TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Suncoast Pinellas News

Dunedin puts muscle in short-term rental regulations

ADVERTISEMENT

By Mark  Schantz | The Suncoast News

Published: May 10, 2008

DUNEDIN - City code enforcement officials plan to strictly enforce rules on how long - or more accurately, how briefly - houses and apartments in residential areas can be rented.

As a preparation for the crackdown, the City Commission formally adopted a minimum time period for short-term rentals last week.

Until now, the city had been operating according to a 30-year old "zoning interpretation." That informal standard was designed to prevent homes in residential areas from being rented for less than three months, or 90 days, Matthew Campbell, interim director of planning and development, said.

The interpretation was established after city officials discovered that several single-family properties were actually being utilized for transient accommodations for a week or two, Campbell said. Many of the short-term renters are believed to be tourists.

With the addition of a second code enforcement official, the city will go after property owners who break that rule. Replacing the interpretation with an ordinance would better help a minimum rental standard withstand a court challenge, Campbell explained.

"It will strengthen the historical interpretation," he recently told city commissioners.

The commission voted to require that short-rentals be for at least three months.

Some residents living in areas with a large number of short-term rental homes, however, wanted a 6-month minimum stay requirement. Renters planning to stay a longer time in a rental house will be more affluent and less likely to cause neighborhood havoc, the advocates of the half-year minimum say.

Commissioner Deborah Kynes said this situation must be delicately balanced. The city should protect neighborhoods but doesn't want to chase away would-be tourists, she said.

Many of the city's seasonal residents, including those here for the baseball spring training season, rent for three months or less, Kynes noted. She has had no problems with the short-term residents who have stayed near her home, Kynes said.

Some have gone on to buy house in the city, she added.

Commissioner Julie Scales sided with residents who want the six-month minimum. She was unwilling to accept the excuse "this is the way it has always been done," Scales said.

Commissioner Dave Eggers said the city could be more proactive and make a sincere effort to find property owners who are breaking the law and enforce it. Many property owners advertise their homes for short-term tourist rentals and it would be easy for staff to find and cite them, he said.

People who only rent for a week or two are the biggest problem, Mayor Bob Hackworth said.

Mark Schantz can be reached at 727-815-1075 or mschantz@suncoastnews.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT