Keller - Roanoke - Northeast Fort Worth - August 2022

Where short-term rentals operate Nearly 200 short-term rental properties were identied in northern Fort Worth in City Council districts 4 and 7. Only four of them complied with city ordinances, which do not allow short-term rentals in areas zoned for residential use.

Burghdo said. The consultant found 633 of those properties operating as short-term rentals in July. Of that number, 68 were in allowed areas of Fort Worth. The other 565 were operating illegally in areas where they are not allowed, the report showed. About one-third of the listings had ve or fewer stays between August 2021-July 2022, according to the report. About 13% of them had 40 or more stays during that 12-month period, the report stated. A majority of the short-term rent- als in Fort Worth are listed on the Airbnb platform, according to Deck- ard Technologies. “Short-term rentals oer Fort Worth residents a way to supplement their income and support local busi- nesses by welcoming guests into their home, and we want to work with the city on rules that preserve these eco- nomic benets and allow hosts to pay their fair share of taxes,” said Luis Bri- ones, Airbnb public policy manager in Texas, in an email. Mix of opinions Opinions on short-term rentals are mixed. During a public hearing in late July, the city heard from short-term rental operators who say they are responsible and deserve the oppor- tunity to use their property as they want. Others testied about prob- lems, including noise, litter and lack of parking, from the short-term rent- als located near them. This summer, city ocials logged 3,664 responses to its online feed- back form about possible changes for short-term rentals, received 646 idea submissions and recorded 29,680 rat- ings to those proposed ideas, accord- ing to Burghdo. Among the city’s goals are to pre- serve the residential quality of neigh- borhoods and protect them from commercial lodging encroachment, Burghdo said. City ocials also want to ensure the health and safety of residents and guests. Collecting hotel occupancy taxes is also among the city’s goals, she said. The 9% hotel occupancy tax that Fort Worth collects from short-term rentals goes into the city’s cultural and tourism fund. The tax money can be used only on culture- or tourism-re- lated expenses and not on enforce- ment of any regulations, according to Burghdo. Fort Worth reported receiving $28,000 in revenue from short-term rental operators in scal year 2020-21.

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commercial or industrial uses. They are also allowed in certain form-based districts that have a mix of residen- tial and commercial uses. Short-term rentals are not allowed in residential areas, according to city ocials. “I expect we’ll nd that most of the short-term rentals that we have in Fort Worth are not legal,” Assistant City Manager Dana Burghdo said during a presentation in late July. At an Aug. 16 work session, Burghdo outlined three key ques- tions that council will have to decide. First, sta is recommending that short-term rentals be required to reg- ister with the city and pay local hotel occupancy taxes. The city is looking at online systems to make registra- tion go smoothly. Those operating in areas where short-term rentals are not allowed would not be able to reg- ister nor would they be able to pay the required taxes, according to the city’s proposal. Next, council will have to decide whether to impose any operating stan- dards on short-term rentals. Some of those recommended by sta include a required parking plan, a limit on the number of guests, a ban on parties and events, a 24/7 contact on le and safety measures, such as smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. The third main issue is whether to change the city’s zoning ordinances that determine where short-term rentals are allowed to operate. Sta has proposed four options, including one that continues to ban short-term rentals in all residential areas. “This is a really tough topic,” Mayor Mattie Parker said at the work session. “We need to get this right, and I don’t think speed is in our favor.” Council members will continue talking with constituents, doing research and getting questions answered. A timetable for a decision has not been set. Consultant feedback The city hired Deckard Technolo- gies as a consultant earlier this year to provide some basic data about short- term rentals operating in Fort Worth. In its July report, the consultant conrmed addresses for 2,453 of the 2,738 short-term rental listings found online. Those listings were conrmed to be connected to 814 properties that operated as a short-term rental within the past 12 months. The dierence in numbers indicates that some prop- erties had multiple online listings,

Map Key:

District Boundary

Operators in compliance

Areas where short-term rentals are allowed

Number of short-term rentals not in compliance XX

Council District 4

1 allowed | 48 not allowed

287

377

35W

377

820

183

121

35W

199

FORT WORTH

CTP TOLL

287

MAP NOT TO SCALE N

Council District 7

3 allowed | 145 not allowed

114

LAKE GRAPEVINE

287

114

EAGLE MOUNTAIN LAKE

199

377

35W

820

183

820

FORT WORTH

303

MAP NOT TO SCALE N

SOURCE: CITY OF FORT WORTHCOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER NOTE: THREE SHORTTERM RENTALS NOT ALLOWED ARE NOT SHOWN ON THE MAPS ABOVE.

COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER • COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM