Grapevine City Council Says Short-Term Rental Houses Already Banned
GRAPEVINE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - A ban on short-term vacation rentals in Grapevine was up for discussion at a city council meeting Tuesday evening. However, officials announced at that meeting that those rental homes are already banned in the city.
After the revelation Tuesday evening, the conversation shifted to supporters of short-term rental homes asking the city to reverse the ban.
Before the meeting, there were residents on both sides of the issue that said it's about property rights.
Andrew and Lynn Muras say the peace and quiet in their backyard is often surrendered to noise coming from the house directly behind them.
"We've had at least 2 groups of 8-14 guys out, screaming, yelling, jumping, uh-oh, you missed the ball. It is so incredibly noisy," Mrs. Muras said.
The house behind them is a short-term rental, so they say there are new guests there every few days.
"We can't open up a bar. We can't open up a restaurant. We can't open up hotels and in essence, what they've done is open a hotel in our backyard," Mr. Muras said.
The woman who owns the house behind them declined an on-camera interview but said she has tried to be accommodating and respectful to her neighbors.
But Mr. Muras said they aren't satisfied. "It's a serious disruption of our property rights, our ability to have sort of a peaceful, safe secure house."
Richard Mueller owns four short-term rental properties in Grapevine, including three on one street. "I would not want that going on next to my house."
He says he has strict rules for his guests and says others should too.
And he says he has turned down some requests. "I say no out of respect for my neighbors because I don't want the cars up and down the street. I don't want all the noises."
Mueller opposes a ban saying he would lose hundreds of thousands of dollars he's invested.
He says neighbors support him. "I've sunk in significant amounts of money to make improvements and they applaud me. They feel like I've brought back value to the street."
CBS 11's Jack Fink contributed to this report.
