The City Manager identified corrections that need to be made to the minutes.

Transcription

1 MINUTES SHORT TERM RENTAL (STR) DECEMBER 6, : 00 PM CITY HALL BOARDROOM 1. CALL TO ORDER: The Short Term Rental ( STR) Task Force met in regular session with the following members and City staff present: 2. ROLL CALL: Members Present Darryl Shelton Jason Sprenkle Bruce Craul Richard Scali Walter Woo Patti Brown Guy Tadlock Staff Present City Manager Carisse LeJeune Deputy City Clerk Kim Montgomery 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: November 29, 2017 The City Manager identified corrections that need to be made to the minutes. 4. DISCUSSION a) Review and Prioritization: Issues and Impacts Related to STR The City Manager provided the following bullet point lists of issues and impacts related to short-term vacation rentals; stating that this list captures the issues identified and discussed by the committee members at the last meeting. Occupancy Number of allowable bedrooms ( LDC) Trash Additional sleeping areas built without permit( after CO) Unsafe conditions Ability to inspect property ( after CO) Trash being left out Empty trash cans not being taken in lying in the street Parking More cars on property than parking spaces Cars parking across sidewalks Cars parking in the street and rights-of-way Enforcement of parking violations Not enough parking required at construction ( LDC) Noise Loud parties Live bands

2 CM Comments: Review" Plainly Audible" language in new Code Enforcement of nosier ordinance Wedding Venues Commercial activity in residential neighborhoods (?) Code does not explicitly address commercial weddings Exacerbates issues of noise, trash, parking and occupancy Management Absentee owners Poor or no management of buildings No rules of conduct for renters ( bad behavior/no respect for residents) Need hefty fines for violators (owners-? / management-? / renters -?) Ms. Patti Brown informed everyone that following last week' s meeting, she and another member of the committee were approached by a lobbyist from HomeAway. This individual gave them a business card and offered to provide some help to this committee. She also noted that a letter from a short term rental advocacy group from Washington DC addressed to short term rental companies was forwarded to her this week. The letter encourages short term rental agents and owners to attend this meeting. Ms. Brown expressed concern about the fear mongering that could go on and derails the effort of this committee. The City Manager stated that since the lobbyist is not a member of this committee, the only influence the lobbying group would have on this committee' s recommendations is based on the influence they would have on the individual members of this committee. She also stated it would be up to each individual member how they choose to deal with the lobbyist group. Mr. Jason Sprenkle mentioned that he was also approached by the same individual Ms. Brown spoke of. He stated he has no relationship, and that he is not being influenced by any lobbying group. He is an active participant of this committee trying to come up with solutions to short term vacation rental issues; and that he is trying to be a liaison with the other vacation rental companies in town to the extent they could bring a solution to the table. Mr. Bruce Craul stated there are lobbying groups that are interested in what is happening around the country, not just in Destin; and that there is a lobbying firm out of Tallahassee that wants to make sure this type of committee that is being formed throughout the State of Florida does not put them out of business. The City Manager noted she was asked by a member of the public if this committee is going to allow public comment. She stated that this committee is required to have their meetings in public, but are not required to allow public comment. It would be up to the members of this committee whether or not they want to engage the public or allow public comment. There was a general consensus to allow public comments, set a time limit similar to a City Council meeting, and place the public comment portion at the end of the agenda. Next, Ms. Brown provided everyone a copy of the following list of short term rental discussion items. She stated this list was also based on the topics they discussed at the last meeting as well as other matters she experienced as resident of Crystal Beach. She suggests they do not focus on one single item but to address all of them together. Page 2 of 9

3 Trash Noise Require one trash can for every 2 bedrooms Trash cans can be on the street during designated times only Designated trash pickup times must be posted within unit Fines of$ per trash can if left on the street other than designated times Rental agents need to assume responsibility for making sure trash cans are brought in on non-rental weeks No trash to be left in bags on street Institute Waste Management Saturday pick up at rental properties. Rental properties to be charged accordingly Enforce new noise ordinance with appropriate fines Noise definition needs to include dogs barking on rental yards and on rental balconies Parking Signage on front of houses listing number of available parking spaces on the property per allotted spaces at the time of the construction final inspection Parking on the rights of way ( ROW), in the street, in bus stops and on sidewalks is prohibited. This needs to be posted in the rental unit Hefty enforcement fines for illegal parking Crack down on owners putting pavers in their ROW Occupancy Consistent with City of Destin long-term rental guidelines Adjusted downward based on onsite parking availability Consistent with what other resort areas have instituted Based on 2 persons to a bedroom or a square footage per person Commercial Use Registration No commercial use in area zoned as STR. Residential properties do not meet banquet facilities building or safety codes ( handicap, fire suppression, etc.), for example: No weddings No wedding receptions No corporate events Fines for guests giving false information regarding the use of the rental property All rules and regulations must be in writing with fines to guests and rental agencies for non- compliance Rental property needs to have a yearly color coded placard clearly visible from the street to indicate: The property is currently registered with the City as a short term rental The maximum number of parking spaces at the properly The maximum number of occupancy the property All houses participating in short term rental activities that are unregistered will be levied with a hefty fine Increase the yearly registration fee to fund the needed code enforcement positions to enforce/ fine on rental noncompliance Page 3 of 9

4 24/ 7 code enforcement necessary to deal with noise, parking, occupancy and trash issues No online check- in/registration Occupancy numbers and non- commercial use of property to be verified by the rental agency Mr. Sprenkle agrees they should discuss all the items listed above; but, he suggests they discuss them one at a time, starting with " Trash" and try to come up with meaningful recommendations. Mr. Woo suggests they discuss two items each month to meet the February 2018 deadline for their recommendations to Council. There were no objections from other committee members. At this time, Mr. Sprenkle presented the following list of rules and regulations from the Destin Vacation Rental Compliance Board ( VRCB) Trash The designated local responsible party is required to " maintain the entire property of the single- family dwelling unit free of garbage and litter" and to notify the guests of the local trash ordinances Beyond that, it is also required that: No trash container shall be located at the curb for pickup before 12 p.m. of the day prior to pick up Trash containers shall be removed before midnight of the day of pickup By 5 p.m. the day of check- out, all trash containers shall be removed The owners shall be required to obtain additional trash containers and to acquire special valet trash service form the City' s solid waste removal provided in order to ensure all trash is properly contained and removed. The owner, in lieu of acquiring valet trash service may utilize a third party valet trash service removal provider, but such private service shall not excuse continuing to accept and pay for regular services of the City' s solid waste service provider Violations and Enforcement Notify Destin VRCB if a short term rental property is in violation of above provisions. They will notify the responsible party, owners, or the management company to ensure they are aware of the requirements and to request that they rectify the situation. If the problem persist at a property, they will notify code enforcement and/ or the Sheriff' s Department to attempt to rectify the situation Potential Solutions Stronger enforcement of the requirements to have a registered, local, responsible person identified for each short term rental, particularly RBO' s, will go a long ways towards solving trash issues in Destin. In addition managers and owners need to be better educated on these requirements, and they need to put affirmative steps in place to ensure compliance. Guest awareness Page 4 of 9

5 is critical, but services must be put in place to ensure compliance. Perhaps a public private partnership could provide this service for a fee based on the City' s pick- up dates. Removal of trash by 5 p. m. on of check- out day is a more difficult problem. It is relatively easy to coordinate in peak weeks where check- out all occur on Saturday traditionally; but, in off seasons, scheduling private services in coordination with check- out dates is very difficult at best. Perhaps a better solution would be to require or plan for adequate numbers of trash can to get thru to pick-up days, as they do in private non-rental homes. Houses with higher occupancy should consider a standardized number of additional trash cans per total occupants. If necessary after efforts at selfadjustment, regulations could assist with ensuring the proper number of cans Parking At a rental home, vehicles are allowed to be parked: In the improved accessway/vehicle use area Within the garage areas of the single- family dwelling unit garage area parking shall only be counted as provided parking if the area is open and free from obstructions At a rental home, vehicles are not allowed to be parked: Within the ROW In the grassy/ unimproved areas of the ROW and sidewalk sections for pedestrian traffic On the roadway In front of a public or private driveway Within 15 feet of a fire hydrant Within 20 feet of a crosswalk at an intersection Within 30 feet upon the approach to any flashing signal, stop sign or traffic control signal located at the side of a roadway Within 20 feet of the driveway entrance to any fire stations and on the side of a street opposite the entrance to any fire stations within 75 feet of such entrance On an exclusive bicycle lane At any place where official traffic control devices prohibit standing Upon any median strip At any place where official signs prohibit parking On any roadway Violation and Enforcement: Notify Destin VRCB if vehicles are parked at a short term rental property in violation of the above provisions. They will notify the responsible party, owner, or the management company to request their immediate removal. If the vehicles remain in violation for more than 30 minutes thereafter, or if they are unable to reach anyone, they will notify code enforcement and/or the Sheriff's Department to rectify the situation A law enforcement officer or parking enforcement specialist may: o Issue a parking ticket or citation and attach it to the parked vehicle in a conspicuous location on the vehicle Page 5 of 9

6 o Tow the vehicle if the violation causes a safety hazard to other vehicles or pedestrians, or is a liability to City interest such as roadway repairs, ROW maintenance, public utility repair or maintenance, or if the violation occurs in an area where official signs prohibit parking Potential Solutions Managers and owners need to improve notices to guests at the time of booking and prior to arrival informing guests of the number of limited parking spaces. Even with these improvements, guests will come from various locations and often require more parking than is provided at the home, The City, neighbors, and vacation rental owners and managers needs to work together to identify additional places for guests to park extra vehicles. There are numerous options for funding the additional parking, including use based fees, but it is clear that solutions are needed Registration and Signage Signage Requirements ( Code Section ) Prominently placed and legible from the road but not in the ROW Size between 18 x 12 inches and 16 x 10 inches List the name and phone number of the local responsible party available 24/ 7 Signage requirements preempts or overrule homeowner association rules to the extent there is a conflict Potential Solutions: Too many short term vacation rental properties remain unregistered. Any homes reported for an issue will be checked against VRCB database and reported to the City if unregistered. The absence of appropriate signage is a good start to helping to identify the offenders. Rent by Owners ( RBO) who live out of town and are unregistered are believed to be key towards solving or improving many of the key issues. Enforcing the requirement to have a local responsible party/person who can be onsite within an hour is a critical first step. Tougher penalties for non-registration and failure to identify a local responsible party are a good start Mr. Sprenkle pointed out that the purpose of the VRCB website is to create a call center that anyone in the City of Destin can call and report a problem regarding a short term rental property. Its purpose is to try to get a quick resolution to a reported problem. The call center is currently being staffed by reservationist and guest services employees from his company 360 Blue. They will make the effort to resolve the problem or call either the code enforcement or the Sheriff's Department. Mr. Guy Tadlock expressed concern the call center could be a little biased because it is operated only by people involved in the short term rental business. Mr. Sprenkle noted that their goal is to provide an unbiased response to complaints. They have a database of all VRBO units and vacation rental houses in Destin. They plan to publish on their website immediately each week every call that came in and steps taken to resolve it. Mr. Tadlock moved to table discussion regarding the website and focused on discussing the trash issue tonight; seconded by Mr. Shelton. Motion passed 7-0. Page 6 of 9

7 Mr. Sprenkle noted that the current City code includes the following provisions about trash: Trash The designated local responsible party is required to " maintain the entire property of the single-family dwelling unit free of garbage and litter" and to notify the guests of the local trash ordinances Beyond that, it is also required that: No trash container shall be located at the curb for pickup before 12 p.m. of the day prior to pick up Trash containers shall be removed before midnight of the day of pickup By 5 p. m. the day of check- out, all trash containers shall be removed The owners shall be required to obtain additional trash containers and to acquire special valet trash service form the City' s solid waste removal provided in order to ensure all trash is properly contained and removed. The owner, in lieu of acquiring valet trash service may utilize a third party valet trash service removal provider, but such private service shall not excuse continuing to accept and pay for regular services of the City' s solid waste service provider Mr. Bruce Craul wants to make sure they can enforce these rules. Mr. Sprenkle stated that an initial starting point is for a group of short term rental companies to get together and put a procedure in place where they pay somebody to put the trash containers in place and remove them. He continued they put a bid out this week in anticipation of this meeting for somebody to do just that. The City Manager noted the trash pick-up days throughout Destin are Tuesday and Friday mornings; however, the check-out and check- in days for the vacation rentals are during the weekend. The Waste Management Company or other solid waste companies contract directly with these companies for weekend pick-ups. Mr. Sprenkle stated a better solution is to have enough trash cans out there, especially for the big houses, to collect the trash for a week; and then have a paid service that pulls them out and puts them back. He recommends requiring a certain number of trash cans per a number of bedrooms. Mr. Sprenkle also recommends a change to the current provision that all trash containers, including all trash, have to be removed on the day of checkout. He stated this is a provision that is not enforceable because the City is not going to be able to monitor it. They feel it is impractical, and that having the trash cans brought out and put back at the right time should suffice. Mr. Craul stated that a cooperative homeowners association should be able to take care of at least part of this problem. He continued that the association managers as well as the individual home owners need to make sure trash are brought out and put back on time instead of just relying on the City to enforce the rule. Page 7 of 9

8 Mr. Rick Scali pointed out his houses have adequate number of trash cans; however, his house guests do not always bring out their trash on time for a Tuesday morning or Friday morning pickup. He hires a valet trash service to pick up trash on Saturday morning. Mr. Craul recommends making the property manager responsible for making sure the house guests put out their trash on time by simply sending them a friendly or text message as a reminder. Mr. Sprenkle stated it would alleviate some of these problems if the City tries to renegotiate with Waste Management to possibly change a Friday pick-up to a Saturday. The City Manager noted that to renegotiate the contract with Waste Management now would increase the cost and this increase in cost would be distributed among all the City residents and businesses. Mr. Sprenkle stated that he and some of the other vacation rental companies would much rather pay extra tax, license or trash assessment fee to have Waste Management pick-up trash on appropriate days. The City Manager noted that vacation rental or any business can contract separately with Waste Management for additional trash pick-up. Ms. Brown suggests the City makes is mandatory for short term rental companies to contract with Waste Management for a trash pick-up on Saturday. Mr. Craul recommends they follow the rules that are already written; but, those who put out trash on Saturday should contract with Waste Management or another company for trash pickup and ensure the trash can is returned to the building. Mr. Sprenkle stated he would provide the following information for next week' s meeting: Feedback from the vacation rental companies on the appropriate number of trash cans they would recommend Information on acceptable bid for additional trash pick-up The City Manager asked if the committee desires to limit their discussion on the trash issue only or include another topic for next week' s meeting. Mr. Tadlock would like to at least finish discussing trash and entertain an official motion on this issue. issue. Mr. Sprenkle suggests they discuss parking if time permits once they get through the trash There was a consensus to place " trash" and " parking" on the next meeting agenda. b) Commercial Weddings in Residential Zoning Districts (Memo) At this time, the City Manager handed out copies of a memorandum from the City' s Land Use Attorney to the Code Enforcement Staff notifying them of the appropriate and existing Page 8 of 9

9 language in the City' s Land Development Code for enforcement of commercial weddings and other commercial events in a residential zoning within the City of Destin. 5. ADJOURNMENT Having no further business at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 4: 20 PM. ADOPTED THIS 13TH DAY OF DECEMBER 2017 By: Carisse LeJe n City Manager ATTEST: Rey Bailey, City Clerk Page 9 of 9