Are regulations needed to keep short-term rentals accountable? Pensacola wants more data.
The Pensacola City Council didn't come to any firm conclusion Wednesday night when it held a workshop on short-term rental regulations.
Council members largely agreed that they wanted more data on short-term rentals, also known as vacation rentals, in the city, while three council members voiced support for requiring vacation rental owners to obtain business licenses from the city.
Florida law prevents municipalities from banning vacation rentals or regulating the required length of stay, but cities can pass rules regulating the rentals as businesses.
Several short-term rental owners turned out to the workshop and voiced opposition to any kind of regulation from the city.
A smaller number of people spoke out about short-term rentals undermining the character of their neighborhoods.
"We have to strike a balance," East Hill resident Bill Young said. "We have to protect people who bought a property in a family-oriented neighborhood and perhaps wanted to retire there and experience a family-oriented neighborhood, not something that's going to be bought out because of the mighty dollar to be replaced by businesses."
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Pensacoal City Councilman Charles Bare called for the workshop and said he knows there are problematic rentals in his district but that the owners that showed up Wednesday were not part of the problem.
"We can't stop short-term rentals, and that's never been my goal," Bare said. "I want people to be able to make an income. But I also want some accountability from that."
Bare said the city should know how many short-term rentals there are, if they are paying all of the required taxes that they are supposed to be paying like the bed tax, and that the city have a way to contact the owner if there are complaints about renters.
City Attorney Charlie Peppler noted that an ordinance in Redington Shores survived a court challenge that required vacation rental owners to inform guests of local rules and ordinances. Peppler also said there is a bill pending before the Florida Legislature that requires vacation rental owners to provide the local government with contact information for someone capable of responding to complaints or immediate problems with rentals.
Council members Jennifer Brahier and Casey Jones agreed with Bare that city needs more data on short-term rentals and a business license requirement may be a way to begin collecting that information.
Council members Jared Moore and Alison Patterson were more hesitant about regulation and said the city should define the problems and policies to solve those problems first.
Councilman Delarian Wiggins said that the city should hear from someone in the county who collects Tourism Development Tax to talk about the how bed tax works with short-term rentals.
Councilwoman Teniadé Broughton said her experience with vacation rentals in her district are those owned by people who may have had to move away from Pensacola but want to maintain the ability to move back to their home in the future.
Bare said he wasn't sure which direction the council would move on the issue.
"I will continue to consider input from neighborhood associations and owners. And I don't think the problem is in this room," Bare said, referring to the short-term rental owners in attendance. "I think that you all are doing the right thing and that you are responsive. But there are some out there that or not, and unfortunately, when that happens, it damages all of your reputations because all it takes is a few to cause problems. And I'm not looking to put in extreme regulation. I'm just looking for some accountability."
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola City Council short-term rental regulations under discussion
