Council declines to move forward on short-term rental at nonconforming 307 East June Street

The City Council removed a special-use permit (2025-05-01) for 307 East June Street from the consent agenda May 6 and, after discussion, took no action to approve the short-term rental (STR) application.

April McAnally, the applicant, told the council she manages about 30 homes in Alpine and that the property had been used as a rental. Jessica Eiseley, the city's building official, said the structure on the lot is a nonconforming accessory dwelling unit (ADU) that was built without an existing primary residence. "It's considered a nonconforming structure," Eiseley said, and the lot does not meet the zoning requirement that a primary R-1 structure be at least 1,000 square feet.

Councilmembers noted the property appears to measure in the few-hundred-square-feet range; Councilmember Stevens and other speakers referenced Brewster County appraisal data putting the structure at 529 square feet. Eiseley confirmed that the unit sits roughly five feet from the rear property line, a setback that prevents it from being brought into conformance as a primary house without substantial new construction on the parcel.

The building official explained that a certificate of occupancy was never issued and that no final inspection was recorded by the city building department. Eiseley said the short-term rental ordinance (section 91-35) requires compliance with the city's zoning regulations in Appendix C and that allowing a nonconforming structure to change occupancy to an STR would conflict with the zoning code. "The ordinance clearly states that we are not gonna allow a nonconformity to change its use," she said.

Councilmember Martinez and others said they support consistent enforcement of rules. Councilmember Stevens sought and received confirmation that the only practical route to compliance would be constructing a qualifying primary structure on the lot.

When the council chair asked for a motion to approve the special-use permit, no member moved; the item died for lack of motion. Staff indicated the applicant had submitted the online STR application within about a month and that the city had notified the applicant earlier in the day of the nonconforming status. The city manager asked the building official to continue reviewing ordinance language and enforcement practices so council could decide whether to modify rules about nonconforming properties in future code updates.