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Rowlett council to form subcommittee to study short- and long-term rental rules
Summary
Council agreed to form a three-member subcommittee to analyze possible refinements to short-term rental (STR) and long-term rental rules, including a proposed buffer that would deny new STR permits within 1,000 feet of an existing STR and possible single-party occupancy and medium-term categories.
As part of a broader code-review agenda, the Rowlett City Council discussed refinements to its short-term rental rules and whether some provisions should be extended to long-term rental regulations.
The mayor reviewed the April 1, 2025 short-term rental ordinance and suggested incremental changes: deny new STR permits for properties within a 1,000-foot radius of an existing STR, require STRs to follow existing solid-waste placement rules (city code section 50-6), and consider adding a requirement that STRs rent to a single party or household for each stay. The mayor said the 1,000-foot rule would not retroactively close currently operating, legally nonconforming STRs.
Council members raised enforcement and equity questions. One councilmember proposed creating a medium-term category (30 days to six months) to distinguish corporate or training stays from transient STR activity. Legal staff confirmed trash and pickup requirements already fall under existing city code. Because changes to the long-term rental code could affect many residents, council agreed a three-member subcommittee (Council members Reeves, Gibbs and Bowers) will draft options and return recommended code edits and enforcement approaches to the full council.
