It seems the issue of regulating vacation rentals in Anna Maria is just getting started.
When the city commissioners of Anna Maria voted Feb. 27 to move forward with seeking a declaratory judgment, it caught vacation rental owners off-guard.
They apparently thought a compromise was in the works.
Now it seems everyone’s gearing for a fight.
Larry Chatt, president of the Anna Maria Island Vacation Property Association, said he thought the idea for a declaratory judgment had been tabled and the commissioners were going to work with the vacation rental owners on an ordinance that worked for everyone — rental owners, residents and city officials.
He wrote a letter to the city Feb. 17 outlining the association’s disappointment with the decision to seek a court judgment.
Chatt said his association has been working closely with the city to mitigate any impacts of short-term rentals and that they were close to resolving any outstanding concerns.
“It’s now clear the city has no interest in collaboration,” he said. “Seeking a declarative judgment is proof that the city is trying to do more than it’s stated intentions.”
“We were naïve to think otherwise,” Chatt said.
Attorney Scott Rudacille, of Blalock Walters, also wrote to the city Feb. 17 with his concerns.
“The purpose of my letter was to encourage the city to re-engage discussions with the rental community,” said Rudacille. “There was real progress being made towards collaborating on a comprehensive licensing ordinance.”
Rudacille also said the city has sought the legal opinion of four attorneys about seeking a declaratory judgment. The majority did not support the idea.
The city obtained legal opinions from former city attorney Jim Dye, David Levin, Susan Threvarthen and interim city attorney Ricinda Perry.
Only Levin supported the decision to move forward on seeking the declaratory judgment.
“There’s no merit to the city’s argument,” Rudacille said.
According to Rudacille the city would have to convince a judge at the 12th Circuit Court that vacation rentals were prohibited when commissioners adopted the zoning code in 1996.
“The city knowingly and openly allowed rentals at the time,” he said, “and has allowed them ever since.”
Chatt said the commission’s decision requires the association to break contact with the city and “vigorously oppose” the attempt to regulate rentals.
Rudacille said the city adopted a lot of its proposed rental ordinance from Flagler County, but Flagler officials had worked for months with residents, rental owners and legal experts before finalizing its ordinance.
“Anna Maria’s version removed all of Flagler’s legal safeguards and made a lot of provisions that are impossible for existing rental owners to comply with,” Rudacille said. “The rental community will have no choice but to file suit to protect their rights.”
On March 5, a suit was filed against Flagler County challenging the ordinance.
Chatt said the decision to oppose the city was difficult to make after working to find a balance.
“After all, it is the balance we must continuously seek that originally brought us to our piece of paradise,” Chatt said. “Lose balance and lose a piece of paradise.”
The vacation property association consists of more than 1,000 members who have paid dues to fund the possible litigation costs against the city.
Rental code proposals
Anna Maria commissioners met Feb. 19 for a special work session to finish reviewing city planner Alan Garrett’s draft of a vacation rental code ordinance.
Commissioner Doug Copeland set the tone. “If we take a hard stance with violations, instead of just trying to encourage people to do the right thing, we’ll have much better results down the road.”
Garrett’s draft allowed up to four violations before the city would suspend a rental agency’s certificate for 30 days. After each subsequent violation, the suspension lengths would increase, with six violations resulting in a two-year suspension.
“We need to tighten that up,” said Commissioner Dale Woodland. “We need to make it fewer violations and harsher punishments.”
Other commissioners agreed.
“Most people want to do right,” said Copeland. “It’s the 5 percent that don’t care that we need to make all these rules and regulations for.”
While agreeing the commission needs legal counsel to move forward, they asked Garrett to revise a section about handling cases of multiple violations.
“You have to consider too that one agency doesn’t just operate one facility,” said Copeland. An agency might have eight properties. If each property gets a violation on a different day, then each violation counts as one strike against one property.
“We need to make the managers accountable so that the violations add up against them, not their individual properties,” he said.
One idea is to create business licenses for rental managers and a database of managers and properties, allowing the city to hold them more accountable for their properties.
Three strikes on three properties would equal three strikes for the manager. The manager would be suspended from operating in Anna Maria, which in turn would mean the rental agency couldn’t operate.
“We don’t want to make it easy for the agency to ignore their violations. It wouldn’t do the city any good to get rid of the last manager and put in a new one without fixing the problem,” he said.
The commissioners also discussed parking as it relates to occupancy at vacation rentals.
The commission wants to keep front yards from becoming parking lots. Agencies would need to ensure that the unit’s garage remains clear of storage to allow for cars.
“We need to limit the number of sleeping rooms, too,” said Copeland. “If we tell them they can build up to a certain number, we’re encouraging developers to build to that number.”
The commissioners agreed there should be a maximum of eight occupants per unit, and a maximum of five sleeping rooms.
Before adjournment, Copeland mentioned that he had spoken to a contact in Punta Gorda. “They’re having 50 renters in one place and they’re all partying like it’s Daytona down there,” he said. “Maybe we don’t have it so bad.”
The commission will meet for a special work session on rentals at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 12 at city hall, 10005 Gulf Drive.
Battle of words
Mayor Dan Murphy received a March 9 pre-suit notice regarding the proposed vacation rental ordinance and declaratory judgment Suit from the attorney representing the Anna Maria Island Vacation Property Association.
Kevin S. Hennessey of Lewis, Longman & Walker PA wrote that “apparently, nothing can stop the city from pursuing this wrong-headed endeavor.”
He claims the city has rejected the approach of many residents to find some common ground or compromise in favor of a “heavy-handed and draconian action that violates constitutional and statutory requirements of due process, equal protection and preemption of the regulation of vacation rentals to the state.
He goes on to say the association rejects the “illegal, arbitrary and erroneous manner in which it has been put forward, and intends to sue the city to declare the ordinance, void, invalid and illegal.”
Hennessey also plans to seek an injunction to halt enforcement of the ordinance — if approved — and any similar action against owners of rental property in the city.