Town response to short-term rental complaints

Once the noise nuisance and flow of strangers from the short-term rentals (aka vacation rentals, Aibnbs,VRBOs) next door to our home became unbearable, we sought help from our Town leaders. The first regular monthly Town Commission meeting I spoke at was in October of 2023. I have since attended over 20 town meetings and have first-hand knowledge of what the Town is doing and not doing about short-term rentals (STR).

At that October 2023 Town Commissioner meeting, I shared my and my wife’s challenge with our neighboring STRs and, from the research I’d done, gave recommendations to tighten our STR ordinances (based on changes Cocoa Beach made to its STR ordinances). The then-mayor, Wyatt Hoover, and all the commissioners were sympathetic but told me there was nothing they could do about the problem. This, however, is not true. State law allows towns to create and enforce ordinances to manage STRs. As of now, the ONLY things that towns cannot do relative to STRs is (1) prohibit them or (2) regulate the duration or frequency of guest stays. One commissioner asked me to email my suggestions to all the commissioners and the mayor. I did. No one ever responded.

Then Mayor Dennington was elected in November, and she made responsible management of STRs a priority. My wife and I and others who want to keep Melbourne Beach a quiet family community began to attend her open mayor meetings. Mayor Dennington listened, researched current and past code, and reached out to other mayors who’d made progress fighting the influx of STRs in their communities. At our monthly Town Commissioner meetings, Mayor Dennington repeatedly tried to convince the commissioners—whose votes she needs—to do something about the appalling lack of STR oversight in our Town. Their resistance and inaction was mind numbing.

Here’s some of what I’ve witnessed:

  • Commissioners who spread misinformation that they can’t do anything about STRs

    Not true: “Section 509.032(7)(b), Florida Statutes, as amended by Chapter 2014-71, Laws of Florida, allows a local government to regulate vacation rentals. . . .”

  • Commissioners who when given research on how other Florida towns strictly manage STRs do nothing with the information

    I and others have given them multiple printed and emailed examples of regulations from other Florida towns whose STR regulations are more effective than our own. We were thanked for our efforts, yet month after month, they did nothing with the information.

  • Commissioners who own and operate STRs

See former Commissioner Joyce Barton’s 322 Third Ave Melbourne Beach guest suite STR listing and former Commissioner Corey Runte’s 2685 Pineapple Ave, Melbourne whole-house STR listing. As STR owner-operators, they were earning income from the very industry they needed to regulate.

  • Commissioners regularly challenging Mayor Dennington’s common-sense ideas

For example, Mayor Dennington has asked the Town to identify all registered STRs, register the many unregistered-and-illegally-operating STRs, tighten our STR ordinances, enforce our STR ordinances, and ensure our police and firefighters have information about all STRs, including the phone number of the STR owner/manager, etc. Despite the credibility of her ideas and initiatives, they were regularly ignored, stalled, or weakened.

  • Town leadership ignorant of the actual number of STRs in Melbourne Beach

In November of 2023, the building official, Robert Bitgood guessed there were 17 STRs. By August 2024, the Town leaders claimed there were 27 STRs. The actual number at the time was more like 50 STRs, many of which were unregistered and illegally operating.

  • Town leaders oblivious to whether owners of whole-house STRs are claiming property tax exemptions in violation of Florida Statute 196.061

With a bit of legwork, concerned citizens identified STRs in town whose owners were likely committing property tax fraud and notified the Property Appraisers office. In addition to being ethically wrong, fraudulent property tax exemptions decrease the town’s tax revenues.

  • Commissioners handicapping any meaningful actions to bring STRs into compliance

Despite Mayor Dennington’s and citizens’ requests, STRs only have been on the monthly Town Commission Meeting agenda three times in the last year, which means no motion or vote can be made on the topic.

  • Commissioners ignoring unregistered, illegally operating STRs

It took nearly two years of citizens’ complaints for the town to finally bring the owner of an unregistered, illegally operating STR before the code enforcement special magistrate. Once there, the Town did not ask for fines or for the owner to close the STR. Nor did the Town mention that the owner owns another unregistered, illegally operating STR in Town. The only thing the Town did was require the owner to register the one STR. The result: the message was sent that there is no penalty for operating unregistered STRs. With many unregistered STRs still operating, it means the Town does not collect registration fees from the STR owners, the STRs go uninspected and are perhaps unsafe, and neighbor’s complaint calls to the police cannot be counted as an STR violation, which could result in financial penalties, even the suspension of operation. (Note: the STR brought to the magistrate charges guests as much as $831 a night for this party house STR, which raises the question: Why should we residents pay for the expenses STRs are placing on our Town?)

  • Commissioners who refuse to act

Though a citizen reported 30 unregistered, illegally operating STRs in the Town of Melbourne Beach in August 2024, providing addresses and owners’ names, the commissioners, who were unaware of the unregistered STRs, have yet to report to the Town citizens any follow-up on these violations.

  • Commissioners sabotaging progress

Instead of researching ways to tighten our STR ordinances, one commissioner researched why owner-occupied STRs should keep their exemption from having to adhere to STR regulations. The same commissioner tried to stop citizens from speaking about STR enforcement funding at a Town Budget Meeting because it was “off topic” - despite the fact that without a STR-specific enforcement budget, STR management and enforcement will not happen.

  • Commissioners dropping the ball

The Town had a special STR workshop in August 2024, progress was made, but then the STR workshop results were not addressed at the next general Town Commissioner meeting.

  • Commissioners who lie

One commissioner sent an email message, using town email, that stated the citizens and commissioners “are all on the same team to work on strengthening our STR regulations, management, and enforcement.” Then, the day after the August STR workshop, which this commissioner did not attend, this commissioner wrote on Facebook that “there’s nothing more that we can do than what we’re already doing,” regarding STRs. The commissioner went on to say the number of STRs “continue to decrease” in the town and the issue is just a “political ploy to distract residents.” Note: STR growth is forecasted to more than double in the next decade.

Since October 2023, when I first asked for stronger STR ordinances and enforcement of existing STR ordinances, what has the town done? There have been two STR workshops. The town lawyer has reviewed STR code, enforcement, and fees and made suggested ordinance changes, and there are budget plans directed at the management of STRs. But when it comes to tangible changes that matter, the STR ordinances have not yet been tightened, the STR fees have not yet been increased, no STR registration, complaint, or violation procedures have yet been updated, and no meaningful STR enforcement has yet occurred.

So why haven’t our Town’s commissioners, Town manager, Town department heads, and Town staff acted to rein in STRs?

I believe it’s because some of our commissioners desire to make the Town of Melbourne Beach a vacation destination. This means while my family and your family try to live our lives in peace, each year thousands of strangers will continue to file into our little square mile of Town. And where are they staying? Next door to you and me, behaving as vacationers do, with the sole mindset of “having a good time,” all while STR owners are profiting off our community and the Town is doing nothing to stop them.

Mark McBride October 2024