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City moves to clarify "hotel" definition ahead of a short-term rental ordinance
Summary
Missouri City staff proposed removing archaic terms from the zoning definition of "hotel" to clear the way for a separate short-term rental ordinance; staff said the change is preparatory, no public speakers registered and P&Z will consider the item June 10.
City staff told a joint meeting that the city plans to revise the zoning code's definition of "hotel" so future short-term rental rules will not conflict with existing language.
Jason Mancomb presented the zoning text amendment, saying it would remove terms such as "tourist home, tourist house and tourist court" from the hotel definition to allow specific short-term rental regulations later. "This would allow us to potentially have future regulations related to short term rentals," Mancomb said.
Council and Planning & Zoning members asked for clarification about timing and scope. Councilmember Oderkirk said she did not want the change to "disappear before we have that ordinance in place" and stressed the importance of coordinating the definitional change with the upcoming short-term rental ordinance. Staff said the definitional edits are preparatory and that a separate rental ordinance would address registration, occupancy limits and nights allowed.
Staff also said the city currently requires long-term rental registration but lacks a strong tracking mechanism and that short-term platforms such as Airbnb and VRBO would be addressed in the proposed ordinance. Mancomb confirmed next steps: Planning & Zoning consideration on June 10 and City Council consideration tentatively July 20.
No public speakers signed up on Item 6b during the hearing.
The city characterized this change as housekeeping to remove archaic language and better align the code for future policy work on short-term rentals. Councilmembers asked staff to confirm how terms such as "lodging house" and "rooming house" would be treated; staff and legal counsel said some terms were already excluded from single-family definitions and they would follow up with precise language at P&Z.
