Mooringline Drive, The Moorings, Vero Beach, FL
It could happen. Vero Beach has a 30 day requirement for rentals and Indian River County has an ordinance regulating short-term rentals.
With Florida SB 824 and HB 987, both ordinances would be preempted (be acquired) to the state.
In other words, these bills will wipe out Vero Beach’s 30-day rental requirement and Indian River County’s short-term rental ordinance.
GENERAL BILL SB 824 by State Senator Diaz
- The regulation of public lodging establishments
- 23 and public food service establishments, including, but not
- 24 limited to, sanitation standards, inspections, training and
- 25 testing of personnel, and matters related to the nutritional
- 26 content and marketing of foods offered in such establishments,
- 27 is preempted to the state
GENERAL BILL HB 987 by State Representative J. Grant.
- Except as provided under this paragraph, the regulation
of vacation rentals, including, but not limited to, inspection,
licensing, and occupancy limits, is expressly preempted to the
state.
SB 824 (Diaz) and HB 987 (J. Grant) do the following:
•Preempt to the state the regulation of vacation rentals
•Local governments cannot prohibit rentals (not just STRs), impose occupancy limits on rental properties, or require inspections or licensing of rentals (specific to STRs)
•Create a process where city must prove by clear and convincing evidence that their ordinance or regulation complies with this section
•Remove the grandfather clause (which would have protected Vero Beach; also potentially jeopardizing HOA restrictions.
On Tuesday, March 26 at 1:30 PM, the House Government Operations & Technology Appropriations Subcommittee was to hear HB 987 but it was not considered for time restraints. However, according to an Orlando Sentinel article on March 26, 2019, a House committee passed HB 987 on a 10-5 vote.
In 2017 Airbnb opened a Florida Political Committee with $ 1 million, reported Peter Schorsch of Florida Politics.
Cory Weinberg wrote on September 10, 2018 in The Information that “financial disclosures show that a political action committee Airbnb started in Florida contributed about $25,000 in the past month mainly to political committees associated with state Republicans, who have been most supportive of expanding protections for its business.”
As recently as January 15, 2019, Kelsey Sunderland wrote in the Tampa Bay Business Journal that “Last year, Airbnb hosts in Florida made $810 million. Approximately 4.5 million Airbnb visitors spent time in the more than 45,000 Florida homes now participate in the rental platform.
It basically comes down to two points of view as reported by the Sun Sentinel on June 21, 2018 in two Facebook posts highlighting their article:
“Hey it gives normal people a chance to invest and better their lives and compete with the big guys. We love them.”
“Worst thing that can happen to a community. It has distorted housing markets, destroyed small hotels, absentee owners at condos which allow it fight with the ones who live in the buildings, people have moved out of neighborhoods because of the constant partying and noise. And all this happens in Miami Beach where there it is already illegal (although the City can do little to enforce it). Airbnb wreaks havoc in tourist destinations. It should be banned.”
NOW TO THE POINT: Where do our Vero Beach City Councilors and the Indian River County Commissioners stand on HB 987 and SB 824, as well as our State Senator Debbie Mayfield?
Are they in Tallahassee lobbying and speaking out loudly at committee meetings for local control of short-term rentals, or do they feel that fight is doomed by the influence of Airbnb, among others?
Or do they support the bills, perhaps to the benefit of renters, and don’t want to say so.
To our knowledge only one non-elected official of Indian River County attended the HB 987 meeting on March 26.
Raccoons frolic in garbage at short-term rental
Painted Bunting Lane
Vero Communiqué 