BOERNE– City resident Brad Wilson owns and operates shortterm rental property in town. He told City Council last week that “I have 481 reviews … and our ratings are 4.92 out of 5. That’s amazing.”
Wilson also told the council he and other short-term rental (STR) owners “are not trying to have parties. We want to be responsible owners. Let’s get back to a simple and practical ordinance, balanced and fair, that benefits the community, that does not overburden it.”
For the past 16 months, city leaders have considered STRs after establishing a subcommittee to research the rental business, in order to develop an ordinance to regulate current and future STRs within the city.
Assistant City Manager Kristy Stark led the June 27 discussion, asking council to retable until July 25 “to allow us to come back and bring you a solid draft ordinance based on the feedback and discussion we have tonight.”
STRs are making headlines in cities across the state.
“What we’ve seen is there is no ‘one size fits all’ ordinance. What works in one city might not work for another,” Stark said.
Visitors go online to sites like Airbnb or VRBO and select a rental unit based on factors such as destination, length of stay, number of guests, distance to area attractions and price per night or per stay.
In a city of 6,200 rooftops, there are less than 100 active rental units.
“While STRs in Boerne have doubled over the last four years,” Stark said, “the city still has less than 100 – 63 current permits and 34 temporary permits with 10 on a waiting list.”
Council members heard from Wilson and fellow STR operator Nancy White, who lives in her STR greets her guests herself, she said.
“My rooms are suites. They have one bed and no kitchen,” White said. “Ninety percent of my guests are from Texas, that hasn’t changed, and 80% are age 50 or older.”
She spoke to the “feel” of shortterm versus long-term rentals and explained her reason for hosting.
“I am retired, so this comes as a supplement to my Social Security.” Her previous year’s Airbnb profit “after taxes, utilities and other associated fees, was $2,312. It is not this huge windfall for folks.”
The issue has been “in a holding pattern” since February 2022, when council formed a subcommittee to study the issue.
Council spoke about everything from STR parking to inspections, lengths of stay and a proposed 350foot “separation distance” that would prohibit new STRs from development within 350 feet of an existing rental property.
District 3 Councilman Quinten Scott questioned the need for a 350-foot perimeter around an STR that might infringe on a neighbor’s ability to open a similar business.
'In my neighborhood, there are over 200 homes, and there’s one STR owner,” Scott said. “The 350-foot (separation) would prevent me – I don’t have any desire to create an STR – from doing one. But I’d like to see further justification on where there is a limit? I don’t see it.”
He suggested an overall limitation, such as 5 percent, instead.
“I would like to see either some justification, or just limit it on a percentage basis. One person in my neighborhood removes the possibility of 52 homes from doing the same thing,” he added.
District 1 Councilman Ty Wolosin said the downtown district “is probably where I would want to stay. I’d want to be within walking distance to the river, business district, trail, etc. I do think that is where people are going to want to be.”
Wolosin said he finds 350 feet extreme, saying, “I honestly don’t know if we need any separation distance right now.” The heart of this issue, he said, is the downtown area.
District 4 Councilman Bryce Boddie, who addressed questions of inspections and insurance requirements, said he agreed with Wolosin.
“I’m actually in agreement. I think we need to let the market dictate what happens here,” Boddie said.
“Through this whole process, our engagement has been with STR owners,” he said. “There’s one person I have received an email from about STRs in a negative way. That’s it, one. I haven’t heard anybody say anything in public comments.”
“We need an ordinance. We need to be careful about safety, but we need to be mindful of the market, too,” he added.
But District 5 Councilman Joseph Macaluso said his main concern is maintaining the city’s historic heritage.
“I’m not against STRs. If you all want to change the buffers, that’s fine,” Macaluso said. “But how many are we going to allow? Your 5%? Five percent would not even apply to the amount that’s in the document right here at 350 feet, which allows 800, which would be 13% of households being STRs.”
He said he is focused on what he called “the depopulation of the center of the city.”
“Everyone here wants to keep historic heritage,” he said. “But the only question this council has to answer is: Do you want the market to decide? And that’s fine. But don’t say we’re not trying to preserve the residential character of the downtown area because speculators will come in. They will.”
Macaluso said he attended most of the June 12 STR roundtable meeting.
“The STR owners gave good comments. But there was someone there that mentioned he manages 10 of them. That’s what my concern is,” he said. “It’s not with the person renting out one room or one STR. My concern is with the speculator and the business interests which are out there.”
District 2 Councilwoman Sharon Wright said she also sees the need for establishing an ordinance.
“All of our short-term rental owners, currently there’s no problem,” Wright said. “But I do understand that you need to plan for other people who could come in – the ‘bad actors’ who could come in and cause a problem. I see the need for an ordinance.”
“My whole issue,” Macaluso responded, “is we’re not going to control the market. Do we want to set the table to preserve a residential character for downtown historic Boerne? In my opinion, we need to set some standards for preserving the residential historic character of downtown Boerne. That’s where most of this is going to occur.”
The council unanimously voted to retable the issue, allowing city staff time to digest the night’s input in order to formulate an ordinance for a July 25 vote.
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