The Lewisville City Council has adopted a temporary ban on new short-term rentals. The ordinance allows existing STRs to stay in place but does not allow additional short-term rentals to start the process of opening.
The ban on new short-term rentals would stay in place for one year.
"I think we need the time to just get our feet underneath us as a city and make sure we are handling both sides of the issue as calmly and rationally as we can," says Mayor TJ Gilmore.
The council heard from several property owners.
"We want to make sure we consider all aspects of infringing on people's property rights whether that's with short-term rentals or not," one man who owns a short-term rental in Lewisville said during the meeting.
"We, the residents, presented substantial amounts of data highlighting the negative impact short-term rentals have on single-family neighborhoods," an opponent said.
Councilman and Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Patrick Kelly cited statistics from a poll showing 61% of residents said short-term rentals cause problems, 73% said they should be regulated, and 54% supported a ban
"It's clear the citizens of Lewisville would prefer short-term rentals not be in our neighborhoods," he said.
Councilwoman Ronni Cade says she owned a short-term rental but has not rented it to someone in two years. She voted against the measure saying Lewisville already has an ordinance that prevents properties from becoming a nuisance.
"We have an STR ordinance, so it's not like we haven't done anything," she said. "I think the ordinance is extremely balanced. It looked at all areas. However, banning and restricting owners' rights to their property is a very slippery slope."
The city council wound up tied 3-3 with Gilmore casting the deciding vote in favor of the ban. He said a temporary ban on new STRs would give the city time to discuss a long-term solution and see how court cases dealing with other cities' restrictions would play out.
"We are not impacting anybody's rights at the current moment," he said. "Everybody who has an STR gets to keep an STR."
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