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Dr. Walter Forman testified that as a neighbor of a vacation rental property, <br />the noise made by the renters often shakes his windows. In addition, the parking <br />is out of control to the point that there are times he cannot even get into his own <br />driveway. Renters trespassing across his property have forced him to add a gate <br />and fence that he doesn't want. He concluded that he's very discouraged that he <br />no longer lives in a quiet neighborhood. <br />Dr. Conway spoke regarding occupancy limits at vacation rentals and <br />presented examples of ordinances in other Florida counties. The SBPOA <br />recommends that the overnight maximum sleeping occupancy of a vacation <br />rental unit not exceed a) for a unit served by public sewer, the lesser of two <br />persons per bedroom or ten persons; and b) for a unit served by an on-site <br />sewage treatment and disposal system (septic system), the lesser of 10 persons <br />or two persons per bedroom or the number of persons accommodated by the <br />system as determined by the health department. <br />Dr. Conway remarked that vacation rentals are considered a business in <br />the eyes of insurance companies and as such are not covered under a <br />homeowner's policy in the way of personal liability coverage; a commercial <br />liability policy is required. He proceeded to field questions from the <br />Commissioners as well as members of the public regarding occupancy limits, <br />noise standards and morals in regard to short term vacation rentals. <br />Mr. Glen Powell, chairman of the STVRAC and owner of four vacation <br />rentals in Roseland, asserted that vacation renters do not have the monopoly on <br />bad behavior and questioned the motivation of people that want to put a stop to <br />vacation rentals rather than letting good landlords continue to do what they do <br />while eliminating the few that behave badly. He continued that he was offended <br />by earlier comments implying that the residents of high-value homes on the <br />barrier island should have more of a say on this topic than those with more <br />modest homes on the mainland. He said that this elitist attitude is offensive and <br />detracts from what the county commissioners asked the STVRAC to do. He <br />stated that we have to be very careful about putting out the message to the world <br />that "we hate tourists" and that if the rules become too restrictive, there will be <br />black market rentals operating without safety standards that do not collect <br />lodging taxes. He explained the logistics of his rental properties in regarded to <br />leases as well as how Airbnb works and the fact that he's observed them <br />distributing taxes incorrectly. <br />Chairman Polackwich suggested that they close the public hearing and <br />tackle the issues at a subsequent meeting. He advised that perhaps adequate <br />time to digest all of the information as well as sufficient rest would better allow <br />the commissioners to decide the matters properly. <br />PZC/Unapproved 6 May 26, 2016 <br />FABCCWII Committees\P&Z\2016—AGENDAS & MINUTES\PZC 052616.doc <br />Attachment 8 <br />159 <br />