Shorting out on short term rentals
Short term rentals are legal, but can present an enforcement challenge for code compliance.
But on Fort Myers Beach, it’s a matter of following the code of conduct.
“We have a code of conduct and it is not being followed,” said Vice Mayor Tracey Gore.
She lives on Primo Drive and has had first-hand experience with vacation renters causing a ruckus.
Short-term rentals are allowed in designated areas on Fort Myers Beach; there are different spots for weekly and monthly rentals. Vacation homes are supposed to post the town’s code of conduct within the house, and the owners or renters are supposed to have the renters sign a copy of the code to signify they have read them.
Gore and other neighbors have witnessed trespassing, loud parties after the 10 p.m. quiet time, and other disrespectful behavior.
“It’s an island-wide problem,” she said.
Dave Ennis, another Primo Drive resident, spoke at the April 3 meeting in public comment to express his frustration with the problem, especially about the number of people renting out individual single-family homes.
With property values increasing, Fort Myers Beach’s lots are being bought up for investment properties.
“We’re losing our neighborhood,” he said.
But catching short-term rental violations can be a full time job.
Kara Stewart, Community Development Director, said the town is currently complaint-driven in regards to short term rentals; the code enforcement officers get a complaint about a short term rental and usually investigate it on rental advertising sites like VRBO.com to see if the rental is advertising illegally.
Weekly rentals can only rent to one family in a seven-day period. Monthly rentals can only rent to one family in a calendar month.
Another issue is a lack of connectivity between the town, fire department and sheriff’s office with complaints and records. Rentals are supposed to register with the Fort Myers Beach Fire Control District for inspections. Often, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office is called to disruptive rental homes to quiet down visitors or break up disputes. However, none of this information is relayed back to the town.
Gore would like to see a quick and easy way for residents to log complaints about vacation rentals on the town’s website to create a file on what rentals are violating standards. She envisions some kind of button right on the home page. Currently, residents can email in a complaint, but they have to navigate through the website to do so.
Stewart said the Local Planning Agency has been discussing some kind of connection into the fire department’s program, but with the roadblock of the town not having the authority to demand entry into a home in violation. If it was the will of the council to put a bigger focus on short term rentals, Stewart said the code enforcement team might need outside help.
“Code Enforcement has not been spending an inordinate amount of time on this,” she said. “It’s a matter of resources. If you want to spend more time on it, we can talk about, but I don’t believe we would have enough staff to do that and other things.”
But, the council hired another code enforcement officer last fall and short term rental enforcement was one of the motivating factors in allocating $43,000 of the town’s tight budget for another employee. Gore said then, and now, she would like to see one of the two dedicate more time toward making sure these rentals stay in line with both the code of conduct and the legal limit on stays.
“We hired another one because we want to be proactive,” she said. “It’s constant. This group leaves and the next ones come in. The behavior of people coming here is getting worse.”