Photo by LESLIE WILLIAMS HALE

Jim McGregor, left, and Keith Dameron, both members of the Short-term Rental Housing Committee, interface at Wednesday night's meeting. Also pictured are, Sandi Riedemann, left, and Louise Beaufort, far right. The committee set a goal of having an ordinance drafted after just two more meetings, at which point they will hand the reins off to the city's Planning Board and City Council.

Photo by LESLIE WILLIAMS HALE

Staff

Jim McGregor, left, and Keith Dameron, both members of the Short-term Rental Housing Committee, interface at Wednesday night's meeting. Also pictured are, Sandi Riedemann, left, and Louise Beaufort, far right. The committee set a goal of having an ordinance drafted after just two more meetings, at which point they will hand the reins off to the city's Planning Board and City Council.

There is no minimum stay in paradise. But there is a limit on the number of people allowed to share a house in paradise. At least, there will be if Marco Island City Council eventually adopts a set of rules being drafted by the city’s Short-term Rental Housing Committee.

The committee on Wednesday decided on two major items: whether to enact a minimum rental period and how to decide maximum occupancy of a house.

No minimum was established, essentially allowing one-day rentals for vacation homes. However, the committee did vote to limit rentals to once per seven-day period. In other words, a house rented Saturday and Sunday only would be required to stay vacant Monday through Friday.

The vote fell 7-2, with the dissent of two committee members who have been vocal about their own headaches with neighboring rental properties. Committee member Ken Honecker said he entered the committee bent on a 30-day minimum, but could compromise on a two-week minimum.

Member Karen Salvi told the board that her own problems with the nightmare rental property next door were all due to one-week renters. She has advocated for a 30-day minimum on rentals, pointing to similar upscale communities, including Naples, that place a stringent limit on rentals in single-family home residential neighborhoods.

Community Development Director Steve Olmsted, one of the city staff members advising the committee, pointed out that the island self-identifies as a resort community, making it important to allow for weekly rentals. Additionally, several members of the committee expressed concern over possible economic impacts of eliminating weekly rentals of single-family homes.

“I think taking away the weekly rentals is going to cause a downturn in this environment,” said Sandi Riedemann, the Chamber of Commerce’s appointee to the committee.

But Salvi was adamant that eliminating weekly rentals is the key to solving her problem.

“All of the other cities do it,” Salvi said. “Why does Marco Island have to be an exception?”

On the issue of maximum occupancy, the committee set a limit of two people per bedroom, plus an additional two people. That means a house with three bedrooms could accommodate eight people. The vote also left out language limiting the number of unrelated people allowed in a house. Current city code states that no more than four unrelated people may occupy a residence together.

Some committee members expressed concern that such a rule would end up limiting visitors, such as two families vacationing together, from occupying the same house.

The vote on that motion went 8-1, with Salvi dissenting.

The committee considered an overall maximum on occupancy, meaning establishment of a 12-person limit, even if there were six bedrooms. However, that idea was scrapped in favor of adopting a stringent definition of a “bedroom.”

Through consensus, the committee directed Olmsted to research the county’s building codes to determine an official definition. There was a general agreement, though, that a den or a living room with a pull-out couch should not constitute a “bedroom.”

On other issues, the committee decided through consensus to require property owners to sign an affidavit indicating that they understand the fire codes and agreeing to comply with them. They also decided to include language in the drafted ordinance that allows the city to conduct inspections. It would give the city more ammunition to go after landlords that violate the law, yet prevent the city from having to inspect every house before it can be occupied.

Fire Chief Mike Murphy has told the committee that he does not have the staff to conduct inspections on hundreds, potentially thousands, of houses on the island used as vacation rentals.

Wednesday’s meeting followed up a March meeting in which the committee agreed to propose a registration requirement on vacation rentals, including an as yet to be determined fee. Olmsted told the committee the fee would be decided by the level of manpower that would be required to oversee any registration, inspection or enforcement duties.

The actions taken by the committee Wednesday got the members just part of the way through a draft ordinance presented by Olmsted before the meeting was adjourned after nearly two-and-a-half hours. The committee agreed to pick the document back up at the next meeting, along with alternative options drafted by Police Chief Roger Reinke and Code Compliance Chief Eric Wardle.

The Short-term Rental Committee will meet next April 17 at 6 p.m., in the training room of the Marco Island Fire Rescue station. They have set a goal of concluding their deliberations and delivering a fully drafted ordinance to the city’s Planning Board after two more meetings. The last meeting is tentatively scheduled for April 30.

The next stop for the proposal after it goes to the Planning Board would be before City Council.

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