City Council Poised to Legalize Short-Term Rentals

SAN ANGELO, TX – Yesterday's city council meeting began with a couple of recognitions: the Fire Department will hold its Fire Prevention Week (October 9-15) and Howard College will hold the Medical Assistant Recognition Week (October 17-21).  After these recognitions, the council began discussion of the three items on the day's regular agenda. The first item discussed was a resolution to the 2016-2021 Capital Improvement Plan to include a storm water office building and the reconstruction of South Jackson Street. The second item discussed was the city council’s reconsideration of an ordinance that would allow San Angelo residents to rent their property based on AirBnB.  

That's when the long debate ensued.

Short Term Rentals in San Angelo

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Recently, San Angelo has been abuzz with residents’ outcries over neighbors renting out their private property to vacationers in our city over the Internet. As of right now, Short Term Rentals (STR) are illegal within the city limits of San Angelo. San Angelo LIVE! reported on the city council meeting  held on Aug. 2, where numerous residents voiced their opinion on this topic. Today, the staff members of the Planning Commission returned with two amendments to the proposed ordinance that will legalize STRs (more information on the ordinance here).

1. The first amendment will require adding in a prohibition on camping, despite the current proposal allowing one camping unit (e.g. one tent, one trailer).
2. The second amendment would require placing a time limit on the conditional use approval to the STR Rental, mandating that renters renew their authorization to operate STR every two years. This would allow neighbors the opportunity to raise objections if the property is not operated or maintained to the expectation of the neighborhood.

Just as a quick update: STRs are defined as any rental lasting less than 30 days, with the operator of the STR not being required to be present on the property.

John James, Director of Planning and Development Services, brought two questions to the council during today’s meeting:  

1. Do we bring back the ordinance for a first reading in the future? If so, do we bring back the current planning ordinance, or do we tweak it before?
2. What do we do about the enforcement in the meantime? Currently, there is no enforcement pursued despite STR being illegal in the community.

The Mayor said he supports the new ordinance that, in his words, would “work for everyone,” allowing the people of San Angelo to use their property as they see fit with some restrictions.

Councilwoman Charlotte Farmer stated that she “received a notebook full of letters and emails, texts and phone calls on this issue,” and she questions “why now, after all this time, are vacationers not welcomed in our city?”

She noted that she had been sent information on San Angelo residents putting up signs that read, “Neighborhoods are for neighbors, not vacationers.” (An attendee later corrected this during the public comment section to “Neighborhoods are for neighbors, not vacation rentals.”)

The floor then opened up to public comment. More than one attendee expressed dissatisfaction with STRs, and a few were upset about a recent incident involving a STR in the Lake Nasworthy area. Below is a video posted Oct. 3 by resident Kim Leabo on YouTube. LIVE! cautions viewers for the strong language used throughout the video.

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Many more attendees confronted the council members expressing their worries over having a steady flow of strangers in their neighborhood, compromising the safety of their kids, and potentially having sex offenders vacationing next door. Despite the strong opposition to this ordinance, there were also voices heard, stating that STRs would allow those in economic difficulties to gain extra funds, and STRs would also be a boost to San Angelo’s tourism industry.

The city council moved to bring back the ordinance with the two amendments listed above, as well as a moratorium brought by city council member Charlotte Farmer. This moratorium would allow no enforcement on short-term renters until the council members cast their final vote on the ordinance.

The first reading of the STR ordinance is set for the first city council meeting in December.

The third and last item discussed pertained to the $322,946.00 unallocated funds from the fiscal year 2016/17 budget, which are currently earmarked for increases in health insurance premiums. Lisa Marley, Director of Human Resources, explained to the council that discussion on specific health insurance premiums would occur later this fall when more accurate data will be available on claims. For more information on this and the outcome of the final Meet and Confer meeting, please click here.  

The next city council meeting is scheduled to be held at the McNease Convention Center on Oct. 18 at 8:30 a.m.