INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, Fla. — Short-term vacation rentals and how they should be regulated remains an unresolved, still-divisive topic in Indian Rocks Beach.
For years, homeowners like John Pfanstiehl have argued Airbnb and VRBO rentals are destroying the coastal city by disrupting it with loud, drunken parties, speeding, and other undesirable issues.
“When people come to party in a neighborhood like this, it’s because they don’t want to party in their own neighborhood. They’re not coming for good behavior,” he said. “Just the sheer number of strangers. We don’t know who they are. The people renting the houses out don’t know who they are.”
Almost two years ago, Indian Rocks Beach city commission passed an ordinance that lays out extensive rules for vacation rental owners and the people who rent them.
The ordinance restricts occupancy of vacation rentals, sets some parking rules, and specifies penalties for repeat violations.
Some vacation rental owners believe the ordinance is an unconstitutional overreach, so they filed a federal lawsuit in response.
As a result of the legal fight, the city will consider an updated ordinance during a Tuesday night meeting that critics say will strip away many of the rules and protections included in the ordinance.
“It’s completely gutting it,” said Pfanstiehl.
Matthew Barrowclough, one of the many plaintiffs suing the city over its rules for vacation rentals, has a different take. He owns and lives in an Indian Rocks Beach home that he also shares as a vacation rental.
“There’s good people here. I’m a good person. And I think many owners like myself — they want to see good things thrive in the city,” he said.
He believes the current ordinance is too restrictive. He also thinks it could put the city in extreme financial hardship as rental owners seek to recoup their financial losses.
“A lot of people are suffering economic losses here because of that [ordinance], so the city is now going to be on the hook for paying that,” he explained.
In November, one such owner filed a claim against the city under the Bert J. Harris, Jr., Private Property Rights Protection Act. The state law provides compensation and relief to landowners when government rules and regulations limit their private property rights.
In Indian Rocks Beach, the owner of a large vacation rental on 20th Ave. is asking the city for either $2.6 million in compensation for lost revenue or to be exempt from the occupancy rule in the current ordinance, which limits how many can stay overnight in vacation rentals.
“The Ordinance has permanently and significantly reduced the Property’s ability to utilize all its dwelling units for short-term rental purposes, which results in an economic waste of the Property and a decrease in rental revenue as compared to that which was realized before the Ordinance was enacted and enforced,” a lawyer for the property owner tells the city in the Nov. letter.
Indian Rocks Beach city commission is set to discuss that potential settlement on Tuesday, along with the proposal to alter the current ordinance.
Some, like Pfanstiehl, hope the city stands firm in defense of its ordinance.
“This is absurd. They’re bending over backwards to these disruptive businesses,” he said.
However, Barrowclough said Indian Rocks Beach should waste no more time and effort on vacation rentals after two devastating hurricanes.
“The world is different now,” he said.
He believes more Bert Harris claims will be filed if the city does not change course.
“It’s going to be in the millions of dollars for the city if they continue down this path,” he said.
Tuesday’s meeting is set for 6 p.m. at the Key West Center of the Holiday Inn Harbourside.
