SARASOTA, Fla. — City of Sarasota commissioners voted 4-1 to approve staff to move forward on a proposal towards changes to its policy regulating vacation rentals within city limits on Monday.
The changes include expanding a vacation rental ordinance that would apply to short-term rentals and be effective city-wide as well as a fee hike.
The vote approves the city attorney to write an ordinance to this effect which will be presented to the commission for consideration and subject to public hearings.
The development is news welcomed by some neighbors who have continued to voice concerns about the growing number of short-term rentals with noisy renters or just too many people. They said expanding a strict ordinance citywide would help enforce vacation rental rules throughout the city to curb excesses and violations.
City leaders have spent months discussing and trying to tackle the issue of vacation rentals and what best ways to regulate it so that it would not impede on the quality of life of residents.
"We do not like the strangers coming in and going. They are not bad people but we are used to a really quiet neighborhood," said David Moskowitz, a neighbor in the Laurel Park area of Sarasota.
"They are very disruptive, there are very noisy parties at night," said Flo Entler who lives in the Arlington Park neighborhood.
According to city staff, more than 700 properties operate as vacation rentals on Sarasota's mainland. Some neighbors said the proliferation of short-term rentals has impacted affordable housing.
"You have to often have two to three times the amount of the rent available to be approved. It's a problem here if you don't have money," Moskowitz said.
Currently, 140 vacation rentals on the barrier islands operate under a strict ordinance that includes registration, a seven-day minimum stay, and a 10-person permitted maximum occupancy. The proposal would expand that ordinance and increase rental renewal from $350 to nearly $1,000 per year. The revenue would go towards the cost of enforcement and necessary resources.
"The people that live here permanently, our quality of life and our peaceful enjoyment of our home are being disturbed with commercial entities being run in single-family residential neighborhoods," Entler said. "We do not have an HOA, we do not have deed restrictions. The commission is our HOA and we need their help."
"Any change in the law is going to help protect the people who currently already own homes and rental units. It protects them, and makes people who come in from the outside maybe think twice before they jump in," Moskowitz said.
The matter will return to the commission for further consideration at a yet-to-be-determined date.