TAMPA, Fla. – There was standing room only as the City of Indian Rocks Beach Commission discussed details of an upcoming ordinance intended to regulate short-term rentals.
Some residents have raised concerns about the number of vacation rentals in the city listed on sites like Airbnb and VRBO, saying they house transients and pack too many people into one home.
Meanwhile, owners of short-term rentals say most landlords follow regulations and find themselves lumped in with the minority who don’t.
“I’m super strict with my rentals. So I’m definitely not the person the neighbors hate because my tenants are super quiet and I don’t have parking issues. I don’t have occupancy issues” , said Diane Daniel, who rents her own house while she is abroad. “But I see both sides. The truth is if I’m at home, which I’ve been here now for six months, and I was surrounded by short-term rentals, which I’m not, I don’t I wouldn’t do. So, I’ll follow whatever rules the city comes up with.”
During Tuesday’s business session, commissioners went through the model order.
They addressed issues such as parking, registration fees and occupancy restrictions. The group reached consensus that in residential areas, rentals should be limited to two occupants per room, with two additional guests sleeping in common areas, for a maximum of ten people.
“We were a little worried about some of the occupancy restrictions they were going to impose, but they allowed both in the common area. As long as they keep that, my three bedroom will go from ten to eight occupancy, from that, but that’s fine with me,” Michael Loverde said.
During the meeting’s public comment session, Loverde told commissioners that owning two short-term rental properties that he lists on Airbnb has allowed him to spend more time with his daughters.
“There are ordinary people – not everyone is just an investor,” Loverde said of what he wanted the commissioners to know about landowners. “You know, there are the usual mums and dads. There are many of us.”
Commissioners also agreed to a maximum of 12 guests for rentals in the commercial tourist district of the city. Some attendees at the meeting asked them to reconsider including this neighborhood in the ordinance, with one woman telling them she didn’t see the noise or parking issues reported by residents of residential areas.
Nothing was voted on at the meeting.
City Attorney Randy Mora said the goal was to get an idea from the commissioners about what they wanted to include in the order. Mayor Cookie Kennedy told those in attendance that the public will have two more chances to vote on the ordinance once it is completed and reviewed by commissioners.
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