INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, Fla. — Marilyn Bush has almost had enough. The Indian Rocks Beach homeowner said the proliferation of short-term rentals — like Airbnbs and VRBOs — in the coastal community has made her once quiet neighborhood street almost unbearable at times.
“We are now living the nightmare on our own streets,” she said Tuesday during a meeting of the Indian Rocks Beach City Commission. “I used to be welcoming and friendly, and now, I’m the crabby old lady down this street.”
She and other neighbors have said some of the problems short-term rentals have disrupted the peace in the sleepy gulfside city with frequent drunken bachelor parties, dangerous driving, and loud music.
“You always knew who the bad apples were in your neighborhood and to stay away from them, but now, you don’t know who’s coming and going,” shared Darlene Rusinowski Kavanagh during the same meeting.
Tuesday night, after months of debate and deliberation, city commissioners finally answered the concerns and passed an ordinance that sets a laundry list of rules for both vacation rental owners and occupants.
Under the ordinance:
- Owners would have to register their rentals with the city through an extensive paperwork and inspection process
- Many rentals would be capped at a max of 12 overnight occupants for the next two years before reducing to 10 after that period
- The rental’s owner or designee would have to be available to quickly respond to any complaints 24-7
- And, among other rules, each rental would need one parking spot per bedroom
The rules would apply to parts of town both east and west of Gulf Boulevard.
Recently, many of those rules were under threat because of legislation at the State Capitol.
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A pair of bills would have limited a local government’s power to regulate vacation rentals. However, the measure died on the last day of the session, which meant Indian Rocks Beach could go ahead and enact its new rules without the threat of an almost immediate conflict with state law.
The fight, however, may not be over.
State lawmakers will likely pursue similar legislation next session.
More immediately, vacation rental owners might challenge the city’s new rules in court.
“I think litigation is basically not going to be something that the city will be able to avoid,” said attorney Luke Lirot, who represents more than 50 short-term rental owners in Indian Rocks Beach. “I think it is unavoidable.”
Lirot plans to meet with his clients soon, but he believes they will have serious issues with the city’s newly-passed ordinance, which he considers one of the strictest in the State of Florida.
“It doesn’t send the message that people are welcome to come visit here,” Lirot said after the Tuesday vote. “It just doesn’t send the right message. It doesn’t send a message of hospitality or a welcoming message to tourism that I think was really the goal that my clients wanted to see.”
According to the city manager, components of the new ordinance will be prepared and rolled out in the coming months. The occupancy limit has a two-year period of implementation.
