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Forney council adopts amended subdivision ordinance imposing rental caps and faster HOA transition in new developments
Summary
The Forney City Council on June 2 approved an amendment to the subdivision ordinance requiring rental caps, a rental registry and earlier developer-to-resident HOA transition triggers for new subdivisions; council lowered staff's initial 25% rental cap to 20% and shortened a 10-year trigger to five years.
The Forney City Council voted June 2 to amend the city’s subdivision ordinance to require creation documents for new homeowners associations to include rental-ratio limitations, a rental registry and developer transition standards. The ordinance, assigned as Ordinance 20-618 if approved, will apply only to new residential subdivisions and is not retroactive.
City planner Mr. Thatcher said the draft would “add a new subsection g that would require those CC and Rs to include a rental cap of no more than 25% of the total lots within a subdivision,” and would also require a minimum lease term of six months, owner-notification obligations and a registry to let HOA boards track rentals. Councilmembers debated the specifics, saying they wanted stronger resident protections while recognizing legal and market tradeoffs.
Councilmember Weatherford moved an amendment reducing the rental cap to 20%, lowering the build-out trigger for additional resident board seats from 50% to 30%, reducing the conveyance threshold for resident majority control from 90% to 75%, and shortening the time-based transition from 10 years to five years; Councilmember Solgado seconded the motion. The clerk stated the ordinance would be filed as Ordinance 20-618 if approved; the motion passed.
Supporters said the changes aim to give residents a voice earlier in new developments. Critics and some council members cautioned that overly strict caps or triggers could deter developers or create enforcement challenges and suggested the HOA—not the city—would be responsible for enforcement of caps under the ordinance. The ordinance applies as a plat condition going forward and will not change existing subdivisions.
Implementation details the council asked staff to return with include exact language for the rental registry, enforcement mechanics for HOAs, and clarifying the minimum lease-term requirement. The council’s discussion emphasized balancing incentives for developers with protections for future residents.
Ordinance 20-618 was recorded as passed by the council during the June 2 meeting; staff will publish the final ordinance and implementation guidance.
