Council asks attorney to draft short‑term rental changes after residents cite neighborhood impacts

Councilmember Campos presented proposed updates to Leon Valley’s short‑term rental (STR) rules during the July 15 meeting and asked staff and the city attorney to prepare an amended ordinance for council review. Campos told the council the city currently has seven registered short‑term rentals but that online platforms list more properties; staff and council discussed varying listings across Airbnb and VRBO and the difficulty of identifying unregistered rentals. Campos proposed several changes: require a clearer owner‑occupied definition for qualifying STRs; include an acknowledgment on registration that a full‑time commercial STR is not eligible for homestead exemptions; lengthen the minimum separation between STRs from the current 200 feet to 300 feet in residential neighborhoods; and add post‑approval notification to neighbors after staff approves an STR registration. Speakers at the meeting — including residents and a former councilmember — discussed enforcement challenges, reporting routes to the county tax office for suspected improper homestead claims, and the cost and limits of third‑party monitoring services for platform listings. Applicant and STR‑owner representatives at the meeting urged reliance on existing nuisance and public‑safety codes where appropriate and noted platforms like Airbnb already delist listings that violate platform rules. Action: Councilmember Campos made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Orozco, directing staff to forward the proposed changes discussed on July 15 to the city attorney for drafting of ordinance amendments. The council voted to send the suggested updates to the city attorney for drafting and return the draft for council review; staff and the attorney will provide legal analysis where required (for example homestead and distance provisions).