2021 Year’s End

David Turpin speaking to City Council

The Emergency

As of December 5th, there are 768 active STR permits which cover 927 residential units. There are 94 new permits and 10 renewals pending. 11.5% of all residential units in Fredericksburg are permitted for STR use - the second highest percentage in Texas after Port Aransas! The average home price jumped 20% from $457,304 in 2020 to $547,284 in Q3 2021. In 2020, 168 new homes were built while 140 new STR permits were issued. From this brief summary, you can see the scale and severity of the problem affecting our community.

Our Actions

David Turpin, Ray Rodgers, and Michael Perkola are speaking with City Council Members, city staff, and stakeholders in the community to gather support for limits on STRs. We are researching how other communities have been impacted and what their response has been, then providing it to the City. We are reviewing the court cases for and against STR ordinances. We have joined the advocacy organization,TX Neighborhood Coalition, which has successfully advised communities protecting themselves from the STR invasion.We are continuously supporting Council Member Kathy Sanford O'Neill in her tireless fight for the needs of residents.

On November 10th, we met with Jason Lutz, Director of City Development Services. He is laboring intensely to craft an ordinance that will effectively stop the growth of STRs while providing a narrow path to permitting, governed by strict criteria.Read the draft ordinance. Our goal is to have legislation that will reduce the number of STRs in the city - preserving owner-occupied units while discouraging non-local, absentee-owner STRs. It is unlikely that this draft will include a method of permit termination, but we will continue to push for its passage nonetheless.

On Monday, December 13th, the City Council voted on a moratorium on the issuance of new permits until the new ordinance is in place. This was proposed by Council Member Sanford O'Neill and seconded by Council Member Luckenbach. Unfortunately, Mayor Kiehene, Council Member Watson, and Council Member Musselman voted against it.

The Council will next consider the recent revisions to the draft ordinance on Wednesday, January 12th at 6 PM at theHill Country University Center. We intend to pressure the Council to vote this ordinance into law as soon as possible!