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Short-term rental ban likely to be enforced
By SASHA TALCOTT CLEARWATER -- A divided City Commission appears ready to back a 30-day minimum on renting homes along Clearwater Beach. After months of contentious debate, commissioners agreed at a work session Tuesday morning to clarify and enforce the existing ordinance governing the rental of single-family homes, rather than adopt a new policy. The controversial ban on short-term rentals, on the books but rarely enforced, does not define exactly what constitutes a short-term rental, allowing spring break renters to throw huge house parties, then leave two days later. The commission is expected to add the 30-day rental minimum after a public meeting on the issue. The commission asked the city staff to develop practical ways to implement the measure. "The last thing we need is the full-time residents and the taxpayers to have their family life negatively impacted by a bunch of weekend warriors who go on a 48- or 72-hour binge then get out of Dodge," said Commissioner Hoyt Hamilton, who voiced support for a seven-day minimum rental period but stopped short of supporting a 30-day minimum. The city began to examine the beach rental issue last year after receiving complaints from full-time residents who say homes in their neighborhoods have turned into de facto motels. But many beach landlords oppose the short-term rental ban, arguing that the city is depriving them of the ability to make money off their property. Standing outside City Hall after the meeting Tuesday, a group of landlords vowed to sue the city to prevent enforcement of the ordinance. "I don't want them to come out there like the Gestapo and knock on doors and say, "What are you doing? How long have you been here?' " said John Meek Jr., a real estate broker who owns four houses on north Clearwater Beach. "This is a right they're taking away from us." City Attorney Pam Akin said she expects the city to be sued regardless of what ordinance the commissioners decide to enforce. The practice of buying houses and renting them to short-term vacationers already is illegal in Clearwater. City officials have issued warning letters to some homeowners but have not yet cited them, said Jeff Kronschnabl, director of Development Services. At the meeting, commissioners Whitney Gray and Hamilton suggested that the city go with a seven-day minimum on renting houses instead of a 30-day minimum. But to enact a weeklong minimum, the city probably would have to change the zoning of the area because it conflicts with Pinellas County's regulations for single-family homes, city staff members said. Gray said the need to change zoning may lead her to support the 30-day minimum. Commissioners Frank Hibbard and Bill Jonson have said they support the 30-day minimum; and Mayor Brian Aungst, who was absent from the work session, has voiced support for the idea. At the meeting, Jonson held up a thick stack of ads for Clearwater Beach rentals that he had printed from the Internet. One advertised a 1,500-square-foot Bruce Avenue home as "perfect for large parties." "I think this is a problem that needs to be fixed," Jonson said. "We have never explicitly permitted short-term rentals in this area. I don't see this as we're changing; rather, we're clarifying." But Hamilton said families vacationing in Clearwater Beach often would prefer to rent a house instead of motel rooms. House rentals can come with board games, bicycles, kitchens and other amenities suitable for families. He said he worried that the 30-day minimum would drive tourism away from Clearwater. "I think it's an enforcement issue," he said. "I think there's a way to find a happy medium."
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From the Times North Pinellas desks |
