Home rule authority attacks need to stop

The Florida Legislature is continuing its attack on home rule by continuing its attempt to limit local government’s ability to limit short-term rentals in residential areas. State Sen. Manny Diaz Jr. and state Rep. Jason Fischer attempted to support this in their Feb. 18 Sun Sentinel op-ed, “Florida needs ‘predictable and uniform’ rules for vacation rental industry.”

Their flawed logic only served to show that short-time rentals are truly a local issue. In their opinion, the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation should have ultimate authority, despite the DBPR 2018 Inspector General Report indicating the agency struggled to meet its own performance standards of lodging inspections.

The two further argue that the proper place for the regulation of vacation rentals is the DBPR, just like the rest of the hospitality industry. This statement is truly disingenuous as the rest of the hospitality industry is located in commercial districts, not residential areas where most shor-term vacation rentals are located.

The regulation of short-term rentals is truly a local issue as it is necessary to protect residents and balance the needs of all property owners. Unruly behavior along with parking and public safety issues only serve to destroy the residential character of neighborhoods and create safety issues in residential areas of our cities.

The need for local rules for short-term rentals differs in resort communities from those in bedroom communities. The notion suggested by Diaz and Fischer that providing the additional option of vacation rentals in a residential neighborhood to tourists and visitors to spend their money benefits Florida and its residents is simply misleading.

Our residential neighborhoods should not be subjected to a locally unregulated commercial enterprise just to satisfy a short-term visitor. House Bill 1011 and Senate Bill 1128 are flawed proposals that should be rejected.

Glenn Troast, mayor, Lighthouse Point