INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, Fla. — Scottie Vaughan said she loved her Indian Rocks Beach neighborhood.
"We’ve been here about six years, and we moved here because it’s an amazing community," said Vaughan.
But she said lately that’s all changed.
"The short-term rentals have just changed the fabric of the community," said Vaughan.
Neighbors say short-term rentals are popping up all over and driving out the residents who live here.
"That house just sold. It's going to become a short-term rental. Those are short-term rentals," said resident John Pfanstiehl.
Pfanstiehl has lived in the neighborhood for 30 years and said there are more than 20 short-term rentals on just Harbor Dr.
Neighbors said the issue is hundreds of strangers filling up these rentals, throwing large parties, and trashing the streets, and causing the people living there to no longer feel safe.
“One of our neighbors up the street, a drunk was pounding on his windows at two in the morning, walked around a house, climbed a staircase, and was pounding on the windows of his bedroom. He didn't know what house he was in. He was too drunk,” said Pfanstiehl.
Neighbors said the biggest issue is the constant stream of strangers coming and going.
Pfanstiehl said at one point, Indian Rocks Beach only allowed homes to be rented for 3 months at a time. But in 2011, the Florida legislature passed a law prohibiting local governments to regulate vacation rentals.
If municipalities had an ordinance in place before June 1, 2011, they were grandfathered in. But Pfanstiehl said Indian Rocks Beach commissioners made changes to the language of their ordinance after June 1, 2011, which made them no longer grandfathered into the three-month requirement. Now he said there's a revolving door of strangers staying in their neighborhood every couple of days.
"The word residential has no meaning if you have commercial lodgings for transients in there," said Pfanstiehl.
But others say visitors should be able to experience this slice of paradise.
"We have to be really careful because overregulating things its...a slippery slope," said Erika Dietz.
Dietz lives in Indian Rocks Beach and owns a short-term rental home in the neighborhood.
"I love being a gracious host. I love helping people, and families have amazing vacations here," said Dietz.
She said it's a small number of rentals that are causing the problems.
"It's a very small slice of owners that maybe don’t care as much, and if we can address that issue, I think we’re going to be there," said Dietz.
To address these concerns on Tuesday night, both residents and city commissioners spoke at a special meeting.
Public comment lasted two hours as many on both sides of the issue shared their thoughts.
In the end, city commissioners decided to consider a few options for regulating short-term rentals—which include:
- Requiring fire department inspections as part of the city's rental licensing process
- Limiting guest occupancy per bedroom
- Hiring a special magistrate to help the city expedite code violations
- Setting limits on the number of cars, per bedroom, that can be parked on the property
- Raising fees that rental property owners have to pay the city
City leaders said this is the first of many conversations they will be having on the topic—and hope to pass an ordinance on the issue in the near future.
