I was on the ad hoc committee which was formed after many complaints to the City Council about short-term rentals. The rental committee was formed only to help Marco residents with the problems short-term rentals cause in single family neighborhoods.

Unfortunately, the committee appointed was primarily realtors, business and tourism representatives. Ken Honecker and I have endured abusive short-term rentals, repeatedly stated that short-term rentals do not belong in single-family zoned neighborhoods. The following letter, written by a Marco resident to all City Council members on June 23, 2009, will tell you why:

“Please, please do not allow short term rentals in a residential area. After all it is illegal and disturbs the peace of the longtime full residents. It is a business for the owners and rental agents of those properties and should not have been allowed in the first place. The City is violating their own code.

We had an incident on Sunday with some short-term renters which was very scary. There were at least 6 or 7 young men renting a house on Goldenrod. Drinking and yelling all day. I could not finish my yard work and was on my way to go inside when I saw them urinating in the yard. That’s when I lost it and yelled for them to stop that. I am always very reluctant to call the police, but we had to call them, because one of the young men actually came to our house and attacked and threatened my husband. He was in my husband’s face, pushing him in a corner and spitting out profanities. That is the kind of people you get when you rent short term. The Sunday before, different renter, whose kids were in the pool a 6 in the morning. This has been going on for years. If we could sell the house right now we would.”

This letter shows what Marco residents have to endue. Short-term rentals in single-family residentially- zoned neighborhoods are illegal. The City just refuses to enforce the code. Now the city wants to make them “legal” with a new ordinance. The enforcement of minimum 30-day rentals in single-family neighborhoods, which is the law in other “resort” cities including Naples, Sanibel, Miami Beach to name a few, is the very least Marco residents deserve. Your home is your castle. Protect that basic right and stop the short-term rentals in our neighborhoods.

Karen Salvi

Marco resident

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