Update on Short-Term Rental Schedule and Process

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Sheri Gallo
Posts: 22
Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2015 2:47 pm

Update on Short-Term Rental Schedule and Process

Post by Sheri Gallo »

Based on the Council’s conversation yesterday at our work session I want to provide everyone with an update on the schedule and process for the Short-Term Rental Enforcement discussion.

Thursday, August 13th – City Council Meeting
• The City Manager has agreed to release his recommendations in the form of a Memo to Council prior to this meeting so that the memo can be made available to the public by being posted on the Council Message Board. The City Manager will not present his memo at the August, 13th Council Meeting.

• At Thursday’s City Council Meeting, I will make a motion to refer both my Resolution and the City Manager’s recommendations directly to the Planning & Neighborhoods Council Committee for detailed discussion and public comment on Monday, August 17th at 4pm.

• Since my resolution will be sent directly to the Planning & Neighborhoods Council Committee there will not be public comment taken at tomorrow’s City Council Meeting on Thursday, August 13th.

Monday, August 17th 4:00 PM – Planning and Neighborhoods Council Committee
• The Planning & Neighborhoods Council Committee will receive a briefing from the Austin Code Department presenting their short-term rental enforcement recommendations contained in the City Manager’s Memo.

• The Committee will have an in-depth discussion of the recommendations from both my resolution and the City Manager’s Memo.

• The Committee will take public comment. I encourage the public to attend this meeting to share their comments and ideas. Speakers will be limited to three minutes and can sign-up to speak at the Committee meeting through the City Clerk's Office. Citizens can learn how to sign-up to speak at the Committee by visiting http://www.austintexas.gov/department/c ... l-meetings or by contacting the City Clerk’s Office by phone (512-974-2210).

• The Committee’s recommendations will be sent to the full City Council for consideration and action.

Thursday, August 20th – City Council Meeting
• The Council will consider and debate the recommendations from the Planning & Neighborhoods Council Committee at the City Council Meeting on Thursday, August 20th.

• There will be limited opportunity for the public to speak since this agenda item was previously discussed at the Planning and Neighborhoods Council Committee several days before.

• In this situation speakers are limited to eight speakers (four in support and four against) and limited to two minutes each.

Ordinance Change Process
Once the Council passes a Resolution to initiate and process changes to the existing Short-Term Rental Ordinance, the amendments will follow the same process that all other changes to the land development code go through. This includes:

• First, the City Manager will direct city staff to start developing specific language for the proposed code amendments.

• Then Codes & Ordinances Subcommittee will review and approve the proposed code amendments.

• Next, the Planning Commission will hold the 1st Public Hearing to review and approve the proposed code amendments. Notice will be posted and public comment will be heard.

• Finally, the City Council will hold the 2nd Public Hearing to review and approve the proposed code amendments. Notice will be posted and public comment will be heard.

• City Staff has indicated to us that because of Commission and Council schedules and the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays this process would probably take 4-5 months to complete.

Description of Resolution
The Resolution I have sponsored, along with Mayor Adler, Council Member Kitchen, Council Member Troxclair, and Council Member Renteria, contains proposed changes to the existing short-term rental ordinance and is included below. The first part of the Resolution addresses enforcement tools that the Code Department already has within existing City Code and outlines objectives the City can immediately take to help improve code enforcement. The second part of the Resolution addresses the suggested amendments which we recommend be reviewed and added to the existing Ordinance.

RESOLUTION NO.
WHEREAS,on June 18, 2015, the City Council passed Resolution No. 20150618-078, directing the City Manager to assess and develop immediate long-term solutions, among other things, for better enforcement of short-term rentals operating in violation of the City Code, or operating without a license; and

WHEREAS, the Council further directed the City Manager to present his findings, report and recommendations to the Council no later than August 13, 2015; and

WHEREAS, the Council further directed the City Manager to bring forth a resolution at the August 20, 2015 Council Meeting to initiate proposed code amendments, including: (1) add a penalty for operating without a license; (2) add a requirement to include an occupancy limit statement in advertisements; (3) add a noncompliance penalty for operating with an expired license; (4) add an inspection requirement; (5) strike Section 25-2-791(G), the “Test the Waters” provision, of the City’s Land Development Code; and

WHEREAS, in response to Resolution No. 20150618-078 the Austin Code Department launched a pilot Public Assembly Code Enforcement (PACE) Team specifically to address complaints related to short-term rentals including over-occupancy of homes, noise disturbances, illegal parking, operating without a license, etc; and

WHEREAS, this pilot PACE team involved staff members from various City departments, including the Austin Code Department, Austin Police Department and Austin Fire Department, and operated during non-office hours, including weekends and late evening and early morning hours, for the month of July to provide enhanced enforcement of City Code requirements for short-term rentals; and

WHEREAS,during the month of July some Council offices held meetings with various stakeholders, including representatives from neighborhoods, associations, industry, and City staff, to determine if the Austin Code Department is not making full use of existing resources or if the enforcement component in City Code needs to be strengthened; and

WHEREAS, from these stakeholder meetings, hosted by Council offices, it appears the difficulty in enforcing noncompliant and non-licensed short-term rentals is a combination of the City not taking full advantage of its existing authority and enforcement components that need to be strengthened in the current City Code; and

WHEREAS, it is in the City’s best interest to ensure compliance with short-term rental regulations and other City codes including occupancy limits, noise and amplified sound restrictions, improper disposal of trash, and zoning and land use regulations, to protect the quality of life in our neighborhoods;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN:
The City Manager is directed to immediately utilize all existing enforcement tools under current City Code , including, but not limited to,:

1.the authority to suspend a short-term rental license for violations of the City Code, such as:

a.advertising the availability of a short-term rental property for uses not allowed by the property’s zoning; and

b.advertising or promoting a licensed short-term rental without including the license number as required in Section 1303 (B) in City Code Section 25-12-213 (Local Amendments to the International
Property Maintenance Code);and

2.the administrative hearing process, defined in City Code Chapter 2-13(Administrative Adjudication of Violations);and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
To protect the welfare of the citizens of Austin, the Council directs the City Manager to provide more information to residents on how to make a complaint about a short-term rental property in their area.

•This information should be posted on the City’s short-term rental website or a similar City website that can be easily found by a resident.

•This information should also be included in any short-term rental notification sent to surrounding properties as outlined in City Code Section 25-2-792 (Notification Requirements).

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
The City Manager is directed to re-evaluate existing processes to better track complaints related to short-term rentals.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
The City Manager is directed to take immediate necessary steps to achieve the following objectives:

1.Include statements in short-term rental applications that are similar to the following:

a.“I understand that I am responsible for complying with any deed restrictions and restrictive covenants prohibiting certain uses on this property. If a conflict should result with any of these restrictions, it
will be my responsibility to resolve it;”

b.“I hereby certify that to the best of my knowledge and ability, the information provided in this application is complete and accurate;”and

c.“I attest that the property will not be rented above the occupancy limit defined in City Code or in violation of the current short-term rental ordinance.”

2.Provide a funding proposal, which can be discussed by Council during theFiscal Year 2015-16 budget process that will ensure that the Austin Code Department recovers its costs for the short-term rental
program.

3.Improve communication with the Travis County Sheriff's Office as it relates to short-term rentals located within the City’s limited purpose district and, if necessary, explore negotiating an interlocal agreement.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
The City Council initiates and directs the City Manager to process amendments to the City Code that are necessary to achieve the following objectives:

1.Add the existing requirement to include license numbers in advertisements as required by Section 303 in City Code Section 25-12-213 (Local Amendments to the International Property Maintenance Code) to Subpart C under Division 1 of Article 4-Additional Requirements for CertainUses of City Code;

2.Add a Bad Actor Clause similar to City Code Section 25-2-818(N);

3.Add short-term rentals to Section 1301 in City Code Section 25-12-213(Local Amendments to the International Property Maintenance Code) inspection requirements in Chapter 13 of the Local Amendments;

4.Require inspection, including septic systems, during the application or approval process for all short-term rentals;

5.Require short-term rentals to have property insurance that has commercial liability coverage (business liability); require the applicant to provide proof of commercial liability coverage during the application process; and make failure to maintain commercial liability coverage to suspend or revoke the license;

6.Require operators to maintain a guest registry;

7.Require short-term rental license holders to comply with noise requirements;

8.Set the occupancy limit for short-term rentals as the lesser of:

a.six adults;

b.four adults in the area defined in City Code Section 25-2-511(C) and (D); or

c.not more than two adults per bedroom;

9.Prohibit occupancy of a short-term rental when the building permit prohibits occupancy of the structure;

10.Consider including a prohibition against locating new Type 2 short-term rentals within 1000 feet of another existing licensed Type 2 short-term rental. The prohibition should include a grandfathering clause for existing Type 2 short-term rentals that comply with City Code; and

11.Authorize the Code Official to suspend or revoke a license when false information is included in a license application and when the license is issued in error, similar to City Code Section 25-1-411-SUSPENSION OF A PERMIT OR LICENSE:

§ 25-1-411-SUSPENSION OF A PERMIT OR LICENSE.
(A)The accountable official may suspend a permit or license if the official determines that:
(1) the permit or license was issued in error; or
(2) the permit or license holder has not complied with the requirements of this title.
(B)A suspension is effective until the official determines that the permit holder has complied with the requirements of this title.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
The City Manager is directed to bring the proposed code amendments to Council for consideration within 150 days. Changes that do not require code amendments should be fully implemented within six (6) months, with monthly updates to be provided until all of the changes have been implemented.
Sheri Gallo, Council Member District 10
Sheri Gallo
Posts: 22
Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2015 2:47 pm

Re: Update on Short-Term Rental Schedule and Process

Post by Sheri Gallo »

This morning the Austin Code Department released two Memos to Mayor and Council relating to Short-Term Rental Regulations. I wanted to share both of these memos with the public in preparation for Monday's August 17th Planning and Neighborhoods Council Committee. Below is the first memo.
- Council Member Gallo

_________________________________

To: Mayor and City Council Members
From: Carl Smart, Director, Austin Code Department
Date: August 13, 2015
Subject: Recommendations for Changes to Existing Short-Term Rental Regulations

Resolution No. 20150618-78 directed the City Manager to develop a plan for better enforcement of short-term rentals (STR). This memorandum provides 13 recommendations to the STR regulations for Council consideration in response to one of four report elements of the resolution to “make recommendations on how the City can provide better enforcement for non-compliant short-term rentals.” The other three elements will be presented at the Planning and Neighborhoods Committee meeting on August 17, 2015.

Background
On June 15, 2015, Austin Code Department (ACD) presented to the Planning and Neighborhoods Committee (PNC) four recommended amendments to existing STR regulations. Staff developed recommended amendments to address some of the challenges that Austin Code has encountered in monitoring compliance of licensed STR operators and enforcement of violators. During the discussion, the PNC added a fifth amendment. These amendments are listed in the recommendation section.
After Council approved Resolution No. 20150618-78, staff subsequently solicited additional input from community and industry stakeholders. During the month of July, ACD staff evaluated the input for ordinance amendments received through emails, meetings with licensed STR operators, community and industry representatives and meetings scheduled by Councilmembers and the community.
Recommended Ordinance Amendments
The City received approximately 180 recommendations and comments from the community and STR property owners/managers. Because many suggestions were repetitive, ACD staff consolidated the 180 recommendations into a list of 101 unique recommendations. ACD staff also evaluated an additional 22 recommendations that were identified by City staff. From these recommendations, ACD recommends 13 ordinance amendments for Council consideration that will enhance our ability to take corrective action for non-compliant STRs.
The first five of the following 13 recommendations resulted from the Council’s Planning and Neighborhood Committee meeting. The remaining recommendations come from all input received from both community stakeholders and City staff.
1. Add a penalty for operating without a license for non-compliance equal to the cost of an Operating License. This would be collected in addition to the Operating License Fee.
2. Add an Occupancy Limit Statement. Effective April 1, 2016, all STR advertisements or promotions must include the following statements:
• It is a violation of city code to allow more than six (6) unrelated adults to occupy the dwelling at one time.
• In the interim, no more than six (6) unrelated adults may reside in a dwelling unit, except in the area defined in Subchapter F: Residential Design and Compatibility Standards Section 1.2.1
3. Add a penalty for operating with an expired license for non-compliance equal to the cost of an Operating License. This would be collected in addition to the Operating License Fee.
4. Add an inspection requirement for STRs.
5. Strike section 25-2-791(G) of the City's Land Development Code (Gauging the Public Interest or “Testing the Waters” provision).
6. Require Registry of STR Guests. As part of their license requirement, STR owners shall be required to maintain a registry of renters.
7. Establish Occupancy Limits. Related to #2 above that was discussed at PNC, Staff recommends limiting occupancy for STRs to not more than “six adults”.
8. Increase Non-compliance Penalty. Related to #1 and #3 discussed at PNC, Staff recommends a higher penalty for non-compliant Type 2 and 3 STRs equal to twice the cost of an Operating License. This would be collected in addition to the Operating License Fee.
9. Require STR license holders to demonstrate that the septic system complies with all City (or other applicable regulatory) requirements. This is to insure the septic system is working properly and is adequate to meet the maximum design capacity limit set by the appropriate agency.
10. Require a local contact to reside within the Austin Metro Area. A registrant who does not reside within the Austin Metro Area must identify an individual or individuals that can respond to emergency conditions. The individual or individuals must be present within the Austin Metro Area and be available to respond within two hours after being notified by a tenant or a City employee of an emergency during any 24-hour period. If there is a change related to the local contact(s), a registrant must update the code official in writing within three business days and provide the new local contact's information.
11. Make STRs subject to noise requirements. Require all STRs to comply with noise requirements as a condition of the license.
12. Consider amending the penalty range for administrative citations similar to the penalty range in Section 25-1-462 (Appeal; Criminal Enforcement), which sets a specific penalty range for a specific category of violation.
13. Add parking requirements. Staff recommends Council require STR operators to provide an additional parking space for each additional bedroom that exceeds four. ACD is meeting with the Planning and Zoning Department to finalize this recommendation.

In order to support enhanced enforcement, ACD estimates the need for four additional Code Enforcement Officers for FY16. Further evaluation by Austin Police and Fire Departments is required to determine their respective need for additional resources. Staff is prepared to provide the cost and funding options during the budget process.
Staff will make a more detailed presentation to the Planning and Neighborhoods Committee on August 17, 2015. Please contact me if you have any questions or if you need more information.

xc: Marc A. Ott, City Manager
Rey Arellano, Assistant City Manager
Anne Morgan, Interim City Attorney
Art Acevedo, Austin Police Chief
Rhoda Mae Kerr, Austin Fire Chief
Patricia Link, Assistant City Attorney
Sheri Gallo, Council Member District 10
Sheri Gallo
Posts: 22
Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2015 2:47 pm

Re: Update on Short-Term Rental Schedule and Process

Post by Sheri Gallo »

This morning the Austin Code Department released two Memos to Mayor and Council relating to Short-Term Rental Regulations. I wanted to share both of these memos with the public in preparation for Monday's August 17th Planning and Neighborhoods Council Committee. Below is the second memo.
- Council Member Gallo

_________________________________

To: Mayor and City Council Members
From: Carl Smart, Director, Austin Code Department
Date: August 11, 2015
Subject: Results: Short-Term Rental July Pilot Program

I write to provide the results of the Short-Term Rental (STR) enhanced enforcement pilot program initiated on July 3, 2015. This enforcement effort involved interdepartmental teams based on the Public Assembly Code Enforcement (PACE) model that included Code, Police and Fire. The team worked in concert with Austin 3-1-1 to deploy teams based on complaints, as well as perform proactive spot inspections at known trouble spots. The teams were deployed for five weekends between the hours of 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.

Code Enforcement Activity

We received 120 service requests which resulted in 146 complaints made through 3-1-1 or directly to departments during the entire time period beyond the pilot hours. Of those, 54 complaints were for operating without a license, 25 were for over-occupancy, 41 were for excessive noise, 15 were for parking violations, seven were for alleged illegal activity and four were for trash/debris.

During the actual pilot hours, a total of 19 complaints were received. This resulted in 19 site visits/inspections. Only two of those complaints resulted in notices of violations being issued. Some of the visits in response to the complaints turned up no violations. Also, not all properties with complaints were Short-Term Rentals. And it was determined that some properties reported for no licenses actually had active licenses. The Police Department shut down a party and told a few others to lower their nose levels during the pilot, but none of the parties were at licensed Short-Term Rental properties.

Inspectors also made 249 proactive visits to known repeat offender properties during the pilot. This includes multiple inspections in the same night. Thirty-two of these visits were also controlled inspections on non- problem properties.


Challenges

The pilot was a learning experience for our staff. Among the challenges staff encountered were the inability to gain entry to properties, inability to prove occupants relationship to each other, and a general lack of sufficient evidence to prosecute violators.

Financial Summary

The total expenditure for July pilot (excluding the last week in July 07/26-07/31) was $4,923.13. (The last week in July will not post in payroll until HR enters timesheets on 08/10/2015 and payroll posts on 08/14/2015.) Using the total cost of $4,923.13 in July, the annual estimated cost using this method comes out to $59,000.

Recommendations

Proposed changes to the STR ordinance are addressed by separate memo. In addition, we will continue to conduct enhanced enforcement efforts coinciding with major special events in Austin, such as South by Southwest, Austin City Limits, Formula One, etc. Additionally, we plan to implement in FY 16 regular evening and weekend patrols to respond quickly to after-hour calls for service.

If you have any questions, or need additional information about the pilot, please contact me at 512.974.1970 or via email at carl.smart@austintexas.gov. Thank you.


cc: Marc A. Ott, City Manager
Rey Arellano, Assistant City Manager
Art Acevedo, Austin Police Chief
Rhoda Mae Kerr, Austin Fire Chief
Sheri Gallo, Council Member District 10
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