COMMENTARY

LYNNE LARKIN

One more Trick/Treat from the Tallahassee Turncoats [your Florida government], those men and women who pretend to represent your interests and instead pass laws you would have shot down with a surface-to-air missile.  Your state government tore up any ability of a city or county to enforce the law restricting residential rental properties.

Cloaking it as “helping” local rule – and don’t expect an explanation here of how that works – the legislature said any government that didn’t already have laws restricting rental length could not, in the future, do so.  The mom-and-pop Days Inn lobby must work with the sugar folks, how else could this occur?

But Vero Beach already had a law.  Then . . .

John and Tracy Carroll had decided the law didn’t apply to them, so they conducted a short-term rental business at houses they own in the City.  Neighbors complained.  The City responded with citations to the Carrolls for Code violations.

Unlike prior recipients of citations, the Carrolls “knew the right people,” i.e. the members of the Code Board.  They got the Board to vote against the Planning Director’s guidelines and the instructions of the City Attorney.  Instead of enforcing the law limiting rentals to 30 days or longer, the Board made new law and allowed the Carrolls and others to create Super 8s wherever they so desire.

Frustrated at this direct attack on the integrity of residential neighborhoods, most of the City Council [not Pilar Turner, of course, the Carrolls’ alter-ego on Council] voted to appeal the decision of their own Code Board.

A recent decision from the Appeals Court affirmed without a written opinion [thereby offering no reason for their decision] the continued assault on our peaceful neighborhoods.  Having torn apart a long-standing portion of City Code that prohibits commercial enterprises from residentially-zoned areas, the Carrolls and their ilk think this ends the story in their favor.  Have a Rodeway Inn listed for your local Welcome Wagon?

Hold your reservations there, buster.

The reasons for not having commerce among residential homes remain.  PARKING.  There are houses that rent out to large groups, which bring far more than three cars to the driveways, alleys and yards for each rental.  The only way for neighbors to keep their roads free of illegally parked cars is to be parking enforcement wardens.  Constant vigilance and calls to authorities rarely accomplish this, however.  The police and code enforcement have all been cut to the bone.  Getting timely responses to keep roadways clear – for emergency vehicles, say – is nearly impossible.

NOISE & LIGHT DISTURBANCES.  Some victims/neighbors of these Knights Inns say it is akin to having Daytona Spring Break in their backyards all year ‘round.  Stereos, alcohol-fueled “chatter,” and house- and head-lights shattering the dark at all hours.  A Motel 6 on the beach will regularly disturb turtle nesting season.

Perhaps the most persuasive reason, PROPERTY VALUES.  Living next to one of these devalues neighboring properties.  Ask at the county appraiser’s office, they will tell you that consideration is taken of what is nearby when valuing properties for taxing purposes.

TRIM notices will show without doubt, not only do individual property values go down if The Blink & Nod is bordering your estate, but the governing bodies collect less revenue.  This means you get far less than you planned if you sell your house, but it also means that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of properties bring in far less tax revenue to the cities and the county.

At a time when we already are facing guaranteed tax hikes for the City if the utility income disappears, even the School Board should be taking notice of this trend in revenue losses.

What the legislature has done, and what the County Commission condones, is allowing anyone to run a boarding-house business anywhere they like.  The actual motel people ought to be outraged, since they need to meet all permitting, licensing, and inspection guidelines to operate.  Mom and Pop Carroll need not do so.  These are the same Carrolls, again along with Pilar Turner, who say you can cut the City budget by 10 percent every year!   Turner wanted to get rid of all our parks and cemetery, too, of course, so it appears the view they have of Vero Beach is rather strongly at odds with everyone who came before them.

Happily for the City, there are remedies, all of which they will explore soon at the Council meetings.  Most attractive is to tighten up the language of the code, since they do have a law on the books and that is a gift from years ago that real Vero Beach residents put in place.  Take heart, Vero Beach, at least the City is working for you on this one.