Data presented to the Lewisville City Council in September 2023, showed that the city saw an 86% increase in short-term rental properties in the past three years. The report was also able to confirm the addresses of 93 unique properties that were currently advertised as STRs in addition to 11 rooms offered for rent, with 16 units being added in the last 30 days.
A second public hearing to discuss a short-term rental (STR) regulation in Lewisville, Texas will take place Nov. 27, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers inside Lewisville City Hall, 151 W. Church Street. Ahead of the first meeting, held on Oct. 16, 2023, in which around 40 residents signed up to speak, the city prepared a feedback survey for residents on the matter that got over 300 responses.
According to Denton RC, during the meeting in October, some residents showed up with t-shirts with the slogan “Homes Not Hotels” showing their stance against STRs. Noise, traffic and parking were some of the issues brought up by residents during the hearing. These concerns were supported by the report presented by to the council by Host Compliance found that from the 93 units, 11 had at least one relevant Call for Service and 15 units had at least one code violation.
However, STR owners also showed up to the hearing defending the practice, arguing that they rarely receive complaints from neighbors, with one owner even stating that they’d prefer to have regulations for “bad owners.”
Lewisville residents are just the latest to join the STR debate in North Texas. In Plano, residents have been fighting for STR regulations since 2022, when a streak of scandals involving a brothel operating inside an STR and a shooting incident linked to another STR sparked a series of city council meetings ending in a temporary ban in May 2023.
After pushing the decision on a city ordinance that would require registration and self-inspection of STR properties, the city assembled a 20-member short-term rental task force under the recommendation of consultant agency Gap Strategies. While a study open house was held on Aug. 23, 2023, for residents to review the information gathered by the task force, the city has yet to come to a decision.
As for the Lewisville City Council meeting today, residents will be able to share their thoughts on STRs but no decision will be made at this point.
