WILBUR-BY-THE-SEA -- Spurred by complaints about cars and noise in Wilbur-by-the-Sea, Volusia County could join Ponce Inlet in limiting short-term vacation rentals in residential neighborhoods.
"It's a problem," County Chairman Frank Bruno said last week. "We need to do something."
Council members may look at options at a workshop this spring.
The push originated with complaints, most recently from residents in Wilbur-by-the-Sea, about such things as loud motorcycle pipes, parking problems and fireworks, particularly during special events. Over the years, residents in Bethune Beach and Ormond-by-the-Sea also have complained about the impact of short-term vacationers on their neighborhoods.
To deal with the situation, building officials and county attorneys have been looking at ordinances such as one the Ponce Inlet Town Council adopted last year.
Ponce Inlet requires landlords to have an annual license and display a sticker for allowed rentals.
"We're looking to see if that matches our needs as well," Assistant County Attorney Mary Brennan said.
A proposed county ordinance -- which some council members said should be crafted to apply only to single-family residences -- would not include condominiums, said Mary Robinson, director of the county's Building and Zoning Division. Enforcement probably would be complaint-driven, she said.
The ordinance would apply to unincorporated areas.
Something needs to be done, said Arnold Marfoglia, president of the Wilbur Improvement Association.
"A neighborhood is a neighborhood and a motel is a motel, and they kind of can't live next to each other because they just do two different things," he said.
If the county moves toward licensing, the association proposed limiting rentals to once every 30 days, three times a year, in a Nov. 15 letter from association vice president Sue Burns to the county.
Property owners who already have state "resort dwelling" licenses could be limited to once every 30 days, 12 times a year.
But Ann Crane, broker and owner of Ponce Inlet Realty, said none of it is necessary.
"It's a lot of hoopla about nothing," she said.
Crane said the average price of a 1,000-square-foot house in Wilbur-by-the-Sea is about $300,000, and that's why investors are the buyers.
"If everybody agrees to reduce the prices down to $100,000, then you can turn the unincorporated areas back into neighborhoods," she said. "I don't think the homeowners want to do that."
|
