STR law blocked in Dallas court is not unexpected, but is a setback for advocates who say STRs hurt affordable housing in Dallas.
The City of Dallas approved regulations in June blocking STRs like VRBO and AirBnb from Dallas single-family neighborhoods.
AirBNB and similar operators must also register listings with the city. They must then obtain property inspections and a certificate of occupancy. Then come the fees.
The Dallas Short-Term Rental Alliance and other plaintiffs say the ordinance would ban 90% of rental properties.
STR Law Blocked
Judge Monica Purdy of the 95th issued an order granting an injunction against the law until a June trial.
Judge Purdy said the city’s regulations would cause “irreparable harm” to the plaintiffs.
“They have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars…,” Purdy wrote in her order.
She continued, “…The right to conduct STR activity is a vested right in Texas that is a component of home ownership.”
At the same time, city council approved a large contract to an out of state vendor for DEI services. The vendor promised to register with the State of Texas, but to dater still has not done so.
A 22-year-old woman & recent graduate of @UNTsocial details how #Antifa & far-left extremists tied to terrorist groups threatened her for organizing conservative events in north Texas. Antifa also threatened her parents after she refused to self-censor. https://t.co/74ccAkpHSv
Ngô states that members of the Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club targeted a UNT student and a prolife prayer she led. He also links to a Human Events piece detailing the harrassment by members of antifa while at UNT.
He names Christopher Guillott as a leader of the Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club. Ngô states Guillot directed efforts against Kelly Neidert.
In another report, an antifa member died carrying out a terror attack in 2019. This person was from the Washington state chapter.
Garrett Lee, made open threats on Twitter with no response from law enforcement. Lee is also an extremist member of antifa based in Dallas.
Andy Ngô Biography
Ngo was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. His parents fled Vietnam in 1978. They had been subjected to forced labor and communist re-education camps.
Ngo volunteered with AmeriCorps while attending the University of California, Los Angeles. He graduated with a graphic dessign degree.
The potential for homeless violence increases after a group from outside Dallas forced city staff including city marshal and homeless staff to surrender on a homeless sweep.
Reports say more than three dozen people showed up to stop the city’s efforts. City staff including the Office of Homeless Solutions and Marshals participated.
The group led by the Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club carried long rifles. They obstructed the orderly tasks of city government. This led to the negotiated surrender where city staff left without doing their job.
This follows Dallas Police surrender to agitators with firearms at Dealey Montessori last year.
Photo from Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club Instagram page shows armed persons “patrolling” a homeless encampment in South Dallas.
Per one report the city will not enforce whether people continue living in the homeless encampment under Interstate 45.
Homeless Violence
The presence of the Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club reminds Dallas citizens of the George Floyd protests.
Dallas saw a number of outside groups come into the city to agitate for violence. It led to a police response that injured bystander civilians.
These groups seemed to be encouraged by city council efforts to defund the police led by council members Bazaldua, Blackmon, Narvaez, and others.
Several are concerned that the criminal problem of homelessness will continue as long as there is a protection racket. Some have theorized that the protection racket comes from local drug dealers using these camps as a buffer to encroach on new territory.
The group also appears to be raising money as an unregistered charity. It is unclear where this school supply money would go in the request above. Is it for a Dallas student or another student outside the area? Will it go to a college aged student?
There is no clear indication and beyond Instagram this appears to be an antifa style operation.
Another city council equity giveaway was on the Consent Agenda this morning. The item has moved after District 12’s Cara Mendelsohn pulled it from the agenda.
Council Member Mendelsohn asked why a 2018 policy needed to be updated so soon.
David Noguera said he anticipates minimal staff time from his team.
A question asked how can Dallas trust an out of state entity for a policy if they can’t handle their own state incorporation paperwork. It seems Noguera and Housing can not provide adequate oversight to this project.
Today city council is considering a $300,000 payment for a Phase II consulting contract. The contract would be to draft policy and engage stakeholders. The professional services contract was first to be paid to Michele S Williams LLC. There is an amendment to make payment to Michele S Williams, sole proprietor.
A big issue for city council to consider is the fact Michele S Williams LLC is not a Texas registered business. The LLC does not have a registered agent in Texas per state officials.
Additionally, Michelle S Williams LLC is not in good standing per Maryland.
Citizen Opposition
A resident of District 11, Christopher Suprun, also spoke against the contract. He noted the large number of local organizations who could perform this contract. He mentions the issues about using a firm that has issues with its own state incorporation.
Suprun then asked why city staff was not aware of incorporation issues. He posed to city council why they would use an outsider. Suprun believes there are many firms with local ties who better understand Dallas.
Why Another City Council Equity Giveaway?
As the city advertised, B.U.I.L.D. grants. BUILD stands for Broaden Urban Investments to Leverage Dallas.
The city launched the small business grant program in 2020. The goal was to assist small businesses hit by global COVID-19 pandemic. The program said it would provide selected businesses with one-time grant of up to $3,000.
In January 2021, Other Side Dallas documented eight local organizations who never received their grant. It is unclear who kept or used those funds.
Another education based nonprofit noted they received a notification Friday. The notice demanded agreement to new terms not outlined in the original advertisement. They were then given one businesses day to agree.
Afterward, the nonprofit then still never received their funds. Their reaction to this bait and switch was outrage.
Other Side Dallas has been unable to get city staff to respond to inquiries about this contract or the BUILD grant problems.
Dallas housing socialism appears ready to come to Dallas if some get their way.
The City of Dallas is considering limiting property purchases within city limits and may seek state legislation also.
David Noguera, the Director of Dallas Housing said, “Canada restricts how many foreign investors can come into your market and buy up your real estate.”
David Noguera, Director of Dallas Housing
Dallas Housing Socialism
Median prices on housing are up more than twenty percent in th Dallas/Fort Worth market over last year and there has been general sticker shock over the tax bills coming due.
Dallas Councilwoman Jaynie Schultz asked “are we working on a bigger policy regarding the scourge of investment buyers?”
Some are not sure this should be a city council priority.
Mark Fuentes, a local landlord, said “Dallas does not need to follow Canada on anything. We need police to respond to emergencies and city council members to follow their own ethics policy.”
“Why do they want to bring Canada’s socialism to Dallas,” he continued.
Dallas has a poor history of affordable housing issues in part because of repetitive corruptions trials where elected officials were getting rich off federal programs and bribes. These have led in some cases to today’s higher tax bills.
Fuentes said, “Dallas can’t even get its permit office to run properly. Why are they going to restrict how I make a living?”
