Fredericksburg Zoning Board Approves Short‑Term Rental Exception for 712 West San Antonio, Limits Occupancy to 8

The Fredericksburg City Zoning Board of Adjustment on a 4–1 vote approved a special exception allowing 712 West San Antonio to operate as an occupied short‑term rental, with occupancy capped at eight people.

Board Chair Clay Sears opened the hearing and invited the applicant and staff to present. Applicant Julie Morrut (spoke as “Miss Julie” in the record) described family medical issues that led the owners to withdraw a prior short‑term rental permit in 2024 and said they now seek to reinstate rental rights for the property to avoid selling the home after further family health uncertainty. Development Services staff presented lot and building statistics and recommended approval with an occupancy limit of eight.

Staff told the board the lot is 15,400 square feet and the main house is 2,224 square feet; the packet identified four bedrooms and said, “If approved without conditions, the 4‑bedroom unit would result in an occupancy of 10.” The staff report noted four on‑site parking spaces, described the area as mixed use with roughly half the nearby properties nonresidential or operating as short‑term rentals, and said seven properties within 200 feet were operating as STRs with an average occupancy of eight. Staff recommended limiting occupancy to eight to align with neighborhood averages and parking constraints.

Board members questioned occupancy calculations and the submitted floor plan. Commissioners and staff explained the current ordinance determines occupancy as two guests per bedroom plus two and requires one parking space per bedroom. Members also noted a discrepancy in materials: the floor plan in the packet was read by staff as showing three bedrooms, while the applicant and the prior STR permit indicated four bedrooms. The board recorded that the prior STR permit had been withdrawn in 2024 for medical reasons.

During deliberation, members cited on‑site parking, neighboring occupancies and the mixed commercial/residential character of the street. Commissioner Adam Layton moved to approve staff’s recommendation limiting occupancy to eight; a board member identified as Eric seconded. The roll call vote was: Adam Layton — aye; Mike Mahoney — no; Jennifer Eggleston — aye; Eric — aye; Clay Sears — aye. The motion carried 4–1, meeting the board’s required affirmative votes. The board’s approval was recorded as a special exception to allow an occupied short‑term rental at 712 West San Antonio with a condition limiting occupancy to eight people.

The record shows the board considered parking availability (the applicant reported three driveway spaces outside the garage, staff reported four required spaces on‑site), the relationship of bedroom count to permitted occupancy, and the concentration of STRs and commercial zoning nearby. Staff emphasized the special‑exception criteria found in section 5.5 of the city’s short‑term rental regulations (the 2024 STR ordinance and related code sections cited in the packet) and that this special‑exception route is the applicant’s avenue to seek an occupied STR permit in an R‑1 area given the neighborhood mix.

The board closed the public hearing after no members of the public spoke, approved the special exception with the occupancy condition, and then continued with other agenda items. The applicant and staff were present for the vote and were given notice of the approval and its occupancy condition.

The approval applies to the property address recorded in the meeting packet as 712 West San Antonio; any change of occupancy, transfer of permit rights, or enforcement actions would follow the city’s STR ordinance and zoning rules as applied by Development Services.