Plano places ban on most new short-term rentals

A yearslong battle in Plano may soon be coming to an end.

Plano City Council unanimously voted late Monday night to ban almost every new short-term rental in single-family neighborhoods. Homes rented through apps like Airbnb and VRBO will still be allowed, but only in areas zoned for hotels and with more strict regulations.

The citizen-proposed ordinance will still permit short-term rentals that were operating before Plano temporarily banned them. However, they will have to register with the city by Aug. 1 and must pay a registration fee. Short-term rentals will also be allowed within the city’s heritage districts if they are at least 300 feet away from other short-term rentals.

VRBO and Airbnb did not respond to The Dallas Morning News’ request for comment at the time of publication.

Cities have complained about short-term rentals and a lack of regulation on the properties for years because of safety concerns stemming from out-of-control parties, shootings and how one property had a connection to a brothel.

“We never second-guessed our decision to move to Plano until STR’s showed up at our doorstep,” said Plano resident Tatiana Ramirez. “These properties advertise our neighborhoods as private and quiet, but fail to mention that we are now a crime watch area due to their guests’ criminal acts.”

To groups like Plano’s chapter of the Texas Neighborhood Coalition, it’s the win they’ve been looking forward to for years. The long waiting period to get here has been a point of frustration for the organization, as well.

The road to get here, in only the past year, has been taken up by Plano sending postcards to every address in the city on March 22 and collecting data from the community. Since then, the city has held multiple planning and zoning meetings which discussed various options to keep them in the city.

Proponents of short-term rentals claim that most properties don’t cause problems and a ban would breach property rights. For Will Tarrant, a speaker at the meeting, keeping short-term rentals is also a matter of keeping property prices affordable.

“Housing affordability is not an issue unique to Plano, but we have the opportunity to give our residents some relief, and it doesn’t cost taxpayers a dime,” he said. “In fact, it actually contributes to tax revenues, and it provides additional income for property owners, making the ever-increasing cost of homeownership so possible for many.”

Councilman Rick Horne voted to ban short-term rentals but is worried about what it could mean for Plano.

“I’m conflicted. We’re either going to be sued now or sued later,” he said. “If we do option four (a ban on short-term rentals), you have to recognize that, as citizens, that money will go to attorneys instead of putting an overlay on our road.”

Others like Kristin Reinaker, a speaker at the city council meeting, say they’ve felt left out of the process. She served on the city’s short-term rental task force.

“I felt not only outnumbered but also overwhelmed by the louder, anti-short-term rental members,” she said. “I trusted in the city in this process that my voice would matter. Now that I have seen the ordinances, it is clear that both sides were not equitably represented. The proposed regulations are excessive and unfairly discriminatory against short-term rental owners and impose excessive burdens on property owners.”

Regardless, citizens clapped as the city council voted to ban short-term rentals as the growing presence of companies like VRBO and Airbnb had been affecting the way residents see their communities.

“We cannot let the market determine the upper limit on how these new short-term rentals can exist in our neighborhoods. Zoning must control that,” said Plano resident Elena Bourke. “May your vote tonight send the message to the majority of your constituents that the survey responses and the data from the task force mattered to you.”