Irving planning staff backs requiring conditional‑use permits for most single‑family short‑term rentals

Planning and code enforcement staff told the Irving Planning and Zoning Commission at a July 6 work session that they will recommend a Unified Development Code amendment requiring most short‑term rentals (STRs) in single‑family residential districts to obtain a conditional use permit (CUP) before operating.

Planning staff said the ordinance would leave STRs allowed by right in multifamily districts (where registration remains required) but would add a CUP requirement for new single‑family STRs. "The CUP is the easy part. The registration is the hard part," planning staff told the commission, describing the two separate processes and the additional discretionary review a CUP would provide. Staff said the proposal responds to council direction to give the city more discretion over new STRs in neighborhoods.

Code enforcement director Shane Elder told commissioners, "As of today, we have a 196 short term rentals registered." He said the city works with a private search firm and estimates as many as roughly 350 STRs may be operating in Irving, many of the unknown or unregistered units in multifamily buildings. Planning staff said they mailed about "a little over 56,000" postcards to property owners and reported roughly 1,700 web hits for the STR information page.

Staff described enforcement measures and limits: legally established and registered STRs in operation before an ordinance’s effective date would be treated as legal nonconforming uses and could continue if registrations remain current; newly operating STRs after the ordinance would trigger the CUP requirement. Under current registration rules, code enforcement can revoke a registration for three substantiated violations within a year. Commissioners were told that a CUP could allow the council to place specific, case‑by‑case operating conditions on a single‑family STR or pursue revocation of a CUP as a path to revoking registration for severe or repeated violations.

Commissioners and staff discussed enforcement practicality and targets. Elder and planning staff said most registered STRs are single‑family homes but that many unregistered STRs are likely in multifamily properties, where identifying units is technically more difficult for the private search service. Code enforcement reported 46 STR‑related complaints in the last 12 months and said that over the life of the program (since October 2022) roughly one‑third of known STR properties have generated at least one complaint; about 21% of those properties have had more than one complaint in that period. Noise was identified as the most common STR‑related complaint.

Commissioners pressed for details about costs and process. Planning staff estimated a CUP application fee around $850 and said the CUP would follow existing zoning deadlines, notification, and public‑hearing processes; staff also said they would supply the commission with criteria for evaluating CUP applications (parking, neighborhood impacts, time limits and other conditions are typical considerations). Commissioners asked whether background checks or guest screening could be required; staff and legal said such requirements are not currently in the ordinance and would need to be evaluated for legal enforceability, although a CUP could conceivably include operational conditions that survive legal review.

No formal action was taken at the work session; planning staff said the commission’s recommendation would go to the city council for consideration on July 30.