CLEWISTON, Fla — Clewiston is seeing more short-term rentals popping up, and neighbors have started noticing. Now, city commissioners have approved a plan aiming to make sure these properties are safe and well-maintained.
Fox 4’s Hendry County Community Correspondent Austin Schargorodski works in the area every day, so he was able to talk with a city commissioner about what this ordinance could change.
Watch what Clewiston Commissioner Hilary Hyslope told Austin about the ordinance:
With Lake Okeechobee fishing tournaments and outdoor tourism drawing people year-round, vacation rentals are on the rise in Clewiston. Commissioner Hillary Hyslope said a lot of people have started to take notice.
"We have people in neighborhoods asking what's going on here? Why are we seeing different people, different cars, things like that, and then find out that it's a short-term vacation rental," Hyslope said.
Now, the city wants more oversight on the rentals, including safety checks and zoning enforcement.
"We make sure that we’re not putting a vacation rental on a property that already has a single-family home and would be zoned incorrectly. That we would want to inspect them and make sure they’re in compliance with smoke detectors, a fire extinguisher, things like that," Hyslope said.
One proposal includes a permitting process with annual inspections. Right now, Hyslope says the city has no way to check the condition of these rentals. Another proposal is marking rentals with a decal so first responders know what they’re dealing with.
"There are some legal issues with accessing a private resident's property without them answering the door. But if a neighbor has called and said there’s someone laying on the floor, and they see this decal, they have more teeth to be able to go in and render the services needed," Hyslope said.
Hyslope said it’s about keeping rentals up to a standard to support tourism while protecting people.
"We have seen an uptick in rentals, and we need to make sure that in the event one does go a little bit sideways, we have the structure in place and our code and our ordinances that allow us to handle it," Hyslope said.
On Monday, the city passed the first reading of the ordinance, but it’s not final yet. Hyslope said the next step is hearing from the community before another vote next month.
"I want to know what do you think about this process? What makes it work for you? What’s a non-starter? You know, what would cause you to back out of a deal completely? Because that’s what we don’t want," Hyslope said.
