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City leaders in Sarasota voted 4-1 Monday to expand short-term vacation rental regulations citywide that, up until the change, only impacted vacation rental properties on the city’s barrier islands.
After the initial ordinance passed a few years back, commissioners said they heard from residents on the city’s mainland who were dealing with similar issues such as late night parties, excess noise, littered streets and parking on sidewalks.
“It is Gillespie, it is Arlington, it is Alta Vista, it is Laurel Park, it is the Indian Beach Sapphire Shores neighborhood, it is central Cocoanut, it is Bayou Oaks. It is happening all over the city,” Commissioner Jen Ahearn-Koch said.
“The loss of the neighborhood feel continues,” said Kelly Brown, who lives in the city. “I used to know all of the neighbors on my street. Now, it is somebody different every weekend. They don’t even clean up their dog’s waste, they leave that for everybody else to do. This is not a hotel. This is our neighborhood, this is where we live, this is what we call home so I am super excited that the city commissioners decided to expand the vacation rental ordinance citywide.”
The ordinance amendment will impact around 700 additional short-term vacation rentals, according to Ahearn-Koch.
The new fee structure is will cost rental owners $500 for the initial application and $350 for renewals. The costs will cover both inspections and enforcement.
City officials say this ordinance will not impact owner-occupied short-term rentals, where the owner lives on property and is present during the guest’s visit.
More details here:
With Arroyo in minority again, Sarasota city commissioners approve expansion of vacation rental program to mainland
Taking their second, required vote on the proposed ordinance, the Sarasota city commissioners this week approved the expansion of the city’s vacation-rental program from the barrier islands to the mainland.
Vice Mayor Jen Ahearn-Koch made the motion during the board’s regular meeting on Feb. 5; Commissioner Debbie Trice seconded it.
Only Commissioner Erik Arroyo voted “No,” contending — as he has during past discussions of the proposal — that the measure violates private property rights and that it hinders residents from generating extra income they need by renting their homes to visitors through online rental platforms, such as Airbnb.
Ahearn-Koch emphasized that the expansion of the program will provide safer conditions for tourists, as a home registered for vacation rentals must undergo an initial inspection and then annual inspections.
“It’s about keeping people safe,” she stressed. “We swear an oath to safety, and, for me, that’s the biggest piece of this … that we are keeping those folks that come to our city safe.”
Her primary interest in expanding the regulations to the mainland, Mayor Liz Alpert said, is that the registration process for the owners of vacation rental properties includes the requirement that one or more persons be designated as points of contact in emergencies.
As Hannah Chabica, a city code compliance specialist, pointed out during a staff presentation that day, those individuals are responsible for responding to emergencies within one hour of being notified of problems. “This information is available to all city officials,” Chabica noted, “and will be also made available to the public. [It] gives neighbors a better chance to be able to reach out to who is responsible [in the event of an emergency].”
Moreover, Alpert stressed, a vacation rental is “a commercial enterprise. … And any business in the city has some sort of regulation and registration. It’s really no different from that.”
Commissioner Debbie Trice concurred with those points.
A machete instead of a scalpel
Of the 14 people who addressed the commissioners during the hearing this week, 10 expressed opposition to the ordinance. All but one of those, by count of The Sarasota News Leader, is engaged in the vacation rental business.
Max Brandow, vice president of advocacy and consumer programs for the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee, indicated in his remarks that he had encouraged the opponents to appear at the hearing.
Michael White, an artist who said he has lived in the city for 30 years — and who added that he has won the “Super Host” designation from Airbnb — stressed to the commissioners, “We’re just getting by, a lot of us. I use Airbnb to get by, to afford my home. … Don’t need more regulation and fees.”
Crashes increase but less severe at US 41 roundabouts vs. prior intersection
Despite an uptick in accidents in U.S. 41 roundabouts over prior intersection, the Sarasota-Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization says they are functioning well.
The number of accidents at city of Sarasota roundabouts may not tell the whole story, because while accident volume is up compared to that of the replaced intersections, crash severity is down, according to the Sarasota-Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization.
And when city transportation planning staff on Jan. 16 presented the MPO's 2024 project priority list to the City Commission, listed among the funded projects were roundabouts on U.S. 41 at Martin Luther King Jr. Way and at Myrtle Street.
Although construction of the next two in a planned “necklace” of roundabouts along U.S. 41 through the city is still five years or more into the future, the traffic circles occupy a critical role of the local long-range transportation plan.
The Federal Highway Administration has determined roundabouts are safer and move traffic more efficiently than signalized intersections at select locations.
When vehicle crashes occur, even if in equal or greater numbers, they are typically lower in speed and are not head-on or perpendicular in nature.
You can prepare for or react to climate change, but Climate Adaptation Center CEO and Chairman Bob Bunting said the latter will cost us.
“Prevention is 20 times more (cost effective) than responding to disasters. I’d make a bet on a 20-to-1 return everyday,” said Bunting. “That is a good investment.”
Adaptation to a changing climate and disaster prevention were the focus of a series of lectures Bunting gave Feb. 6-7 in Sarasota, Venice and Lakewood Ranch in partnership with the Sarasota Institute of Lifetime Learning. He’ll be leading another presentation, which is open to the public, at 10 a.m. Feb. 13 at the Glenridge Performing Arts Center in Palmer Ranch.
The event is one of many in CAC’s ongoing mission to educate people and push for developing cost-effective climate adaptation strategies for Florida. Founded in 2019 by Bunting, the Sarasota-based CAC bridges “the gap between state of the art scientific research and public sector understanding of our changing climate,” according to its website.
The Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections announced Thursday that vote-by-mail ballots are beginning to be sent out to registered Republican voters.
The Republican Presidential Primary is on March 19. Democratic voters do not have a primary election as President Joe Biden has already been named as the party’s nominee.
To vote in the primary you must be a registered Republican before the deadline of Feb. 20.
Voters can request a vote-by-mail ballot until 5 p.m. on Thursday, Mar. 7.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office says deputies are on the scene of a fatal crash at the intersection of U.S. 41 and Palmetto Road East in Nokomis.
Two northbound lanes of U.S. 41 are blocked, the sheriff’s office says, while the Florida Highway Patrol is investigating. The sheriff’s office is reported that at least one person has died in the crash.
Ed's Tavern 10-year Celebration. 3-7 p.m. Feb. 17. Rodeo Drive at Main Street at Lakewood Ranch. Free.
The family-friendly event will run 3-7 p.m. on the street with a DJ providing the music, balloon artists, face painters, cornhole and Jenga games. There will be lots of giveaways, such as passes to play at The Fish Hole miniature golf course next door. The popular regional band, Kettle of Fish, will play from 8 p.m. to midnight inside the restaurant.
‘They have hoops and hoops': Their vacation rental was canceled but they couldn't get a refund (Video)
Thomas and Theresa Topolski's excitement for their annual retreat in Florida was cut short about a month before check-in when the company listing the Bradenton property canceled their reservation.
Thomas and Theresa Topolski looked forward to their annual retreat in Florida, trading the zero-degree weather in Michigan for a warm getaway.
“I'm a retired teacher. My wife is a secretary. We saved for this,” Thomas Topolski said.
They booked a nearly three-month stay in the city of Bradenton through Vrbo with an initial payment of $3,588.
“The amenities were fantastic. It was a great condo,” he added.
But their excitement was cut short about a month before check-in when Houzlet, the company listing the property, canceled their reservation.
“They told us that the owner sold their place. They had some financial problems and I guess I understand that. But with one month to go, there are some very few choices we had,” Thomas said.
The couple says Houzlet, which lists an office on Miami Beach on its website, offered other property options, but he says none were comparable to what they originally booked, and some were even more expensive. “They gave us a property that was pulled out from under us,” Thomas said.
When they asked for their money back, the couple was told by a Houzlet representative in an email the merchant they used “to process the payment no longer allows us to do so since they set the rules about refunds for transactions made for over 180 days.” She added the best option the company could do was to offer a refund as a gift certificate for booking any available properties on their website or they could try to get a chargeback through their credit card company.
The Topolskis were not happy with those options.
“They should have given our refund back immediately and they didn't,” Thomas said. “We’re asking for it.”
They are not alone.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) recently flagged Houzlet for "a pattern of complaints concerning service issues," with consumers saying their “bookings were canceled by Houzlet and in some cases, they were offered to re-book at higher priced properties."
The Florida Attorney General's Office told NBC6 Responds it has received 30 complaints about Houzlet since last year, with some similar to the Topolski’s. One person wrote, “Houzlet stated they can’t refund our deposit for rental property that they cancel on us…because it’s beyond the 6 month timeframe.”
Another person cites the 180-day policy. “…They cannot refund our deposit because it was made more than 180 days before cancellation.”
The Topolskis also filed a complaint with the Florida Attorney General's Office and Vrbo, but weeks went by with no refund.
“We're not rich. I'm a retired teacher and a secretary saving to do these things and there are other people that just like me,” Thomas said.
Sarasota Memorial and members of its design/build team celebrated a milestone this week, the official “topping out” of the five-story, $75 million Kolschowsky Research & Education Institute.
The topping out is part of an age-old ritual that signifies that the new facility, at 1880 Arlington St., on the site of old Doctors Gardens medical office building, has reached its maximum height, in this case 82 feet.
“It’s an inspirational point for the workers who have toiled through months of extreme heat and rains to reach this important phase of construction,” said Sarasota Memorial CEO David Verinder. “It’s also a milestone for our health system and community."
This month, workers are starting installation of support steel, exterior walls and windows, while others will focus on interior framing, electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems. Roofing is expected to begin in March.
When it opens in mid-2025, the Kolschowsky Research and Education Institute will be a state-of-the-art training and research center that expands research and training opportunities for physicians and clinicians caring for patients. In addition to supporting clinical trials and research studies, the institute will offer a range of education programs and a state-of-the-art simulation center.
On February 6, 2024, the School District of Manatee County sent a letter to parents and guardians. The letter discussed the issue of some teachers teaching subjects outside their certification area, referred to as 'out-of-field'.
The district aims to provide high-quality instruction by employing certified teachers. However, some are currently teaching outside their certified subjects. The Florida Department of Education mandates these teachers to gain additional certification by the end of the school year. This is a part of the state's process to ensure all teachers meet the required certification and training.
According to Florida Statute 1012.42, the district must inform parents and guardians in writing if a teacher is teaching outside their certification area. Federal law also permits parents to request specific information about their child's teachers, which the district must provide promptly.
The letter named several out-of-field teachers, including Tracy Sanders, Jaime Silva, Samantha Smith, Stephanie Smith, Jean Magee, and Laura Ramos, along with the subjects they are currently teaching.
The School District of Manatee County urges parents and guardians who want more information to contact the school directly. The letter was signed by James Hird, a representative of the district.
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