LTC 105-2010 Short Term Rental Issues - Alton Road Homeowner's Associationm MIAMIBEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER`
NO. LTC #~ ~ of-2,0~ O
~~~~~~
2~I0 APR 13 F~ 4~ 45
LEVER" ~4-FC~OI~Mi~~SION
TO: Mayor Matti Herrera Bower and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Jorge M. Gonzalez, City Manager
DATE: April 12, 2010
SUBJECT: Short Term Rental Issues -Alton ad Homeowner's Association
The purpose of this Letter to Commission (LTC) is to update you on the actions taken by
Code Compliance and the Police Department regarding concerns raised. by the Alton Road
Home Owner's Association (HOA) about the enforcement ofshort-term rental provisions in
the City Code, as well as recent burglaries in the area:
As you are aware, the City Commission ,has provided specific direction to staff not to pro-
activelyenforce single family home short-term rental compliance, but to only respond when a
complaint has been submitted. In the City Commission consideration of the first. reading of
an ordinance pertaining to single family home short term rentals on January 20, 2009, the
concept of non-proactive enforcement was discussed. This policy was subsequently
approved as specific direction from the City Commission at the second reading of the
ordinance at the February 5, 2009 City Commission meeting.
Consistent with the City Commission direction, staff has not pro-actively pursued
enforcement of single family home short term rentals and responds to complaints. However,
the enforcement practices for some of the consequences of short term rentals (noise,
sanitation, parking issues or crime) are treated in the same manner by City staff as before
the single family home short term rental policy direction was provided. In all cases in which
complaints are registered or problems detected in a neighborhood, City staff responds to
rectify the problem. In the event a home short term rental is discovered as part of a staff
response to another issue, such as noise, the home-short term rental will be investigated to
. ~ determine if a violation has occurred and the appropriate action is taken. Additionally, if
there are multiple complaints about a location that includes short term rentals, that property
may be routinely proactively patrolled for noise or other issues.
There were several complaints received during Winter Music Conference associated with
single family home properties being used for short-term rentals at 4800 Alton Road, 3001
North Bay Road, and 4424 North Bay Road that were investigated by the Code Compliance
staff. The actions taken for each property and current status are as follows:
4800 Alton Road
On March 27; 2010, a violation was written for this property for hotel use (the violation of City
Code that is cited for an improper short term property rental) in asingle-family zone. This is
a recurring violation, since there was a previous violation for hotel use written on December
31, 2009. Additionally, there were two sanitation violations issued, one on March 27, 2010,
which resulted in a $50 fine because they did not comply, and the second one on March 28,
2010, with no fine for that violation because they did comply.
Furthermore, there have been two valid noise complaints on this property, one on
September 27, and one on December 31, 2009.
The short term rental cases were heard by the Special Master on April 8, 2010. Four cases
were presented, two against the property owner and two against the tenant/operator. The
Special Master entered an order for the cases, assessing an immediate fine of $500.00 per
day to run for each day of non-compliance for each individual case, until proof is supplied
' that this hotel /short term rental has ceased at the property entirely.
3001 North Bay Road
Code staff has not found sufficient evidence to issue a violation for hotel use in a single-
familyzone. However, on March 27, 2010 a noise complaint was received for this address
and found valid. A written warning for noise was issued.
4424 North Bay Road
On March 28, 201.0 a violation was written for this property for hotel use in asingle-family
zone. This is a recurring violation and it will be scheduled forthe Special Masterwhere staff
will ask for imposition of fines. This is a recurring violation because there was a violation
issued for hotel use in asingle-family zone in June of 2008. Violations were also issued for
noise and sanitation at that time. In addition, there have been two other sanitation violations
for this property, one on October 1, 2009 and one on March 26, 2010.
Other
A burglary complaint involving two different properties was also received by the Police
Department and investigated in the Alton Road area. It was determined during-the
investigation that the two properties, 5120 Alton Road and 721 W. 47th Street, were being
used as short term rentals. The owner of 5120 Alton Road, which is used for short term
rentals complained about a burglary both to his rented home and to a property he takes care
of (721 W. 47th Street) that is also used for short term rentals. The same suspects were
involved in both cases and were apprehended and charged by the Police Department.
In general, obtaining sufficient evidence to write a violation for hotel use in asingle-family
zone has become more difficult for Code staff as property owners have teamed to coach the
renters on how to respond to inquiries. In light of the Commission's prior directive, Code
staff cannot currently use proactive research methods, such as Craig's List and other
Internet sites, to identify short term rental single family properties.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
JMG/DM
c: Management Team
F:\cmgr\$ALL\BOB\LTC Alton Road HOA - .doc