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Council hears proposal for short‑term rental registry; staff proposes no fee and 24‑hour contact requirement
Summary
Staff proposed an annual registration-only program for short‑term rentals in McKinney: no fee initially, required 24‑hour contact for complaints, and an effective date upon publication; staff estimated 103–450 listings depending on source and said automation could reduce workload.
Michael Quint, executive director of development services, presented a proposed short‑term rental (STR) registration ordinance the council will consider at the regular meeting. Quint described the proposal as a low‑involvement, registration‑only approach: an annual registration with no fee initially and a requirement that registrants provide a 24‑hour contact phone number for complaint response. "We just dropped the ball," Quint said of the delay in returning the topic to council after prior direction; "we didn't give it the attention it desired." Quint said staff's preference for no fee is intended to encourage broad registration and said the program could go live as soon as the ordinance is published in the newspaper.
Quint and council members discussed how many STRs exist in McKinney. Staff gave a range of estimates depending on the data source: Quint said some sources suggest "anywhere from 300 to well over 450" properties, while a councilmember noted a VRBO search showed 103 listings. Quint later offered a narrower, staff estimate around 300–350. Councilmembers asked whether a fee would be legally defensible; staff counsel said a reasonable administrative fee could be imposed to cover program administration but recommended waiving it initially to maximize participation and revisiting the question in a year.
Police Chief Ellenberg said registration would help enforcement by providing officers with contact information. He described the department's current approach to nuisance calls: officers seek voluntary compliance and "I would say 90% of the time we're met with compliance," escalating to citation issuance only when required. Quint said a registration dashboard (via EnerGov or similar systems) and coordination with the city's data efforts could make administration efficient; staff noted practical limits to scraping listing platforms because many hosts do not disclose physical addresses unless a booking is made.
Council did not act on the ordinance at the work session; staff will bring the item to the regular meeting for formal consideration. Members suggested tracking participation and staff workload for one year and returning to the council on whether to impose a registration fee.
