Responding to a surge of vacation rentals in certain parts of the city, especially the C-Section, and complaints from permanent residents around the rentals, the Palm Coast City Council will soon adopt regulations limiting occupancy, setting registration fees and restricting the parking of recreational trailers or boats. But the city continues to face competing tensions from permanent residents aggravated by the disruptions of vacation rentals and operators of the same rentals, who say the city is jeopardizing their livelihood.
The city has about 275 short-term rentals, give or take 10 to 25 every month, according to Palm Coast Chief of Staff Jason DeLorenzo. It is not clear how many are owned locally, and how many are corporate-owned.
Residents of the C Section have been pleading for months for strict regulations of vacation rentals. The Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday spent two hours working on what was to be the first reading of a vacation-rental ordinance. It also heard from short-term rental owners in a sustained counter-point to the complaints as owners pleaded with the council not to be too heavy-handed, unrealistic or intrusive with its rules, especially for people who rely on their Airbnbs for their income.
“We worked directly with counsel to make sure that we have a legally defensible ordinance, so as far as I know, is consistent with state law,” DeLorenzo said.
Based on the current proposal, occupancy would be limited to 10 people per rental, down from the 12 the administration proposed (two people per sleeping space, or room). Rental managers or owners will have to post their regulations prominently inside the rental, including information on trash pick-up, the name, address and phone number of the owner or property manager, an evacuation map, the location of the nearest hospital, and other such details. Renters will pay an initial $400 registration fee, renewable annually for $200. The regulations are substantially similar to those Flagler County enacted in 2015.
If the city’s estimate of short-term rentals is correct, the initial fee would generate over $100,000, but subsequent years would be less, while the annual renewal would generate about $55,000–not quite enough to pay for the additional code enforcement officer position.
The council focused especially on limiting occupancy to 10 people. “I think the maximum of 10 is going to eliminate a lot of other issues we’re seeing, including the [exorbitant] amount of trash that these that these STRS create, and the parking issues that they create,” Council member Theresa Pontieri said, using the acronym for short-term rentals.
Though permanent residents’ recreational trailers and boats may be parked in the driveway for up to three days, the council decided to prohibit that allowance for short-term renters. The city attorney counseled against that prohibition, as it would make the city vulnerable to litigation.
Renting a bed or one or more rooms, but not the whole house, would not be classified as public lodging under state regulations, and therefore would not require a license. That doesn’t preclude the city from requiring it. Council members are not yet sure on whether to require it or not. They’re awaiting legal advice.
Proposed regulations would also include safety requirements such as battery-powered emergency lighting of primary exit, smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, and fire extinguishers. Sex offenders would be prohibited from renting or being part of a rental, though the mechanism to ensure that is not strong: the person booking the rental would be required to certify that no sex offenders are part of the rental party. The person making the booking for have to be background-checked. Pontieri suggested the owner of the rental would be responsible. “If you do violate that, I think that’s a one and done, you lose your license with us,” Pontieri said.
“I think, a bit of an illusion of safety here,” Council member Nick Klufas said. “But I do think eliminating their license and not allowing them to participate in our short term rentals in Palm Coast is absolutely the option.”
An Airbnb operator told them differently: “Well, somebody books at 11:30 at night. They show up at midnight, they leave at 8 a.m., they’re only here for a night,” the operator said. “We can’t do the background check for one second. Airbnb does not allow us to have their driver’s license, so we can’t do a background check. We can’t get a Social Security number. We’re not allowed to get that information, so we cannot do background checks via Airbnb. It’s not possible. We would not be allowed, we would not be able to rent via Airbnb, which is our sole income.”
The rentals will be policed by the city’s Code Enforcement Department through civil procedures. First-time violations will generate a warning. Subsequent violations will lead to fines, and ultimately, a case before the Code Enforcement Board for a hearing.
All this is predicated on the law staying as it is today. That’s nowhere near certain. If anything, the likelihood is that state lawmakers will do next year what they did this year: eliminate local regulations, and hope that this time, the governor won’t veto the bill. That would scrap Palm Coast’s regulatory efforts.
The state in 2011 deregulated vacation rentals in hopes of spurring the real estate industry, which at the time was reeling from the housing crash and the Great Recession. The deregulation led to a boom of vacation rentals in the Hammock, and a public backlash, which in turn led to a 2014 law that restored local control over short-term rentals. That law was written by Flagler County’s legislative delegation in response to pressure from the Hammock and Flagler County government. The subsequent ordinance Flagler County wrote became a model for other local governments across the state.
Since then, without fail, the vacation-rental industry has attempted every year to roll back local control. Lawmakers have introduced bills that would “pre-empt” vacation-rental regulation to the state, in essence invalidating most local regulations. Flagler County and other local governments fought the attempts every year, and succeeded–until this year, when lawmakers passed a bill that achieved what the short-term rental industry had been seeking for a decade.
Thanks to Rep. Paul Renner, the Palm Coast Republican who wielded his power as House Speaker on behalf of his home county, there was a carve-out in the bill: Flagler County was grandfathered, so its 2015 ordinance survived intact. Then, Gov. DeSantis vetoed the whole bill, making it a moot point–at least for now. Vacation-rental lobbyists are expected to file deregulatory bills again in the coming session. “There’s a possibility in that scenario that our law could go away,” City Attorney Marcus Duffy said.
To Mayor David Alfin, “if we put it into play based on history, the better chance we have of being grandfathered in with this.”
If numerous residents pleaded with the council for months to get an ordinance written, on Tuesday one resident complained: “Why are you trying to shove this down our throats so quickly?” But the council isn’t doing it quickly: Tuesday’s two-hour session was unusual for the way the council went through the proposal almost line by line. The council will discuss the ordinance again at a Sept. 24 workshop, where the public will again have a chance to weigh in. And the council won’t approve the ordinance on a second reading until October.
“We have an Airbnb out of our home. We’ve been doing this for nine years,” Kathy Davidson told the council. “We absolutely love what we do. We have a 4.9 rating. We’ve been super hosts for nine years. We have over 1,600 reviews. But your decisions affect us, and our Airbnb pays for our living, so your decisions affect us. Please consider what you’re saying and what you’re doing to the residents.” She said she lives at the house and oversees everything that happens. She also illustrated the problem of imposing rules such as a limit of two people per room. “We have families that come to our homes. I cannot tell children, parents, your mother, your father and your child is not allowed to be in that bedroom. What do we do with the child?”
A representative of the Canal Community Coalition, the local residents’ organization mobilized to advocate for a city ordinance, said the organization would favor a carve-out from the ordinance for people who live in their home and rent a part of it to vacationers. That would likely resolve several sticking points.
“We’ve actually seriously been considering selling our house, it’s that drastic,” another member of the coalition told the council. “There seem to be some people here who do manage their Airbnb as well. But in our area, there are three. One is well managed, the other two are a nightmare. So it’s unfortunate that some have to suffer for the others, but I’m afraid that that’s really the position that we are in, is that we want these in place to protect us.” He feared the proposed ordinance might not go far enough to protect permanent residents.
“These are not homes. These are businesses. They should be treated as such,” another resident said.
Meanwhile, “we will need time to build a process, we will need time to build the the applications, and we’ll need time for our existing short term rental operators to come into compliance,” DeLorenzo said. There will also be a budget impact. The council has agreed to add a code enforcement officer to existing staff to help police short-term rentals.
Sherman says
Parking of boats and rv’s in driveways, that is been going on for a long time now. The City used to be very active about that, no more it is happening all over town and nothing is ever done about it.
Just like the cutting of the lawns in the media’s that is done now only once in awhile. The town the once took pride in its appearance has gone way down since Alfin took office.
Mayor Nett’s took pride in how the City of PC looked that passed away with Mayor Nett’s.
We are so looking forward to getting a new mayor in the city.
Ed P says
The number of short term rentals is far greater than the estimated 275 and the density in unincorporated areas is triple that estimate. There are some streets in Marineland Acres area that have 8 short term rentals.
I initially had very little opinion about the additional vehicles and increased density of people until one of my visitors mentioned a feeling of being in a trailer park instead of a quiet residential neighborhood…ouch
Wow says
Should be regulated as a business. If that’s how they earn their living too bad. People buy up housing and cause shortages and then complain they can’t “run their business”. It was a good idea when it started but it’s no longer sensible.
JimboXYZ says
Sounds like he AirBnB types don’t want to pay into a system that doesn’t victimize permanent C-Section residents. The ordinances don’t seem unfair or outlandish for anyone Palm Coast for RV & Boat parking. there is a marina for the boat, storage lots for parking RV’s. The problem with over occupancy is that it abuses the infrastructure of water, sewage, etc.. Palm Coast has grown over recent years, recall reading 30% as a rounded number. The canal dredging, have/are the AirBnB types setting aside an amount from their rentals to pay for that dredging ? That’s what the rental fee should entail, maintaining the property ? Maybe they find out the AirBnB is a local business that would soon go out of business if the business had to pay for it’s true environmental impact ? Go get ’em Palm Coast, no freeloaders at the expense of permanent residents that play by the ordinances as rules. It’s just absurd for anyone to say they can’t limit the capacity & occupancy of a room/dwelling. Happens all the time as a fact of commercial business at any motel on A1A or Old King’s Road next to I-95. If you’re going into the temporary lodging game, call yourselves what you truly are, you’re a business, not operating some side hustle at the expense of the rest of the community. This has always been an issue for larger cities that host the Olympics & other events. Renting residential homes out for those events for extra income.
The founders of Palm Coast knew these types were going to abuse properties & victimize permanent residents decades before it actually became chic to call them AirBnB’s. Might find that Palm Coast isn’t a haven for rental properties for those that want to only be here for week(s)/month. Bad enough that the city is a rental duplex hell for transient residents. Calling out Alfin to get this done as grandfathered in to skirt accountability & responsibility for being the AirBnB before his final day as Mayor is it’s own relative collusion. I doubt Alfin would even approve & grant that as a midnight stroke of the pen as some relative executive order that would be beyond the scope of his job description & duties. Anyone suggesting that is just demonstrating they want special concessions & the extents they would go to obtain those concessions.
Tired of it says
“airbnb operator told them differently: “Well, somebody books at 11:30 at night. They show up at midnight, they leave at 8 a.m., they’re only here for a night,” the operator said. ” Really? Exactly what we don’t want, strangers in the neighborhood in the middle of the night.
Shark says
Code enforcement is a joke !! They drive around with blinders on until someone calls to complain. Just take a ride past all of the duplex homes and you will see plenty of utility trucks with advertising and most of the owners have been living there for years. People should be calling the sheriff department for cars parked in the swales between 1AM and 6AM but they are lax too.
The Sour Kraut says
People who actually live in their homes should take priority over people who use their homes for business. Rules must exist so these Airbnb businesses don’t ruin neighborhoods.
Ron says
Unfortunately Jason DeLorenzo knew about these issues years ago. But failed to act. It is a known fact that regulations that have been put in place by local governments have not interfered with vacation rental operations. Vacation rental ordinances have not deterred this transient lodging business operation. It has made it safer for the unsuspecting transient occupants.
When Flagler County created their ordinance after 2014 they found that 98 percent of these Florida license business operations were noncompliant with the Florida Fire Prevention codes and life safety codes including the building code. That is right, the State never inspected these dwellings prior to issuing a license to operate. These lodging businesses were operating unregulated with no over-site in our single family neighborhoods.
These inspections revealed numerous violations. No extinguishers present, no emergency lighting, no secondary means of egress, illegal alterations to create additional sleeping areas, defective electrical wiring, no posted exit diagrams, smoke detectors missing or non operational, pool safety requirements non existent , occupancy exceeding the dwellings capacity ( 4 bedroom one family dwelling being advertised for 26 occupants), water usage exceeding the household capacity limits based on 2.5 occupants per household and despicable living conditions. In addition who is checking to see if these owners have the proper commercial insurance or if they are licensed by the state and submitting their bed taxes or claiming home stead with the property appraiser. Flagler county tax collector has found numerous violators.
Just to clarify a falsehood regarding people claiming that they are present inside the dwelling. This is basically a talking point that is being used by the vacation rental industry. Let’s be perfectly clear a home sharing operation is a lodging business . Are these individuals paying the bed tax? Who is checking? What is the difference between a home sharing lodging business and a bed and breakfast lodging business being run out of a one family dwelling? They are both providing an area to sleep and consume food. This home sharing lodging business is another avenue to by pass local property zoning laws that where put in place to protect our single family neighborhoods from incompatible uses. A bed and breakfast which is managed by owners or staff present is prohibited from operating in our single family neighborhoods. It is prohibited in our local property zoning laws.
Let’s take a look at another falsehood. A vacation rental lodging transient business being operated in a one family dwelling is a property right. The one family dwelling was built and permitted to be a structure to be used for an occupancy permanent in nature. It states that right on the permit that was filed prior to construction. Once an owner decides to change the use of this dwelling from a permanent occupancy to a transient public lodging establishment it is no longer considered a permanent residency. It is a lodging business and should be bound by the same regulations as other lodging businesses. This dwelling is no longer a home where a family resides. A one family dwelling license as a vacation rental should be treated just like a bed and breakfast lodging business.
When the legislators in Tallahassee pass 2011 Senate bill 883 they bypass our local property zoning laws. They put a target on every local municipality that did not pass an ordinance to regulate these vacation rental transient public lodging businesses including homes in newly formed HOA’s. This practice of treating vacation rental lodging business like they are homes needs to stop. The first step is to correct this mis justice and repeal 2011 Senate bill 883. All local municipalities should have complete control over regulating vacation rental operations.
Tallahassee should be focus on routing out owners, management companies and technology companies that advertise these lodging businesses like AIRBNB by making sure that these dwellings are license with the state and are submitting the proper bed taxes.
Laurel says
Tired of it: I absolutely agree.
“”Kathy Davidson told the council. “We absolutely love what we do. We have a 4.9 rating. We’ve been super hosts for nine years. We have over 1,600 reviews.””
So, that’s not 1,600 single strangers in the neighborhood, over a period of nine years, averaging 178 strangers per year next door to your home. It would be okay with your PC commission, and our county commission, to have ten people each visit. Hmmm, 1,600 x 10 is a fair amount of strangers in a single residential neighborhood over a nine year period, that would be 16,000 strangers. Oh, let’s cut that in half, and say that five renters per day would be more realistic than the allowed 10, since sometimes it’s less, and sometimes people return. That would make it 8,000 strangers, in one unit, over nine years. That’s 889 strangers, per year, next door to your home. Whereas the national average for a family moving next door would be approximately five strangers, provided the house turned over after the average seven years of ownership, who of course, would not be strangers for long; they would be your neighbors.
We are talking one unit here. Have you been to the Hammock lately?
Residents, the vacation rental multi-billion dollar corporations have lobbyists. Who are your lobbyists? Didn’t you elect them? If so, why are they so happy to support out of town, out of county, out of state, out of country investors?
These are commercial businesses, and should be in commercial zones, and should be monitored like any other business, and not listen to how these business owners cannot monitor who their customers are. We have to wait for stuff to go wrong, complain, and hope for change.
Laurel says
Whenever it comes down to money v. quality of life, money always wins. “We want the bed tax” stated Commissioner Hansen. Then again, no commissioners live in the Hammock, so no problem, right? How’s that bed tax working for you, residents? It’s used to attract more tourism. Shopping prices go up. Parking and valet parking becomes a safety hazard, if you can find a space wherever, and traffic is terrible.
The article stated that “It is not clear how many [units] are owned locally, and how many are corporate-owned.” This information is available from the county tax roll. Just an hour or two of research, and all the owner’s information can be found. I can tell you that 90% of the vacation rentals, which is now somewhere around 800-900 units (they are not homes), in the Hammock are owned by out of county, out of state and out of country investors, so I don’t care to hear anyone crying about how it’s their sole income. The Great Recession has been over for several years now. Meanwhile, we have to sit on top of the bridge, in a long line, to get home. Quality of life goes down, for the monetary sake of a few…10% of whom live here. Let these investors sell their units and make their profit there, and put these units back on the market as permanent homes.
Investors ARE buying properties, such as homes, apartments, and condos, and price fixing, making housing unavailable or unaffordable. There are companies whose purpose it is to help with the price fixing. We have way too many vacation rentals, which should be permanent homes.
Commissioners, try to start caring a little about us, and knock off the “property rights” baloney. You are crushing our property rights as single family residents in single family residential zoned neighborho0ds. Vacation rentals do not belong in single family zoned neighborhoods. You are trying to tell us all that ten people create less garbage than twelve. That’s nonsense, and nowhere near any resolve. They are commercial units, that do not have to follow business rules the way other businesses do. There is no fairness there at all. You know it, too.
FlaPharmTech says
After dreaming for years of building a modest home on our lot in Hammock; we sold it. We could not afford a 1200 sq ft custom home build. We bought a beautiful, affordable home in the Woodlands, surrounded by protected land. Deer! And just 5 minutes to the beach. Major bonus, we’ve made a lifelong friend in our new neighbor. It’s a true shame what’s happening in Hammock.
Mort says
Sherman, get your eyes checked, please. This city has never looked better, unless you prefer run down business along the Old Kings Rd, Palm Coast Parkway corridor.
Laurel says
Mort: I don’t need to check my eyes to see the congested traffic in Flagler County. I must reminisce about all the beautiful Live Oaks that once peppered the much more logical parking lot of what is now called “Island Walk”…not that there is an island there.
The Live Oaks are still coming down. The once mostly green, salty Matanzas River is now mostly nasty brown from Palm Coast’s runoff, with grass clippings, pesticides, fertilizers and oily street debris. Today, it is the color of espresso.
If people want jobs, go where the jobs are. If people want population, go where the population is. What we have here now is extensive mowing down of forests for the sake of too many storage facilities and a BJ’s.
Your comment makes me wonder what it looks like where you originally came from.
Laurel says
The Hammock is heart breaking these days. It is filled with strangers who have no commitment to the area, they only see dollar signs, not the beautiful, and unique maritime hammock. I can’t tell you what goes through my soul when I hear the oak branches crack as the trees come down.
The whole reason we came here was to get away from over development. Quite frankly, this area cannot compete with south Florida, not the beaches, not the ocean, not fishing, not things to do. We still vacation in our old stomping grounds. I have no idea why this area would be popular to others who have no sense of old Florida. We gave up those things to have green space to breath, and get away from the traffic and congestion. But developers and investors can never have enough money, and are more than happy to give up the green surroundings for green paper. What a sad life for them, so they spread it around.
I hope your protected area stays protected. You must remain vigilant, and never take such a thing for granted. I wish you the best, and am glad you are happy with your new home. Good luck!