19 meeting, Waxahachie City Council approved an ordinance, temporarily banning new short-term rentals and current short-term rentals determined to be a nuisance.

The council members first discussed the ordinance with the city attorney, Robert Brown, during an executive session before returning to open session and taking action.

“There have been reports of tenants and visitors at short-term rentals in the city engaging in conduct negatively affecting the public sense of well-being and security such as properties being used for gatherings disruptive to neighborhoods,” the ordinance reads. “The public has complained of STRs in the city regarding unreasonable noise, excessive trash, and parking issues … .”

During the temporary ban, council plans to establish regulations on short-term rentals in Waxahachie, according to the ordinance.

While the ordinance does not temporarily ban current STRs, it does ban STRs that have been deemed a nuisance. To be deemed a nuisance, law enforcement must have responded to “complaints regarding the STR being a nuisance on more than three occasions within the 12 calendar months preceding the effective date of this ordinance,” according to the ordinance.

The ordinance defines a nuisance as “unreasonably loud, disturbing, unnecessary noise;” “noise of the character, intensity and continued duration which substantially interferes with the comfortable enjoyment of private homes;” and “any violation of law at the STR witnessed by law enforcement.”

The ordinance banning new short-term rentals will expire Oct. 1, 2023.

During the public comments section of the July 19 meeting, about 14 people shared their thoughts on short-term rentals in Waxahachie, with the majority, who were from the same neighborhood, speaking against them. Several Waxahachie residents who own short-term rentals in the city urged the council to also consider the good rentals in the area before banning them all.

The council had previously discussed short-term rentals at its June 29 work session, where the city’s attorney, Robert Brown, shared four different options of how Waxahachie could approach short-term rentals. The options included doing nothing; requiring registration or a specific use permit along with traditional enforcement in the form of noise, littering, parking, public intoxication, and disorderly conduct ordinances; creating restrictions based on evidence gathered over several years; or banning short-term rentals.

During the work session, council members spoke in favor of requiring short-term rentals to get a specific use permit to operate in any zoning area and register their STR annually, with possible fines for violations like excessive noise.

Originally published July 28, 2023 - https://www.waxahachiesun.com/business/city-council-passes-temporary-ban-on-new-short-term-rentals/article_5f7a1f1a-2d89-11ee-b554-7ba2eee7f589.html