Letters to the Editor, July 9

By Judy J. Beasley Last updated Jul 13, 2022

Businesses depend on vacation rentals

I hope the people proposing and supporting the vacation rental referendum have done the math and are not just approaching this from an emotional point of view.

According to page 20 of the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau – January 2022 Monthly Dashboard, it states that 50% of vacationers were vacation rentals, 47% were hotels/motels/resorts, and the remaining 3% were vacation rentals. campsites. and bed and breakfast.

If that 50% is drastically reduced or eliminated, what will happen to the businesses that rely on their revenue? Do full-time residents typically go parasailing, shell hunting, boating or jet skiing once a week? Do full-time residents go out to eat or fill suitcases with clothes and souvenirs every week? What about transport companies, photographers and florists?

Does the city have revenue or agents to enforce any new rules this referendum would impose? This all sounds like a costly undertaking for the city and would likely result in higher property taxes, lower property values, and higher overall costs for Marco residents, not to mention the many legal issues this potential order would cause.

Lori Reinalda, Marco Island

A tenancy order would cost taxpayers

The expensive rental ordinance proposed in the August 23 ballot has a very high cost and is not self-funding. Ask Fort Lauderdale who had to hire 12 people to implement the mountain of work it spawned. Every city in the country already has noise, litter and parking rules. Why are you raising my taxes to fund a duplication of noise, garbage and parking rules that are already in place? Vote no! August 23.

Karen Twyning, Marco Island and Wisconsin

Marco’s economy would be damaged

I recently fell in love with Marco Island.

My family and I went to Marco Island for a week in January, renting an apartment in South Seas. We absolutely fell in love with the area and decided it would make a great retreat for us. In March, we bought a condo.

Marco Island and business owners, as well as residents (which we will one day be), would be greatly affected by the removal of vacation rentals. Tax revenues should then be offset by the collection of higher taxes from residents.

I guess weekly renters spend more money on the island than monthly renters, so only allowing monthly rentals would also have a negative effect.

The long term effects would be devastating to the economy of Marco Island and affect everyone. If I could vote, I would vote “no”.

Marvin Mullins, Marco Island

Support short-term rental ordinance

Much misinformation has been circulated about the Short Term Rental (STR) Registration Order in an effort to confuse voters.

First, it’s important to be clear about what the ordinance does not do: 1. It does not affect visitors to homes that are not short-term rentals; 2. This does not affect condos, which are regulated by HOAs; 3. This does not affect long term rentals; 4. It doesn’t even “forbid” short-term rentals.

It simply provides the basic registration terms for STRs in single-family neighborhoods that are rented for less than 30 days. These procedures include common sense items like requiring fire extinguishers and smoke detectors, ensuring the proper state license is received, etc.

Importantly, this ordinance is written alongside the Fort Lauderdale ordinance, which is enforced without any legal issues. It is 100% compliant with state law.

This order would not hurt businesses on Marco Island. Not only would the STRs continue to operate, but consider how businesses thrived on Marco prior to the STR invasion. It is also important to recognize how difficult it is, for example, for a resident to get a table at a local restaurant during high season. Residents are being pushed out of contributing to our local economy.

Some have claimed that the current situation with weekly vacation rentals was an invention of the Mackle brothers. Clearly this is wrong: the deed restrictions created by the Mackle Brothers state that only residential single-family use is permitted in single-family neighborhoods. Nor could the Mackle brothers have anticipated AirBnb and VRBO — or even the Internet itself — when Marco was developed. Since 2019 alone, the number of AirBnB listings on Marco has increased by more than 50%.