Mesquite regulates short-term rental houses

MESQUITE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - In Mesquite, short term rental regulations are a done deal. City leaders moved quickly to address homeowner concerns about the properties turning into party houses.

"My camera's going off on my phone, 'Motion by your mailbox, motion by your front door,' and it's at all hours of the day," said a homeowner who told us her name was Ashley.  

She said she moved onto the quiet cul-de-sac street for a reason; having a party house next door was not a part of the attraction. 

Neighbors soon joined her on the sidewalk in agreement.

"Constant stream of vehicles going down the street... music blaring, vibrating my windows," said Donna Gallegos, "and then there's the speeding."

"It's not appropriate," adds Ashley.  "It's not a peaceful area anymore when that came in."

But now, city leaders in Mesquite a sending a clear message that they're listening.

"I put myself in their place," says Mayor Dan Aleman. "If I had something like that in my residential neighborhood, I'd be very concerned as well."

The Mesquite City Council voted to put new restrictions on short term rentals in place just this week.

"We're dealing with parking issues, noise issues... the number of people in the home, and the potential for things to get out of control, and neighbors having to call police for them to come out and get them to quiet down," said Mayor Aleman. "We don't need to go in circles; we need to go ahead and deal with it and move forward so our neighbors can feel comfortable in our neighborhoods."

The new regulations take effect immediately and include:

• Annual license and inspection requirements
• Minimum property standards and compliance with City Codes
• Use standards limiting the number of overnight guests, parking and advertising
• Prohibiting commercial events at the property
• Mandatory posting of regulations for guests that include city regulations, trash disposal, parking, etc.
• Mandatory posting on the exterior of the property that includes a local agent's name and phone number
• Requirements for a local agent to address issues at the property within 45 minutes.

To that, homeowners are ready to make some noise of their own:

"Oh, that's wonderful!" said Gallegos. "Thank goodness!"

Violations of the new regulations will first be met with citations, said Mayor Aleman, then handled on a case-by-case basis.

"I'm thrilled that action is being taken," said Ashley, who praised city leaders for responding quickly "when we say something's not okay."