Seminole Co. shouldn’t wait for Airbnb rentals to take over before acting
Central Florida homeowners are finding smarter ways to increase earning opportunities by renting out their properties through companies like Airbnb.
It’s not a bad side hustle for people looking to make extra income from their home. But if left unchecked, one person’s home business can become a neighborhood’s nightmare as the extra noise, traffic and transience compromise the integrity of a community.
That is why cities like Kissimmee and Orlando, located in the Florida tourist hub, created ordinances to help keep a booming business from overrunning residential neighborhoods.
And that’s why Seminole County should have joined the movement when commissioners took a recent vote for short-term rental regulation.
Instead, all but one county commissioner voted against adding measures that would preserve the integrity of neighborhoods, promote fair business practices that are consistent with hotel competition and require a $250 annual registration fee, part of which could have gone toward an affordable housing fund.
Brenda Carey, Amy Lockhart and Bob Dallari voted no while Lee Constantine voted in favor of the ordinance. Jay Zembower, who spearheaded the move toward regulation, was out of town during the vote.
Commissioners opposing the ordinance said the county already had enough ordinances to combat potential noise or parking issues from the added traffic of properties operating as part-time home rentals.
It’s true that Seminole County has several ordinances to handle such concerns. They also have nearly $53 million dollars in outstanding code-enforcement liens from cases that have been ongoing for 10 years or more.
The system is slow and inefficient. Requiring owners who sub their homes as rentals to register their property with the county and pay a fee helps fund the backlogged code-enforcement system.
The county’s professional staff recommended passing the ordinance, which also received unanimous support from the county Planning and Zoning Commission last year (with one caveat acknowledging it does not supersede homeowners association rules and regulations).
Several HOAs in Seminole County have already acted to stop homeowners from advertising as short-term rentals.
Lake Forest HOA committee member George Sellery said he fielded complaints from neighbors after a homeowner rented to a restoration business that brought in 12 workers and multiple trucks that were illegally parked on the street.
Anyone who pays property taxes has a right to preserve the integrity of his or her neighborhood, not just those who live behind gates and have an HOA to enforce the rules.
Local politicians in other parts of Central Florida already figured this out.
Kissimmee, for example, has been decades ahead of the trend. City officials set aside districts specifically for short-term rentals where tourists often choose to stay. Many short-term rental operators are required to get permits and they pay a lodging tax, which Osceola County collects.
Last year, Orlando took its first step into the short-term rental regulation market by allowing bed and breakfast-style rentals inside residential neighborhoods as long as the owner lives there as well. The county also collects a tax and requires operators to register with the city and pay an initial $275 dollar registration fee. After that, annual registration fees drop to $125.
While Seminole County may not be next door to the region’s big attractions, the number of Airbnb rentals almost doubled to 22,000 from 2017 to 2018.
Seminole is an increasingly popular area to rent because of its proximity to beaches, Sanford’s downtown historic district, and events like the Daytona 500 and Bike Week.
The cherry on top of this plan was helping the county’s affordable housing fund. Half of the $250 annual registration cost could have gone to the fund, with the rest covering administrative costs.
Seminole County’s elected leaders could have done more to set make some rules that would benefit all neighborhoods.
Local governments too often are in the position of reacting to problems instead of getting ahead of them. Seminole had that opportunity here and blew it, putting the interests of renters ahead of its communities.
Editorials are the opinion of the Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board and are written by one of its members or a designee. The Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Mike Lafferty, Jay Reddick, David Whitley, Shannon Green and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson.