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Vacation rental bill transmitted to DeSantis

Vacation rental bill transmitted to DeSantis

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Business, Featured, Real estate | Development.

TALLAHASSEE – The fate of the Florida Legislature’s latest attempt to reserve the regulation of vacation rentals to the state lies in the hands of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

On June 17, DeSantis received the vacation rental preemption bill proposed by the Florida Legislature in the form of Senate Bill 280 and its matching House bill.

The proposed legislation seeks to assign vacation rental regulation and vacation rental advertising regulation to the state and take those regulatory rights away from local city and county governments.

As of June 23, DeSantis had not yet signed the bill into law or vetoed it. He also has the option to allow the bill to become a new state law without his signature.

As part of its ongoing efforts to maintain the right to regulate short-term vacation rentals and advertising at the local level, the city of Anna Maria immediately initiated an opposition campaign directed at the governor.

The campaign uses the city-owned Home Rule Florida website which has more than 2,000 subscribers statewide. On June 17, Home Rule Florida issued an email to subscribers encouraging them to express their opposition to the proposed legislation by emailing DeSantis or calling his office.

The June 17 Home Rule Florida email said, “Vacation rental bill SB 280 is on the governor’s desk. Now is the time to let Gov. DeSantis know how this bill can destroy our delicate coastal communities. Ask him to veto SB 280.”

The email also said, “Lend your voice in asking our governor to carefully consider the implications of this bill and not try to fix something that’s not broken. The elimination of occupancy limitations can cripple the infrastructure of some of our coastal communities. The actual population of people residing in these coastal communities can increase by up to 35% overnight, hampering law enforcement, sewer and water resources, as well as creating traffic congestion and impacting public safety. The required and exclusive methods set out in the bill for enforcement make enforcement of those standards virtually impossible.”

The email also addresses the carve-out exemption that would allow Flagler County to continue regulating short-term vacation rentals at the county level.

“There is a carve-out for one county. No one seems to be able to explain why Flagler County was the only county in Florida to be exempted from this draconian piece of legislation. No need exists for this legislation. Cities and counties do not need new enforcement means and restrictions only applicable to enforcement against vacation rentals since the current enforcement methods available under current Florida law are certainly sufficient,” the email said.

Additional Home Rule Florida emails were distributed on June 18, 19 and 21.

When contacted on June 22, Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy said, “Our lobbyist is very optimistic that he (DeSantis) will veto the bill but we need to keep the pressure on. If he signs it or doesn’t sign it and it becomes state law, we are weighing our options on what our next move will be. The Flagler carve-out seems to hit a raw nerve with the governor’s staff and we have been emphasizing that in the campaigns we’ve run so far. In just one week, our campaigns generated over 2,000 letters (emails) and numerous phone calls opposing SB 280. I know our message is hitting home with the governor’s office and I’m hoping this ‘pork chop’ piece of legislation fails.”

Owner of illegal vacation rental bedrooms cited

Owner of illegal vacation rental bedroom cited

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News, Featured.

ANNA MARIA – City officials are concerned about ground-level storage spaces in vacation rental homes being illegally converted and used as additional bedrooms.

Mayor Dan Murphy addressed these concerns with the city commission on Aug. 3.

“New single-family homes are being built with storage areas included. It appears some of these storage areas conveniently could be converted into bedrooms. Storage areas should not be converted into bedrooms,” Murphy said, noting that it violates state and city building codes and FEMA flood insurance regulations.

According to the notice of violation the city issued on Aug. 1, the vacation rental home in violation is located at 614 Gladiolus St. and is owned by Windemere residents Jose and Judith Calderon.

According to the violation notice, the home was inspected as a vacation rental on July 24 and the city inspector discovered a ground floor garage/ storage area had been enclosed and converted into a bedroom and/or habitable area. The notice also states the enclosed room is labeled as a bedroom on the sketch required as part of the city’s vacation rental registration program.

According to the notice, the property is currently in violation of several city and state building code regulations.

The notice of violation states the owners had until noon on Aug. 4 to apply for a city-issued demolition permit to bring the property into compliance with its previously issued building permit.

The homeowners were scheduled to meet with the city building official Monday afternoon.

When addressing the commission, Murphy noted the city’s annual vacation rental registration program requires an annual inspection of each dwelling to be used as a vacation rental. While the state preempts the regulation of vacation rentals to itself, the city has the authority to enforce state building codes, he said.

“A bedroom on the ground floor is a violation of Florida Building Code,” Murphy said in regard to new construction. “It was also done without a permit, which is also a violation of the Florida Building Code. They cannot use this as a vacation rental. We have notified them they have the alternative of getting a demolition permit to demolish that,” Murphy told the commission.

“This is not the only one. There are others we suspect,” he added. “As we do these vacation rental inspections, we expect to come across more. Our position is going to be the same: You cannot rent the house out as a vacation rental because you failed the inspection.”

Murphy said any vacation rentals homeowners found to have unpermitted additional bedrooms, bathrooms or living spaces found to violate state, city and/or FEMA regulations will be told they have to demolish the illegal space in order to use the dwelling as a vacation rental.

Murphy said violating FEMA regulations could result in flood insurance rates increasing for property owners citywide.

“That affects all of us,” Commissioner Mark Short said.

Commissioner Charlie Salem asked if contractors who illegally install unpermitted ground-level bedrooms, bathrooms and living spaces could also be penalized.

In response, Murphy said, “That’s a bridge I don’t want to cross yet. Where we are is enforcing it against the homeowner. Some people have done this themselves; other people probably have used a contractor. I don’t know how far I can go legally in finding out who did the work, but I do know who owns the property. That’s cut and dry.”

Anna Maria officials oppose rental bill

Anna Maria officials oppose rental bill

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News, Featured.

ANNA MARIA – Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy traveled to Tallahassee last week to express the city’s opposition to Senate Bill 714.

SB 714 is the Florida Legislature’s most recent move to further limit local government’s ability to regulate short-term vacation rentals, giving more authority to the state. House Bill 883 serves as the companion bill. Both pieces of proposed legislation are currently working their way through various Senate and House committee stops. If SB 714 and HB 883 successfully pass through their respective committee stops, they would then be placed before both houses of the Legislature for final votes. If the Senate and House both adopt similar bills, the legislation will be sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis to sign into new state law or veto.

Murphy arrived in Tallahassee on Wednesday and returned to Anna Maria on Friday. While in Tallahassee, he hand-delivered to key state legislators copies of the city resolution the Anna Maria City Commission adopted on March 9. The resolution expresses the mayor and commission’s opposition to taking away the city’s ability to regulate short-term vacation rentals at the local level.

When discussing SB 714 on March 9, Murphy said, “The only people this benefits is Airbnb and Vrbo. They’re the ones pushing this. Airbnb and Vrbo would like nobody between them and the person renting the house: No realtor, no government agency, no city. Everything’s mechanized and there’s no need for any humans to be involved. That’s what this is all about.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Murphy sent an email update to city commissioners that noted SB 714 successfully passed through the Senate’s Regulated Industries Committee the previous day.

“An amendment was added during that meeting which clarifies fees and tax liability, none of which helps our cause of killing this bill,” Murphy stated in email.

“The good news is that our website (www.homerulefl.com) generated over 2,500 emails to senators on that committee, all speaking out in opposition to SB 714. What’s more, we added 250 new subscribers to our website and our distribution list. We are now very much a statewide website with subscribers throughout the state. We will continue to track SB 714 as it goes to its next two committees in the Senate and we will have campaigns ready to address the bill,” Murphy wrote.

On Saturday, Murphy provided The Sun with more details about his trip.

“I was able to meet the president of the Senate, Kathleen Passidomo, and I left her a copy of our resolution. I also discussed the pitfalls of this pending legislation, including taking away our right to limit the occupancy of vacation rentals,” Murphy said.

“I met with the bill’s sponsor (Sen. Nick DiCeglie, R-St. Petersburg) and told him our concerns about ‘party houses’ and the catastrophic impact this bill will have on our Island community. Later, I met with Sen. Jim Boyd and State Rep. Will Robinson Jr. to discuss our concerns. My final meetings were with the House speaker’s office and the chairperson of the Commerce Committee, State Rep. Bob Rommel,” Murphy said.
“As an Island community, we need to bombard the Legislature with our concerns through phone calls and emails. We can utilize the HomeRuleFL.com website to send instant emails to the legislators as the bill moves through the House and the Senate. We are at a very serious and critical crossroads with this bill. Failure to speak up now could have long-term negative implications on our quality of life on Anna Maria Island,” Murphy said.

Vacation rental advertising ordinance adopted

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – The city of Anna Maria has a new ordinance on misleading advertising as part of its ongoing enforcement of vacation rental occupancy limits.

Adopted on second and final reading on Oct. 10, Ordinance 19-855 amends the city’s original misleading advertising ordinance adopted in 2016. The fines are now established in a new and separate city resolution also adopted last week.

The amended ordinance creates a legal mechanism for the city’s special magistrate to impose fines that range from five to 30 times the rental unit’s daily rate on those who repeatedly advertise excess occupancy limits.

“Repetitive misleading advertisement activity means when a vacation rental ordinance is advertised at an occupancy level that is not permitted under the vacation rental ordinance, and when discovered and notified of the misleading advertisement by the city, the advertisement is changed to the occupancy allowed, but later is changed to an occupancy that is not permitted under the vacation rental ordinance,” according to the ordinance.

“What’s happening is after five days they comply. We close the case and then they come back again and change it. It’s the repeat offenders we’re trying to address here,” Mayor Dan Murphy told the commission during last week’s meeting.

When presenting the ordinance for first reading in September, City Attorney Becky Vose said she was aware of vacation rentals in Anna Maria advertising 30-person occupancies.

According to Vose, first-time offenders will be given a warning and a few days to cure the violation before fines and subsequent enforcement processes begin.

The ordinance states a special magistrate hearing shall be required, and the special magistrate shall determine the proper and appropriate penalty for the first offense violation, not to exceed $200 per day, for which the violation continues after email notice has been sent to the management company, the individual in charge and/or the property owner if:

  • The violation is contested, and the special magistrate finds the property to have been in violation;
  • The violation is not cured within 10 days after an email notice is sent; or
  • The fine is not paid within 20 days after such email notice is sent.

“For repetitive misleading advertising activities, a special magistrate hearing shall be required. The special magistrate shall set the appropriate fine based upon the severity of the violation,” according to the ordinance.

The ordinance notes that the severity of the violation could include the number of occupants advertised and whether the violator has published misleading advertising before.

The ordinance states that fines levied by the special magistrate for repeat violations shall be no less than five times and no more than 30 times the rental unit’s daily rental rate.

“Every day a violation continues shall constitute a separate offense which shall be separately punished,” the amended ordinance states.

In 2015, the city commission adopted a vacation rental ordinance that limits new vacation rentals to a maximum of eight occupants. More than 100 existing vacation rentals were granted additional occupancy limits in order to resolve Bert Harris claims filed by vacation rental owners who had one year to file a claim.

Each registered vacation rental’s occupancy limit is documented as part of the city’s annual vacation rental registration requirements. The city contracts a third-party screen-scraping company to continually monitor the number of occupants advertised at Airbnb, VRBO and other online vacation rental platforms, and those advertisements are compared to the allowed occupancy limit stated in the registration documents.

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Unregistered Airbnb fined $250 per day

Unregistered Airbnb fined $250 per day

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Business, Personal finance, Real estate | Development.

ANNA MARIA – Special Magistrate Karla Owens has levied a $250 per day fine for the unregistered operation of an Airbnb vacation rental at 302 North Shore Drive.

Owens issued this order during the Tuesday, April 30 code enforcement and appeals hearing at Anna Maria City Hall.

The rental at 302 North Shore Drive is being advertised on Airbnb but is not registered with the city in accordance with the city’s vacation rental ordinance.

When issuing her ruling, Owens also gave the property owner, DLVAMI 302 North Shore LLC, until the end of the day to pay $587 in registration fees, pay an additional $150 administrative fee to help cover the hearing costs and provide the city with all documents required to register as a vacation rental.

Owens said if those conditions were not met by day’s end a $250 per day fine would begin accruing the following day and continue accruing until the matter is resolved. According to Mayor Dan Murphy, the Airbnb remained unregistered at week’s end. According to the Florida Division of Corporations website, Denise Valley has incorporated and dissolved four LLCs at that address, including two that list 302 North Shore Drive Suite C as the address.

According to the Airbnb listing, the Airbnb host is named Floyd and four of the five Airbnb reviews posted in April mention Floyd by first name only. The Airbnb listing addressed at Tuesday’s hearing lists a $97 per night rental rate and touts the property as the “best deal on the Island.”

State records list Floyd Calhoun as the registered agent for three dissolved LLCs using the 302 North Shore Drive address – including the dissolved Here Realty LLC that listed both Valley and Calhoun as registered agents.

Neither Valley nor Calhoun attended Tuesday’s hearing.

When presenting the city’s case, City Clerk LeAnne Addy said the unregistered Airbnb was discovered on Oct. 23 by the city’s contracted screen scraping firm that conducts online searches for non-registered vacation rentals.

A warning notice was sent to the LLC’s Anna Maria Post Office box on Oct. 24. A second warning was sent on Nov. 26 and a third on March 7. The last notice stated the alleged infractions would be addressed at the special magistrate hearing if not addressed within five days.

“As of today, they’re still advertising on Airbnb and they’re not registered,” Addy said during the hearing.

Addy said the property owner owes the city a $297 registration fee for 2018 and a $290 registration fee for 2019. The fees are based on the city’s eight-person maximum occupancy allowance for a three-bedroom vacation rental.

City Attorney Becky Vose said the accruing fines would become a lien on the property if unpaid. Vose said if the lien is not addressed and continues to grow the city could eventually pursue foreclosure on the property.

During Tuesday’s hearing, it was not known or noted that the property is already the subject of foreclosure proceedings initiated last July by HMC Assets. Manatee County court records list Valley, DLVAMI 302 North Shore LLC, Calhoun and additional unknown tenants as defendants in the ongoing foreclosure proceedings.

A visit to the property on Tuesday revealed a second address, 302 B, painted near one of the elevated duplex’s four garage doors. The Airbnb website includes a second listing for the property that mentions a pending full-scale remodeling effort and an anticipated total occupancy of 20-plus people.

“There is room for the entire family plus the in-laws plus the cousins,” the second listing says, noting the Airbnb rental has perhaps the largest swimming pool on the Island, spas and enough room to play volleyball.

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