This issue has divided neighborhoods, with street signs along the streets.
INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, Fla. — The Indian Rocks Beach Municipal Commission is seeking to regulate short-term rentals, like Airbnbs. The subject drove a wedge between neighbors, with yard signs found on most residential streets.
Neighbors opposed to short-term rentals say they take away the “small town feel” of Indian Rocks.
Commissioners said there are currently 283 short-term rentals. These include Airbnb and VRBO rentals.
“I mean, I knew everyone on my street,” Robert Florio said. “And now there are three [neighbors] who stay… I get new neighbors every three days, in other words.”
Florio said having new neighbors every other day means confusion over parking, noise ordinances and sidewalks.
“Well, it’s just because of the hustle and bustle and the traffic and the people are rude and they’re walking in the middle of the street,” Florio said. “Make it a little harder for these landlords, these investors, to rent them out.”
The City of Indian Rocks Beach has now put in place ordinances for short term rentals. And there are noise ordinances that anyone in the city’s residential areas must comply with.
Alan Agoado is a property manager and manages nine properties in Indian Rocks. He said he hopes he can find a way to make his rental units welcome in the community.
“Ninety-nine out of 100 managers or owners will do whatever their neighbors want to maintain a peaceful community,” Agoado said.
10 Tampa Bay interviewed Agoado at one of his properties being renovated. Additional security cameras were being installed. Agoado also showed off the fence and trees he placed to reduce noise.
“I have cameras on my house,” Agoado said. “My neighbors, if they contact me, I immediately check the cameras. If I hear or see a problem, I immediately contact my guests.”
Asked about the economic impact of short-term rentals, Agoado said it was a big problem for local businesses.
“I’ve had companies tell me they’d lose up to 70% of their sales if short-term rentals weren’t in this area,” he said.
There are state laws in place that do not allow cities to restrict certain aspects of short-term rentals, such as setting a minimum on length of stay.
“What we’ve seen with the increase in short-term rentals in our community is that we’ve had to step it up a notch, and that’s what we’re going to do tonight,” Mayor Cookie said. Kennedy.
The municipal board may set a maximum number of occupants per tenancy. At Tuesday’s meeting, commissioners proposed a limit of 12 occupants. Commissioners declared two per chamber plus two. One factor here was parents traveling with children.
Kennedy said the city also plans to add a code enforcement officer and a special magistrate. When asked how these new positions would be budgeted, she replied that these costs would come from rentals.
“The inspection fee will contribute to the cost of that,” Kennedy said.
To cover these costs, the commissioners proposed a registration fee of $400.
Parking was also discussed and commissioners reached consensus of one space per room with a paving requirement. A key factor in this discussion was how the commissioners don’t want people parking on grass. As for on street parking, there were a lot of complaints so they took the time to say they would talk about a paving requirement in the future.
Other regulations, such as suspension, were mentioned. According to the stewards, three violations would result in a suspension.
The regulations discussed between the commissioners this evening will be detailed in a draft which will be discussed in more detail.
The next meeting is scheduled for February 14.
Malique Rankin is a generalist reporter at 10 Tampa Bay. You can email her story ideas to [email protected] and follow her Facebook, Twitterand instagram pages.
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