Council adopts short‑term rental registration ordinance; maximum occupancy set at 12

The Hutto City Council approved an ordinance creating a short‑term rental (STR) registration program and a compliance workflow using permit software and a monitoring service that scrapes booking platforms to identify operators who are not remitting hotel‑occupancy tax.

Management Fellow Nick Angeli told council staff estimates about 70 short‑term rentals currently operate in Hutto, but only a small number remit occupancy tax. The proposed ordinance requires operators to register with the city, report maximum bedrooms and occupancy, and remit taxes; staff recommended integrating GovWell for permitting and Deckard (including a bookings‑scraping module and an occupancy‑tax payment portal) to identify and collect revenue from noncompliant operators.

Council debated enforcement, parking, trash and neighborhood impacts. Several members proposed and then adopted an amendment lowering the maximum occupant limit from 15 to 12. Appeals for permit denials or revocations go first to the city manager for review; staff will return with implementation details. The ordinance passed 6–1 (nay: Councilmember Porterfield).