Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Here’s how Broward will enforce rules
County enlists cities to keep tabs on vacation rentals, restaurants
Starting today, Broward County will rely on cities to enforce new rules for restaurants to close earlier, at 10 p.m. It’ll also enlist cities’ help to crack down on parties held at vacation rentals — all as South Florida and the rest of the state see a resurgence in the coronavirus.
That means the cities will have to act as the first line of defense in enforcing the order, Assistant County Administrator Alan Cohen said. The county urges the public to call the 311 hotline to point to businesses not following the rules.
The order, signed Wednesday evening by Broward County Administrator Bertha Henry, requires restaurants to limit tables to six people for indoor dining — or 10 if they’re from the same household. Indoor dining must close by 10 p.m.
The order goes into effect today.
The county has received over 1,000 complaints documented on a public website in just over a week, from businesses allowing more than 50% of their indoor capacity to not following sanitation requirements.
The county has issued a total of 690 warnings and citations as of Thursday, the website shows. Over 100 of the violations were for businesses that had not been approved to reopen.
Establishments that violate the new order will be shut down for 24 hours. If they are caught violating the order repeatedly, an additional 72 hours each time will be added on, according to the order. Fines could cost as much as $15,000.
Some cities will have code enforcement officers in “high-traffic areas,” monitoring to ensure rules are followed, Cohen said. But
not all will.
“The intent here is to safely keep our economy open by targeting” those not following the rules, Cohen said, “so those making good-faith efforts can keep doing business.”
Katia Bordy, a spokeswoman for the city of Dania Beach, said some of the smaller cities are not experiencing the problems with packed restaurants afterhours and parties at shortterm rentals like what has been reported throughout the county.
Dania Beach’s code enforcement has educated businesses about what will be expected each time a new order is issued by the city or county, Bordy said.
“The ones that are not in compliance, they’re aware of what is expected,” Bordy said.
And in Coral Springs, Code Compliance Manager Jaci Foster said code enforcement officials began contacting restaurants Thursday morning so they would understand the latest change. Some businesses called to ask if they were understanding the order correctly.
“A lot of the times, the businesses don’t even know that this has changed,” Foster said.
Broward County Mayor Dale Holness said complaints that come from the 311 hotline are directed to the city the business is in, and the cities will then determine whether there is a violation and if any warning or citation will be given.
If an area has repeated issues, Holness said the county will send enforcement officials in.
County officials have learned that vacation rentals are being used to host large gatherings and parties, where the coronavirus can spread rapidly. The order is meant to curtail these, too, by only allowing those who signed up to stay at the rental to be on the property.
Airbnb, a popular shortterm vacation rental site, said in a statement they have tried to tackle house parties at rentals by restricting some guests under the age of 25 in the United States from renting out an entire house listed in their area but can still book these types of homes outside their local area.
If someone under the age of 25 with less than three positive reviews attempts to book a home, they will be denied, the statement said.
The guidelines for vacation rental property owners and managers attached to the order requires that they keep records of guests for 90 days to help trace any contact renters may have had with an infected guest.
No more than six people, or 10 if they are from the same household, can use the property, and management should periodically inspect the property to ensure guidelines are followed.
But enforcing the rules at vacation rentals could prove to be the challenging part, Holness said.