New shared housing in College Station will now be limited to specific zoning districts after City Council approved ordinance changes at its April 23 meeting, in compliance with Senate Bill 1567.
In a nutshell
The update follows SB 1567, which prohibits Texas cities from regulating how many unrelated people may live together based on family status. College Station redefined shared housing as a "congregate living facility" and removed family-based language from its long-held "no more than 4" ordinance.
Explained
Robin Macias with city planning and development services said the change ensures College Station remains compliant with state law while still maintaining local zoning standards.
"The city can no longer regulate the shared housing use based on its current definition," she said.
Under the approved ordinance, shared housing will be permitted only in designated zoning districts, including:
- Middle housing
- Multifamily
- Mixed-use
- Planned mixed-use
- R-4 and R-6 multifamily
- Wolf Pen Creek
The amendment removes references to "family" from city definitions and updates terminology from "dwelling" to "structure" to better match building code standards.
The discussion
Council member Scott Shafer clarified parking expectations with Macias in shared housing developments, requiring at least one parking space per bedroom of a unit. Street parking will not count toward that requirement.
Existing shared housing properties outside the approved zoning districts will be grandfathered in, but will not be allowed to expand or rebuild as shared housing if redeveloped.
At council member Melissa McIlhaney's request for clarification, Macias said the ordinance represents the final round of local updates needed to address state legislative changes surrounding shared housing regulations.
