- January 8, 2025
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How many vacationers should be allowed to stay in a short-term rental home in a residential neighborhood? Should toddlers count?
The Palm Coast City Council ruled unanimously on Jan. 7 that the maximum occupants should be 10, not counting children up to 3 years old. In the rare situation when the homeowner resides in the home at the same time as the vacationers, the homeowners will count against the maximum number.
That decision, along with several other changes, governs the approximately 300 short-term rental properties in the city limits, effective March 3, 2025. The issue has been debated by City Council since before September, and the Jan. 7 vote was the second and final reading.
It was a victory for many in the C section of Palm Coast, including the Canal Community Coalition, although at least one resident, Roger Cressey, still believes that the ordinance falls short in enforcement; many penalties are preceded by a warning period.
“Enforcement is still geared for normal rentals,” he said before the meeting. “These guys are only there for 2-3 days, and enforcement isn’t quick enough.”
Palm Coast Chief of Staff Jason DeLorenzo told the City Council that enforcement efforts will include hiring an additional code enforcement officer. The new officer would not be assigned only to short-term rental enforcement; rather, all officers would handle complaints within their own zones.
Short-term rentals will be required now to pay $375 annually to register, plus $75 annually for an inspection. Total revenue should be $120,000, DeLorenzo said, which is expected to about match the city’s expenses for enforcement.
Short-term rentals constitute an important quality of life issue for many residents who spoke at the Jan. 7 meeting.
On one hand, as City Council members Charles Gambaro and Ray Stevens pointed out, are the homeowners, such as Joel and Kathy Davidson, who are trying to earn money by using their properties as short-term rentals. Both Davidsons spoke during the meeting, saying they rent out five rooms in their home and still sleep in the home while vacationers are in town. As a results of that unique situation, they wanted an exception to the maximum number of occupants. Their business would be harmed by the new rules, and, unlike absentee owners, they are especially motivated to not cause any problems.
“This is our neighborhood,” Joel Davidson said. “These are our neighbors and friends. … We want them to like us.”
He said they haven’t had any complaints in the past the nine years in their “dinky bubble,” even though they have had about 10,000 visitors in that time.
Gambaro argued that homeowners like the Davidsons should be exempt from the occupancy limit of 10.
“I’m trying to strike a balance with the business community,” Gambaro said. “These folks have been operating in good faith.”
Stevens sided with Gambaro, but Mayor Mike Norris and City Council members Ty Miller and Theresa Pontieri voted against that amendment, saying that no matter what, the number of residents in a home should never exceed 10, other than toddlers.
“The whole issue is the number of people,” Norris said. “Your income isn’t relevant in this argument. The quality of life is relevant.”
Cressey agreed: “It’s our property, and when someone starts to talk about somebody else making money in a residential property, it gets my ire up.” He also said he wanted to end his comment on a positive tone and thanked the City Council and staff for their efforts.
Pontieri said she met with the Davidsons as well.
“I was transparent with them, that 18 people is never going to be OK,” she said. “I don’t care if you live there or don’t live there. I understand their position, but at the end of the day, it’s a residential neighborhood. If you want a bed and breakfast or to operate something else, we have different zoning for that.”
Still, Pontieri suggested that she could be open to further exceptions, during Bike Week, for example, to encourage tourism dollars coming into the community.
Norris brought personal experience to his vote: He lived behind a vacation rental himself and called the Sheriff’s Office twice in one weekend because of his own concerns. He sided with the neighbors:
“Their lives are being altered — completely unacceptable.”
Email Brian McMillan at [email protected].
RULE CHANGES
