Lewisville council sets max number of short-term rentals at 130

The ordinance passed by council took effect immediately on March 3.

By the numbers

As of Feb. 25, 71% of the 743 people responding to a city survey supported limiting the number of short-term rental permits issued in Lewisville. The survey was open through Feb. 28 after city officials launched it earlier in the month.

The number of short-term rentals allowed in Lewisville represents 0.5% of all residential parcels in city limits. The majority of them are located in residential zoning districts, according to a staff presentation.

Over the last year, city staff have identified 37 properties that began operating as short-term rentals in violation of the interim ban, according to the staff memo. Without the ban, the number of short-term rentals in Lewisville could have increased from 90 to 127 properties.

Stay tuned

Staff are expected to continue researching additional short-term rentals for the council to consider. Council members discussed three types of density-based regulations during a Feb. 21 retreat.

Density-based regulations can come in the form of minimum distance requirements between each permitted short-term rental or a cap on the number of permitted short-term rentals within a single block.

City staff presented three types of density regulations with examples of how that could look in Lewisville:

• Per block (practiced by Euless and San Marcos)
• Per block face (practiced by Corpus Christi and San Antonio)
• Minimum distance (practiced by Austin and Denton)

City staff are expected to undergo a public input process that can take four to five months before the results are brought to council.