Pompano toughens up on short-term rentals

Pompano Beach is taking steps toward curbing the effect of short-term vacation rentals on neighborhoods.

If newly proposed rules win final approval from the city next month, all homes, duplexes, triplexes and quadplexes that are rented for six or fewermonths will be required to obtain city permits. Property owners also would be required to comply with restrictions limiting the number of tenants and cars, aswell as cutting down on noise.

How the city law “came about is people renting out their house for two, three days during Easter week and … piling [in] a whole bunch of kids for a really short amount of time,” said Vice Mayor Charlotte Burrie.

To the city, “short-term vacation rental” hasbecome synonymous with “party time,” leading to a stream of resident complaints about trash, noise and traffic.

Pompano’s new rules, which could affect an estimated 7,000 rental properties, will follow those already in place in Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and John Graziano, resident

Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. Boca Raton also expects to act on a rental registry this summer, according to a city spokeswoman.

John Graziano, a Pompano resident for the past five years, said there are several short-term rentals in his neighborhood, which straddles the boundary between Pompano Beach and Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. But the problem is markedly worse on the Pompano side, he said. He suspects it’s because Lauderdale-by-theSea already has tighter regulations.

“Across the street from me, we had 15 people … all staying in a two-bedroom house and itwas a little chaotic,” Graziano said.

State law keeps cities from prohibiting shortterm rentals outright. And a bill on this year’s legislative agendawould have kept cities from regulating them further. But the bill died in a Senate committee.

In Pompano, short-term rentals would have to register with a fee of up to $750 and then $375 annually. Ownerswould face a penalty of $1,000 per day for violating that requirement. The fees would pay for someoneto oversee the program.

Other aspects of the new rules include:

No more than one automobile parked overnight per bedroom.

Nomore than two people per bedroom.

A contact person 24 hours a day, days aweek.

No outdoor musical performances.

Commissioner Michael Sobel congratulated Pompano’s staff for taking on the issue.

“This statute clearly addresses abusers of shortterm rentals,” he said. available seven

ageggis@sunsentinel.com, 561-243-6624, or @AnneBoca