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Pearland City Council will hear and consider the second reading of an ordinance to amend the city’s unified development code at its Feb. 9 meeting.
The proposed amendments would change where short-term rentals can operate in the city and how many unrelated people living in a home can be considered a family for code enforcement purposes.
The details
The code would be updated to:
Currently, short-term rentals are permitted only in districts zoned for residential use, according to city documents.
If the ordinance passes, all short-term rentals would be prohibited in the city’s residentially zoned areas but would be permitted in some areas with commercial zoning.
What else?
For housing purposes, the city’s current development code defines a family as any number of persons related by blood or marriage or four unrelated people living in the same household. The proposed amendment would change that definition to allow only three unrelated people living in a household to be considered a family.
A short-term rental would be defined as a residential dwelling unit or bedroom in a residential dwelling unit that is rented out for compensation on a temporary basis for a period of less than 30 consecutive days, according to city documents.
The Planning & Zoning Committee unanimously recommended adopting the changes at its Jan. 13 meeting, and City Council voted unanimously in favor of the ordinance upon first reading at a Jan. 26 meeting.
Why it matters
Currently, there are 19 active short-term rental listings within the city, according to city documents. These will be grandfathered in and continue to operate as currently permitted, city staff said at the previous meeting.
Community Development Director Vance Wyly said at the previous meeting that, although difficult to enforce, updating the code would reduce the city's official limit on how many unrelated people someone could rent their space to.
One more thing
City Council will also discuss calling a special election for May 2, for council member Position 2, which is currently held by Tony Carbone, who is running unopposed for mayor.
Following Carbone’s announcement, Brazoria County Constable Buck Stevens, who was formerly in the running for mayor, announced he would withdraw his candidacy and endorsed Carbone, according to previous reporting by Community Impact.
Stay tuned
City Council will meet at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 9 at City Hall, located at 3519 Liberty Drive, Pearland.
