In a quiet mainland neighborhood near Anna Maria Island, the sound of pickleball paddles, pool parties and late-night gatherings is replacing the quiet that many residents say they moved there to find.
Residents say the change is being driven by the spread of short-term rentals beyond AMI and into mainland neighborhoods, bringing a shift from family homes. Residents say the shift is raising concerns about noise, safety and whether traditional residential neighborhoods can coexist with a growing short-term rental market.
The issue is not simply short-term rentals, but the rise of high-capacity, investor-owned properties operating more like small resorts than traditional homes.
West Manatee Fire Rescue Fire Marshal Rodney Kwiatkowski, who spoke with The Islander April 30, said the scale of the market is larger than many realize, with more than 15,000 properties countywide advertising as transient lodging establishments, including about 4,400 in the WMFR district, which covers Anna Maria Island, Cortez and parts of west Manatee south of the river.
He said any property rented for stays of less than 30 days more than three times a year falls under that classification, placing it in the same general category as motels and hotels. However, those properties are not held to the same regulations.
“For example, hotels must meet extensive fire-safety requirements, while short-term rentals are governed by a narrower set of minimum standards that local agencies are not allowed to strengthen,” Kwiatkowski said.
He added that tracking and enforcing those standards is difficult.
WMFR conducted roughly 2,500 inspections last year, but hundreds of properties have not responded to inspection requests.
“Our biggest problem is connecting with all the owners,” he said.
He said that without a comprehensive registry or centralized system, identifying and inspecting properties remains a challenge.
In neighborhoods, residents describe a growing disconnect between how homes were designed to be used and how they are being occupied.
Martha Jane Flynn, a director with Pine Meadow Homeowners Association in unincorporated Manatee near Northwest Baptist Church, said her 100-home community has at least 25 short-term rentals. Most operate without issue, she said, but a smaller number of high-capacity, investor-owned properties are driving complaints.
“We have excellent relationships with about 20 of those rentals,” Flynn said. “But these larger-capacity rentals, they’re not here to enjoy the property. They’re here to be a profit center.”
Flynn said her voluntary HOA has no deed restrictions or bylaws to limit short-term rentals.
“We don’t have anything in place to stop them,” she said. “We rely on county ordinances and enforcement.”
She said noise, trash and street parking are the primary concerns, particularly as homes designed for a few residents are marketed to large groups.
“While you might be able to put 20 people inside a house, when you put 20 people outside, you’re talking event, large gathering,” Flynn said.
She added that investors are often encouraged to maximize occupancy and amenities to attract renters.
“They’re being told that if they want high volume and high return, they need to max out the people and build out the backyard,” she said.
In Palma Sola Park, homeowner ChrisAnn Allen said the issue became personal when a house behind hers was converted into a short-term rental.
“They completely redid the backyard to be a resort-style experience,” Allen said.
The property includes a lighted pickleball court, pool, hot tub and gathering areas designed for groups.
“The backyard is the selling point,” she said.
Allen said the most noticeable impact has been noise.
“There was a party group there that was unbelievably excessive with their noise,” she said. “You could hear it echoing a block away.”
Allen said even on quieter nights, the constant activity has changed her own home experience.
Even during more low-key stays, she said activity carries into neighboring yards.
“They put the fire pit right on the other side of our fence,” she said. “We hear everything.”
She said the steady sound of pickleball has become a nightly occurrence.
Allen said she moved off Anna Maria Island to avoid that environment.
“It’s extremely disappointing that now our neighborhood feels like an extension of what’s happening on the island,” she said.
As short-term rentals proliferate in less-expensive, less-regulated inland properties, residents say the changes are unfolding in their backyards.
Much of the growth described by residents is occurring in unincorporated Manatee, where regulations differ from those in nearby cities, such as Bradenton, Holmes Beach and Anna Maria, which have adopted local ordinances governing short-term rentals.
Now residents are calling for action, like quiet hours and parking limits.
But local officials say their options are limited.
Manatee County Commission Chair Tal Siddique, R-District 3, said state law prevents local governments from newly banning short-term rentals or regulating how frequently they can be rented.
“There are regulations that prevent governments from controlling frequency and duration,” he said.
He cited SB 180, a state law that limits local governments’ ability to adopt new land-use rules that could restrict private property rights, including measures aimed at addressing nuisance concerns tied to short-term rentals.
“That limits us from passing any restrictive land development codes that might address some of these issues,” Siddique said.
He said the result is a fragmented system in which enforcement is spread across multiple agencies, including the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, local code enforcement and fire districts.
Siddique said current law leaves counties with few tools beyond enforcing existing noise, safety and licensing rules, even as the scale and intensity of rentals increases.
“You can’t ban them in your community. You can’t really restrict them in any meaningful way,” he said.
He said meaningful changes would likely require action at the state level, including revisiting laws that prevent local governments from regulating the frequency and duration of rentals.
“I think the starting point would be letting local governments begin to regulate that again,” Siddique said.