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CSAN
College Station Association of Neighborhoods
!! IMPORTANT LEGISLATIVE UPDATE !!
STATUS UPDATE (5/31/25)\
The terrible SB 1567, "Frat House Bill" preventing municipalities from regulating the number of occupants in a dwelling is on its way to Gov. Abbott's desk. The bill was modified to exclude both big cities and towns with small colleges. It now targets only a handful of "college towns." An amendment was even added that drags Bryan, and only Bryan, into that small group.
We need to contact Governor Abbott immediately at:
https://gov.texas.gov/apps/contact-us/opinion
You can use the text (or 3 points) below to compose your message:
Issue: Local Government (select this from the drop-down list provided)
PLEASE VETO SB 1567: THE TEXAS UNLIMITED OCCUPANCY BILL
TARGETS BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION (POTENTIALLY UNCONSTITUTIONAL)
Multiple amendments reduced the cities affected from 291 to only 5 to eliminate political resistance, but evidence suggests College Station was the target all along. Also, one clause was specifically targeted only at Bryan to ensure it was included. This raises Texas constitutional concerns and invites litigation against the state.
BASED ENTIRELY ON A FALSE CLAIM THAT FAMILY ZONING IS DISCRIMINATORY
The authors falsely claim that family-based zoning ordinances are illegal, despite U.S. Supreme Court approval and no contrary Texas Supreme Court ruling. The legal structure of these ordinances is common nationwide. If the true motivation for targeting College Station was a discriminatory ordinance, why allow 286 other home-rule cities to continue to have the same?
GUARANTEES INVESTORS WILL BUY OUT EVEN MORE TEXAS HOMES
SB1567 would result in 5–10 unrelated tenants in any home next door in any neighborhood. The combined rent is typically greater than $4000 and families cannot compete to rent or buy. These houses belong in Middle Housing zoning, which is where they are allowed. Investors have already bought out 70% of College Station’s single-family homes with cash flow from 4 unrelated occupants, and 67% of those who work here do not live here, largely because they cannot compete with only four.
THANK YOU FOR PROTECTING TEXAS FAMILIES
Senate Bill SB 673 which allows Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) to be built on any single-family lot in Texas, unless prohibited by deed restrictions or an HOA has gone up for a vote by the entire Legislature.
*** If SB 1567 is signed into law, the sections below become moot: no ROOs, HOOs, and no-more-than-four regulations or enforcement. Shared Housing will likely continue, but its real benefits will be limited. ***
"No More Than Four" Ordinance
A College Station ordinance (since 1939) limits occupancy of single-family homes to a maximum of four unrelated individuals.
Some important points to know about the new enforcement effort:
- Complaints can be initiated by any citizen through See-Click-Fix or by calling Code
Enforcement at 979-764-6363. The complaint WILL be investigated.
- Code Enforcement will also be proactively investigating properties they believe are in
violation of occupancy limits.
- The definition of "related" was recently refined to include families of any size, non-traditional
families, siblings living together, etc. For instance, two siblings living in a house can have
three unrelated housemates, two sets of siblings can have two unrelated housemates.
- A violation is now considered a civil offense, i.e. a parking ticket. This change lowers the
burden of proof for easier, faster adjudication while keeping a conviction off a person's
criminal record.
- Evidence, based on interviews with occupants, the number of vehicles parked near a
residence, etc., can be collected ONLY by City personnel. Photos, etc. provided by residents
can't be used in court, but may help document the scope of the problem for future reference.
- Texas A&M's Off Campus Student Services (OCSS) has been conducting a vigorous education
campaign ("Remember Me + 3") directed at students, parents, landlords, property managers
and anyone else they can think of to inform them of renewed enforcement of NMT4. The
excuse of "I didn't know" from anyone is simply no longer acceptable.
- If a student is found to be a "ghost tenant" (their name is not on the lease) they must relocate
as soon as possible or face additional fines. OCSS will work closely with local apartment
and property managers to find housing for these students. Non-students are on their own.
- Occupancy is based on the number of people living in a house, not the number of bedrooms.
Many "stealth dorms" were intentionally built/remodeled to violate the NMT4 ordinance.
Unless the property has been granted a HOO (High Occupancy Overlay) it is still limited to
four unrelated individuals. "It's OK there's five of us here, there's five bedrooms" is not an
acceptable excuse.
CSAN, other civic organizations, supportive City Council members, City Staff and, recently Texas A&M, have spent years and an untold amount of effort getting NMT4 to the point of active enforcement.
You, our neighborhood partners, know the goings-on on your street better than anyone - you are the "eyes and ears" of NMT4 compliance.
Report violations!
We must prove that the problem is real and that the City is serious about following the law. But, just as importantly, we must do our best to make sure complaints are valid and provable. Understand and respect the legal process that the City must follow. Nothing will harm the NMT4 effort more than a deluge of complaints that can't be supported with evidence.
Shared Housing, Middle Housing, ROOs, and HOOs:
big changes to help preserve our single-family neighborhoods.
Restricted Occupancy Overlay (ROO)
- The ROO was created in 2022 to give neighborhood residents the opportunity to limit
the number of unrelated occupants in a home to two. Families of any size or type are not
restricted in any way.
- The definition of "related" was more clearly defined during the adoption process so that
non-traditional families would not be discriminated against.
- Phases of a subdivision must follow a strict application process involving notifications,
neighborhood meetings and voting. Phases may work together to educate and inform
their residents, but must follow the application process separately.
Follow the links in the section below for detailed information on the ROO.
Shared Housing
- A new building classification for residential structures, reviewed during permitting.
- It basically determines what is a true single-family residence and what is an
"Ag Shack" or "stealth dorm," something that has been missing from our codes.
- There are a number of criteria that will be used to determine what will be considered
"Shared Housing," but a critical one is more than four bedrooms/baths. Structures
with four or fewer may still be considered shared housing based on other criteria.
- Shared Housing will not be allowed to be built in single-family neighborhoods. Existing
structures will be grandfathered in.
- High occupancy Shared Housing will no longer be automatically included in the
new Middle Housing zones.
- Since inception, the City has denied ALL building permits for Shared Housing
structures in single-family neighborhoods. Prior to the change, 20-40 permits for
"Mini-dorms" or "Ag Shacks were typically approved per year.
CLICK for the characteristics that define a "Shared Housing" structure.
Middle Housing
- A new zoning classification adopted by the City in October 2022.
- Middle Housing zones allow a higher unit density than currently exists. The City solicited
and received considerable public input, mostly negative. As a result, a few proposed
areas were completely removed from consideration and nearly half those remaining
were recommended for Middle Housing, but NOT Shared Housing.
- Properties in Middle Housing zones will no longer be required to go through the
rezoning process as they do now. They must only adhere to construction and
setback requirements.
CLICK to go to the Middle Housing page for maps, information and a FAQ.
High Occupancy Overlay (HOO)
- HOO designated areas will allow more than four unrelated individuals to legally occupy a
housing unit. This change should provide additional beds for students "displaced" by
enforcement of the four-unrelated ordinance.
- The HOO was created to give the City increased planning flexibility and give the public
a much greater opportunity for input via the rather involved Overlay process.
A number of areas have been approved for Middle Housing, but NOT for the
HOO, thus helping to preserve neighborhood integrity.
For a much more detailed discussion of what these new classifications will and won't do
CLICK HERE.
Can You Do the ROO Too?
Click for steps to take before you contact the City and a detailed list of neighborhoods that can likely get the ROO.
A number of neighborhoods have gone through the voting process and been approved by City Council for a ROO, limiting occupancy to "two unrelated."
To view the City's current map of these areas, as well as those approved for a HOO, CLICK here.
(Click the map, in the pop-up box tick the box in the lower right corner
then click "OK" to get the map.)
Who owns all those rental properties?
A lot of out-of-town investors, that's who.
CLICK to see a breakdown.
What is CSAN?
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