MARCO ISLAND, Fla. — A new ordinance has been passed to residents of Marco Island regarding the future of short-term rental owners in the area.
In a recent article, our reporter Alexandra Rangel discovered that this ordinance gained a lot of traction with some locals, however, others were not happy about it and said they will be ready to sue for potential damages if the issue passes.
The Marco Island Ordinance is titled, “Implement a Single-Family Home Transient Rental Registration Program”. This ordinance will have short-term rental owners register their property with the city as a rental home – and new rules will be required.
The long list of new rules includes registering as a transient rental every year and making sure that guests are abiding by parking and noise regulations. The list includes more.
Any violation of rules or complaints can result in penalties and suspensions now for owners.
This issue was passed Tuesday night.
Alys Macias, chairperson of Keep Marco Island Free, a non-profit political committee created to promote public policies, education, operations, and commercial solutions of responsibility and respect for vacation rentals and tourism for Marco Island said,
We knew we were facing an uphill battle with this bait and switch referendum. This is but one step in a longer battle to defend our fundamental rights. The ill-conceived nature of this law will devastate the tourism economy, depress housing prices and raise taxes due to the administration of the ordinance and the pending homeowner and business owner lawsuit. Our primary goal was to educate voters about the illegal components of this law and we did our best in a short amount of time. This is now in the hands of Marco Island City Council and the courts to resolve."
Per city officials in a statement Wednesday morning, following next Tuesday's certification of the results, the ordinance will come before the city council for two public readings and hearings before it goes into full effect.
