Vacation rental owner Russell Rickard submitted his vacation rental application March 30 at Anna Maria City Hall.
Rickard said he had almost forgotten the April 1 deadline. “It’s spring break and I’ve got baseball games to go to and family to see. I completely forgot about it.”
Rickard owns a vacation rental on Magnolia Avenue.
Many people waited for the April 1 deadline, the date the city’s short-term vacation rental ordinance went into effect. Vacation rentals, units rented for less than 30 days within six-months, have to register with the city to operate. Applicants also had to pay a $695 processing fee, which would cover city expenses and professional inspections.
Rental owners or agents operating without registration could be cited with $100-$250 fines.
Rickard met the city’s deadline.
Vacation rental applications were due April 1. Applicants could drop off their packages in person to city hall by 4 p.m., or submit them online until midnight through the city’s website, cityofannamaria.com.
Mayor Dan Murphy said by Wednesday, March 30, the city had received around 100 applications for the estimated 600 short-term rentals in the city.
To prepare for the potential flood of applications on the deadline date, Murphy had a clerk standing by, date stamp and computer at the ready to accept application packets.
Deputy clerk Kristine Dittmann, who began accepting applications March 31 in the commission chambers, said she estimated receiving more than 200 applications.
Code enforcement manager Pamela Gibbs said the city wouldn’t have exact figures on how many applications were received until later in April.
The code enforcement department has to input the information from the paper applications into the city’s electronic database.
“It’s an all-new process. So it will take time,” Gibbs said.