Editor’s Note:  The following letter was emailed this afternoon to the membership of the Indian River Neighborhood Association.  In advance of Tuesday evening’s meeting, the IRNA is advising its membership to either attend the Council meeting or to personally urge Council members Craig Fletcher and Pilar Turner to join Jay Kramer and Richard Winger in voting to appeal a recent 3-2 decision of the Code Enforcement Board. (Because she and her husband are involved in short-term rentals, Vice Mayor Tracy Carroll will have to recuse herself from the discussion and the vote.)

If allowed to stand, the Board’s decision could clear the way to unlimited short-term rentals (less than 30 days) in the city’s neighborhoods. Among others, including some leading local real estate professionals, the IRNA board is urging the City Council to seek a definitive decision from the circuit courts on the legality of the city’s long-standing prohibition against short-term rentals.

VERO BEACH, TRANSIENT RENTALS TO BE DISCUSSED AT NEXT COUNCIL MEETING, TIME CHANGE 

Please note:  the time of the Vero Beach City Council meeting on Tuesday, September 3rd has changed. It will now start at 6 p.m.    

The appeal of the short term, vacation, transient rentals in residential single family neighborhoods has been placed under New Business by Council Member Jay Kramer. 

Public comment will be given towards the start of the meeting and we encourage everyone with concerns about this problem to attend and address Council with your statements.

 At issue is the recent action of the City’s Code Enforcement Board upholding an appeal of a short-term, transient, vacation rental in a single family residential neighborhood.

The vote was 3-2. The consequence of that action by 3 un-elected people was to throw out the City’s restrictions on such rentals throughout the city.

The impact will be particularly severe in residential single family neighborhoods and the City’s tourism, hotels and restaurants. The quality of life in Vero Beach is threatened. 

The elected officials in Vero Beach must appeal to the Courts to reverse the action by the Code Enforcement Board and assure the continued protections that provide for the peace, safety and general welfare of its citizens.  

Three Council Members must vote for that appeal at the September 3rd Council meeting.  Since Tracey Carroll must recuse herself from the vote we encourage your comments be sent to the other 4 Council members.  You may simplify this by writing one email and send it to one address as follows: cityclrk@covb.org with attention to Pilar Turner, Craig Fletcher, Jay Kramer and Richard Winger. The City Clerk’s office will forward the emails to them. 

At issue are basically two matters: the length of time of the rental and where the rental is occurring. Historically, neither matter has been questioned nor manipulated. The City of Vero Beach has restrictions on short term rentals, defined in state law as 30 days or less. And short term rentals have only been permitted by City code in commercially zoned areas such as where we have hotels and motels.  It has never been an allowable use in residential, single family neighborhoods.

The City’s position on this matter was further reinforced when, in 2011, the State Legislature passed legislation that prohibited  local governments from restricting short term rentals. However, the State said if they already had any such “local law, ordinance, or regulation adopted on or before June 1, 2011”  it was allowed to stand.

The City had these regulations in place before that date and took no action to change them. 

The stability of our single family residential neighborhoods and the economic health of our business community must not be allowed to deteriorate. 

Thank you for your support on this very important matter. 

Sincerely, 

Honey Minuse, Chair

Executive Committee