Cocoa Beach considering 300% fee hikes for property owners to crack down on short term rentals
Huge fee hikes could come to Cocoa Beach short-term rental owners
Cocoa Beach considering 300% fee hikes for property owners to crack down on short term rentals. FOX 35's Esther Bower has the latest.
ORLANDO, Fla. - Huge fee hikes could be coming to short-term rental owners in Cocoa Beach as the city tries to keep tourists from taking over the town.
Some registration fees could spike more than 300% because the city is working to up enforcement and get a handle on all the vacation properties.
Cocoa Beach’s city manager says the town is being attacked by short-term rentals. He wants owners to pay up so residents don’t have to.
Right now, there are more than 1,500 vacation rental properties in a town that’s six miles long.
What they're saying:
"1,500 small businesses are being run here, and we have to inspect them, make sure they’re in compliance. It’s a Herculean task," said Cocoa Beach city manager, Wayne Carragino.
To fight back, Carragino is trying to create a better-staffed enforcement division and says vacation rental owners need to pay their fair share.
"They’re making money here," he said, "That’s what it’s all about, and the taxpayers of Cocoa Beach should not subsidize that business."
At Thursday’s city commission meeting, the city manager is proposing initial registration fees for rental property owners going from $525 to $2,500. Annual fees would increase from $325 to $1,500, and several other fee hikes are being considered for owners who don’t comply.
"I like tourism, but I don’t like traffic," said Cocoa Beach mayor, Keith Capizzi, who says the community is torn on this issue.
He isn’t sure how he's going to vote on this proposal on Thursday at 7 p.m. He lives in the city, wants businesses to boom but also wants peaceful neighborhoods.
"These are businesses in residential neighborhoods, so we need to keep that in mind as well," said the mayor.
The other side:
Vacationers think the fee hikes will end up being passed on to them.
"Oh of course, double, and triple time," said Nancy Frymire, who was visiting Cocoa Beach on Thursday.
The Space Coast Association of Realtors is speaking out on the proposal.
In a statement sent to FOX 35, the organization said:
"…we respectfully ask the city of Cocoa Beach to reconsider the drastic fee increase on short-term rentals. While we fully agree with penalties for violations of the existing framework for property ownership, fair and reasonable regulations should not come at the expense of responsible property owners."
Airbnb also sent FOX 35 a statement on what's being considered:
"Home sharing has helped support Cocoa Beach and the Sunshine State’s economy for decades by enabling the region to welcome visitors whose spending supports local businesses and creates economic opportunity for local residents. The proposed registration fee in Cocoa Beach would exceed Florida’s highest short-term rental registration fee by more than $1,500, dramatically impacting residents who rely on sharing their home to make ends meet."
The city manager says nearly 75% of people who own vacation properties in Cocoa Beach do not live in town.
The city meeting where this issue will be voted on starts at 7 p.m. at 5000 Tom Warriner Blvd. Anyone is invited to attend and voice their views on this issue.
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The Source: The information in this article comes from reporting done by FOX 35's Esther Bower.