CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Cape Coral city officials are working to address concerns about vacation rentals that aren't following local ordinances, as the city council considers changes to registration fees and enforcement measures.
Council member Jennifer Nelson-Lastra is leading efforts to create a fair system for both locals and visitors in a city that heavily relies on vacation rentals.
Hear what council member Jennifer Nelson-Lastra wants to accomplish with an advisory group:
"We do not have a lot of hotels, so we really rely on the vacation rental owners and those properties to be able to house all of our tourists every year," Nelson-Lastra said.
Line found more than 200 rentals on popular sites like Airbnb and VRBO that are currently breaking the city's ordinance requiring a minimum week-long stay.
"I think our bigger discussion needs to be, how are we going to address that, and what is the enforcement look like for those individuals moving forward," Nelson-Lastra said.
Last month, a council member proposed raising the registration fee from $35 to $600, but many people in the city opposed the significant increase.
"How are you trying to run people out when our economy needs to grow?" said Mike, who lives in Cape Coral.
Aiden, who also lives in the city, expressed similar concerns about the proposed fee hike.
"I wouldn't blame them if they wanted to raise it up to 100 or something a little more reasonable, but 600 is a little bit outrageous," he said.
Nelson-Lastra is now meeting with an advisory group throughout the summer to develop a plan to hold rule-breakers accountable without punishing those who follow regulations.
"If you look at these properties, they're technically businesses, and if a business doesn't comply, after a magistrate demands that they comply, what do you do? You shut down the business. Now our concern, of course, from our city perspective and council perspective, is we don't want to harm the visitor," Nelson-Lastra said.
The council member is looking at Sanibel's ordinance, which implements different registration fees for different types of rentals, with the highest fee at $300.
The advisory committee will also discuss how to better support Cape Coral Police and code enforcement in ensuring compliance with vacation rental regulations.
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