Residents urge De Soto to curb non-owner short-term rentals after VRBO application withdrawn

Good evening. Melanie Linewetter, a Cherish Oaks resident, told the planning commission that a recently withdrawn application for a non‑owner‑occupied short‑term rental highlighted a policy gap the city should close. "Short term rentals are not the same as long term housing. They introduce high turnover, commercial activity, and unnecessary uncertainty," Linewetter said, asking the city to consider prohibiting non‑owner‑occupied short‑term rentals in residential zones and to adopt licensing, inspection, occupancy and local contact requirements.

Linewetter said she submitted a petition representing neighborhoods just outside the city’s 200‑foot protest boundary and reported that 77 percent of households in Cherish Oaks opposed the VRBO-style special use permit. Other residents offered similar concerns: Marie Caldwell noted De Soto already allows some bed‑and‑breakfasts and asked for clearer rules, and Tim Petty pointed commissioners toward deed restrictions that neighborhood homeowners may still enforce privately.

City staff clarified procedural status: the applicant withdrew the special use permit request earlier in the day and, as staff stated, the application "is essentially dead" for the current process. Any new proposal would require a fresh application, new hearings and a new notification effort.

Commissioners and staff told residents how to report unauthorized short‑term rentals: the city clerk or codes enforcement via the online complaint form or city hall phone line. The commission did not take policy action at the meeting, but several members signaled interest in reviewing rules and suggested the issue will resurface during council and planning work on short‑term rental regulations.

What's next: because the application was withdrawn, no permit was approved or denied; any future application will return as a new agenda item and require public notice and hearings.