With the exception of “thoughts and suggestions,” the writing of a vacation rental regulation ordinance in Holmes Beach has gone behind closed doors.
Talks on the ordinance and building moratorium — the move that sparked regulation talks — were on the May 12 and May 14 agendas, but little discussion occurred.
Instead, Mayor Bob Johnson said he is working with city planner Bill Brisson, city attorney Patricia Petruff and building official Jim McGuinness on the ordinance, as well as ordinances for pool rules, before the items come back to the commission.
The team is meeting weekly.
Commissioner Jean Peelen read a prepared statement May 14 calling for restrictions on the number of people and the number of bedrooms allowed in vacation rental homes.
“I think this discussion is important. It’s about the size and it is about the intensity and how to control that from the very beginning,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the team is considering many angles, including revisiting the land-area ratio, a restriction for living space relative to lot size. He said a bedroom-to-bathroom ratio also is under consideration.
“There’s a hole back there,” Johnson said referring to the city’s inability to limit the size of homes despite the rules’ intentions.
Petruff said she was uncomfortable with limiting the number of bedrooms in a vacation rental, but thinks there are other remedies.
She also discouraged an idea to increase the setback on vacation rental properties to 15 feet, which is the current commercial setback.
Commission Chair Judy Titsworth said she had met with a group of builders on the regulations.
The group she spoke to suggested limitations of three bedrooms for each duplex unit and four bedrooms in single-family homes.
“The builders that got together live on the island and build resort housing. It’s their bread and butter,” Titsworth said.
The regulations for vacation rentals being considered would be bound by a vacation rental certificate program.
While commissioners plan to grandfather existing rentals, new construction would need to comply with the regulations in order to use the properties as short-term rentals.
Johnson called the certificate program “key” to the vacation rental ordinance.
Commissioner Jean Peelen questioned whether the work would be done before the Oct. 13 end of the building moratorium, but Johnson said the team would be hard pressed to complete the certificate rules by then.
Staff also is working on ordinances required to relieve the pool moratoriums. Johnson said he expects an ordinance on increased pool setbacks to be ready for the next commission work session.
The commission will hold its next work session at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 26, at city hall, 5801 Marina Drive.