Although the debate involving short-term rentals in Dallas has been heated for some time, a decision to ban them from residential areas has yet to be made. According to a Dallas Morning News report, that decision will not come until spring at the earliest. Right now, the date for a council vote on short-term rental policies appears to be as hotly contested as what the vote will decide.

Groups like the Texas Neighborhood Alliance want short-term rentals found on sites like Airbnb and VRBO to be banned in residential areas. These groups are fighting “party houses” that they say attract noise, crime, litter and parking problems for a neighborhood’s permanent residents.

In Plano, short-term rentals have been involved in a recent shooting and a brothel bust. Arlington and Fort Worth have each enacted regulations on where short-term rentals can be located, with the latter prohibiting them in residential areas. The recently announced ordinance in Fort Worth states that “A Local Responsible Party must be available 24/7 to respond to concerns on the property. The Local Responsible Party may be the property owner or an operator working on behalf of the owner” and that no more than 12 people can stay inside the property, including guidelines.

As long as a short-term rental property is legally registered in the city, it is subject to the city’s hotel tax. But recent estimates suggest the number of short-term rentals registered in the city far outstrips the number of available listings in Dallas.

Whether or not being subject to the hotel tax actually makes a short-term rental a hotel, at least as of now, depends on which side of the debate you’re on. And the question of whether it is fair to punish a large group of short-term rental operators for the actions of the bad actors is fair.

“When we talk about neighborhood self-determination, I think there should be a process where neighborhoods can have that discussion,” – Paula Blackmon, Dallas City Council

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During last week’s Quality of Life, Culture and Arts Committee meeting, Councilwoman Paula Blackmon, who represents District 9, expressed her willingness to consider a plan that would let individual neighborhoods decide whether to allow short-term rentals. Such an approach might be a comfortable compromise for an issue that has been kicked around a fair amount over the years.

“When we talk about neighborhood self-determination, I think there should be a process where neighborhoods can have that discussion,” Blackmon told Observer. “It’s also a way for the city to maybe not get sued. If we say it’s all illegal in residential areas, but also have a process that allows neighborhoods to sign up, then such a law doesn’t seem so harmful.”

Blackmon isn’t sure yet what an opt-in plan for the neighborhood would consist of, which is why she says she wants the council to discuss it before a vote takes place. Of course, a program that allows a neighborhood to choose to allow short-term rentals within its boundaries would involve jumping through a few hoops, which Blackmon understands probably isn’t very attractive to many residents.

“It would be a process, and as you probably know, going through any process at the city level can be quite cumbersome,” she said. “I think a lot of people would rather cut their wrists than have to go to City Hall to get something done.”

The opt-in idea is not new. Ashley Guevara, public affairs for the city, said Observer in an email that it was introduced to the Quality of Life, Art and Culture Committee last year, but it did not go ahead. Ryan said an opt-in plan for short-term rentals could be modeled after a program already in place.

“Currently, residential areas in Dallas can follow an ‘opt-in’ process to allow the construction of accessory dwelling units (think garage apartments, granny flats, etc.) in the area,” Ryan wrote in her email. “There is a neighborhood petition process that must be followed, along with community meetings, and if approved, an overlay district is created that allows for an additional unit to be built on each lot. To date, no neighborhood in Dallas has begun this process. A short-term rental opt-in overlay can follow the same process.”

The right of homeowners to live in quiet, safe neighborhoods has not been a point of contention, but the rights of private property owners to do whatever they want with their homes has certainly been a sticking point in the short-term rental debate. Blackmon said she’s heard from her constituents on both sides of the issue, and she’s trying to be pragmatic about how the council approaches this decision.

“I want to know what it would look like for a neighborhood to be able to choose to allow short-term rentals,” she said. “If it doesn’t make sense for them to allow them, then at least they had that discussion. The best thing to do is to have these discussions in an open forum.”