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Rowlett raises short-term rental registration fee to $2,000; adds $2,250 development-agreement application fee
Summary
Council unanimously approved amendments increasing the annual short-term rental registration fee from $500 to $2,000 and establishing a $2,250 development-agreement application fee to recover staff and legal costs.
Rowlett City Council on Nov. 12 unanimously adopted amendments to the master fee schedule that increase the annual short-term rental registration fee from $500 to $2,000 and add a $2,250 fee for development-agreement applications.
City staff explained the increases reflect the estimated staff time and legal review required to monitor short-term rentals, respond to complaints, perform four quarterly inspections required by ordinance, and pursue enforcement when necessary. The staff presenter said the proposed $2,000 rate was based on an estimate of hours of staff time across the city's portfolio of short-term rentals.
Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Pratim Schinder asked whether staff had benchmarked peer cities; the presenter said they had not. Schinder noted that San Marcos charges $2,500 for a comparable fee. Council discussed whether a sliding scale based on development size would be appropriate for development-agreement fees; staff said the legal-review and staff-meeting workload typically scales more by complexity of issues than by unit counts and recommended a flat $2,250 application fee.
Council moved and approved the fee amendments without dissent. The amendment keeps quarterly inspections included in the registration and adds incidental fees for late registration.
