15 Oct Ocean Drive Residents Push Council to Rein In Short-Term Rentals as Developer Warns of Suit

Ocean Drive residents showed up at Tuesday’s Corpus Christi City Council meeting with binders and video footage, pressing leaders to deal with noise, parking violations and trespassing they link to short-term rentals, KRIS reported. The push came as city staff outlined tougher rules and the developer behind the street’s biggest rental operation put the city on notice of a possible lawsuit.

Neighbors described a problem that never lets up. One said single-family houses are being run like hostels sleeping 30 people. Missy Medary, a neighbor, said the clips and photos shown to council covered only recent months and that residents have far more. Armando Leal, another resident, said it isn’t just a weekend or holiday thing and happens every day, according to KIII. Another resident told council the rentals have stripped neighbors of their peace and security.

Chris Munro sees it differently, KIII reported. Coastal Family Homes, his company, holds 38 of the street’s short-term rentals. He argues the city should regulate rentals through zoning rather than local ordinances he says can clash with state law, and says the city has singled out his business. He also said he doesn’t want to sue and hopes for an amicable fix. Munro disputed that every noise complaint traces back to his tenants, acknowledging that an occasional bad actor will throw a party, which he said is why rules exist.

Staff, meanwhile, laid out changes the short-term rental committee has been weighing, according to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Interim Development Services Director Yvette Wallace said they were checked against rules in cities from Port Aransas to Dallas. Two changes are already on the table: ending the split between Type 1 rentals, where the owner lives on site, and Type 2, where the owner lives elsewhere, and replacing how occupancy is figured, since dining rooms and living rooms can count as bedrooms, with tighter caps. Still to be worked out are limits on rentals per block, spacing between them, parking requirements, what counts as a violation and whether appeals should go before the Planning Commission. KRIS added that noise monitoring is among the ideas.

Enforcement was the sore spot. Councilman Gil Hernandez said new rules won’t matter unless city staff, code enforcement, police, prosecutors and municipal court all back a crackdown on bad operators. He bluntly called the current ordinance “garbage,” KIII reported, and pressed staff to pledge to pull permits from operators with repeat complaints. Wallace said only a few citations have gone out and the city hasn’t revoked a single permit in 2026, though it has improved its 3-1-1 line and police now keep a heat map of rentals with recurring complaints. Police Chief Mike Markle cautioned that enforcement alone won’t fix residents’ concerns. Problems return once officers leave, he said, and even stationing officers on the streets wouldn’t solve the quality-of-life issues.

At-Large Councilwoman Carolyn Vaughn said she would back a ban on rentals in single-family neighborhoods, as New Braunfels has done. Wallace said such bans have been challenged.

The notice of claim from Munro’s company came in late September under House Bill 2127, a state law letting people challenge local rules that might clash with it, the Caller-Times reported. It starts a three-month wait before any lawsuit, putting the earliest possible filing in late December. Interim City Attorney Buck Brice said his department is reviewing the claim, according to KRIS. Peter Zanoni, the city manager, said the stakeholder committee paused its work because of it, though staff still reviewed several of its recommendations.

Tight limits are already in place. In August, council approved a moratorium on applications for new Type 1 permits, which remains in effect past Nov. 17. It also backs a cap on Type 2 rentals in single-family districts of 15% of homes per block face on streets with seven or more residential units, for new applications and renewals alike. The moratorium followed neighbors’ complaints about noise and overcrowding. All permits lapse at year’s end, with renewal details due from the city soon, KIII reported. Permits that run through December stay active and won’t be revoked.

The stakeholder committee meets twice this month and then sits down with the Planning Commission Oct. 28. Council gets a first look at the proposed changes Nov. 10 and a second reading Nov. 17.