The ordinance was placed on Thursday's meeting agenda after being postponed from City Council's last meeting of 2015 and proposed several changes to how STRs—dwellings available for rent for no more than 30 days per year through websites such as AirBnB and HomeAway—can operate in Austin.
These proposed changes include creating a tiered fee structure, phasing out all Type 2 STRs from areas zoned residential, limiting the number of people who can occupy an STR and allowing the city’s Code Department officers to enforce noise regulations and write citations. Another consideration is directing staff to find ways to collect hotel and motel taxes from STR properties.Nearly 200 stakeholders both for and against the proposed STR ordinance signed up to speak during the public comment portion of the meeting.
“I own an STR 2, and I am a good actor but I had to take my 6-day-old baby and meet [with city staff because of a neighbor complaint]," resident Mary Owens said. “I want to host a baby shower at my STR 2, and I can’t. People like me who are good actors are going to become victims of the neighborhood associations.”
Members of the East Town Lake Citizens Neighborhood Association opposed to Type 2 and 3 STRs gathered at City Hall during a City Council worksession Jan. 26 and on Jan. 28, among them Bertha Delgado, president of the East Town Lake Citizens neighborhood association.
"The city is not wanting to hear the people. They're tired and they're ready to demand action," Delgado said. "We're losing our neighborhoods, and East Austin is ground zero."
Action on the proposed regulations could occur during a special-called meeting that could potentially occur Feb. 23.
Additional reporting by Kelli Weldon and Jennifer Curington
