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Irving staff propose conditional-use permits for most short-term rentals; 52,000 postcards planned
Summary
City staff presented a zoning component of a larger short-term-rental package that would require conditional-use permits for most future short-term rentals in single-family and small multiunit residential areas; staff plans to mail about 52,000 postcards and expand enforcement efforts, estimating up to 340 STRs citywide.
City planning and code staff outlined a zoning proposal to require conditional-use permits (CUPs) for most future short-term rentals in single-family and small multiunit residential districts and described enforcement steps, outreach and estimated counts of current short-term rentals in Irving.
“Currently, short term rentals are allowed by right in residential districts and single family homes as long as they register with the city,” a planning staff member said, adding that the proposed change would require CUPs for new short-term rentals in most single-family, duplex and triplex properties while leaving multifamily (four units and above) allowed by right. Existing registered short-term rentals would be classified as legal nonconforming uses if the ordinance is adopted.
Code enforcement director Shane Deller explained the city’s approach to identifying and tracking listings. “We contract with a company called LodgingRevs to track the Internet for short term rental ads,” he said, reporting about 190 registered single-family short-term rentals and estimating an additional 75–150 operating in apartments; with increased enforcement the total identified could reach about 340.
Staff said outreach would include mailing postcards to roughly 52,000 single-family homes with a QR code linking to a project webpage; postcards were planned for early June, with the item scheduled before the Planning & Zoning Commission on July 6 and city council on July 30. Deller said targeted patrols and coordination with police would be used during major events (for example, FIFA matches) and that code enforcement has already used zoning definitions for boarding and rooming houses to pursue problematic operators.
Commissioners asked about 'pad splits' and operators renting individual rooms for low nightly rates; Deller said the city is pursuing a parallel enforcement strategy using existing definitions (rooming house, boarding house) and is evaluating code cleanup to address online-era rental practices. The staff emphasized legal caution, noting the city attorney will be involved to avoid exceeding state law limits. Deller also said the legislature has produced mixed signals but that short-term rentals had been specifically carved out from some recent preemption bills.
No formal action was taken at the work session; staff requested direction and said further ordinance language and enforcement details would be presented to the commission and council for adoption.
