Council reviews short‑term rental monitoring; members ask legal research and consider higher STR tax rate

Code enforcement and economic development staff updated council on short‑term rental (STR) monitoring and hotel‑motel tax data and discussed enforcement tools on Feb. 4.

Christina Ramell, code enforcement manager, said the city is using a third‑party vendor (Host Compliance) for monitoring and recent additions include 24/7 hotline, GIS (Esri) integration and automated address identification. Ramell reported 71 short‑term rental units identified, 14 active bookings in the last 30 days and 222 total short‑term listings on marketplace platforms; about 60.8% of listings have been identified in the system to date. Staff said properties identified as in violation either lacked registration or were offering one‑night stays contrary to local rules and that enforcement steps follow standard code procedures (notice of violation, final warning letter, citations if noncompliant).

Perla Tavera, director of economic development and tourism, reported the city has roughly 2,200 hotel rooms and a 7% hotel‑motel tax rate. Several council members suggested policy responses: raising the STR tax rate (one member proposed matching neighboring Irving and Dallas at 9%), raising the STR registration fee, and ensuring STR rules do not conflict with existing agreements the city has with partners such as Southwest Airlines. The city attorney said he would research whether the city can set a separate tax rate or classification for short‑term rentals versus hotels and whether existing contractual agreements require grandfathering or special treatment.

Council asked staff to return with legal research on ordinance authority, potential tax‑rate changes that distinguish STRs from hotels, enforcement costs and implications for existing hotel/airport partnerships before making changes to the tax rate or registration fees.