2011-27625 Reso r
RESOLUTION NO. 2011 -27625
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF
THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, EXPRESSING
OPPOSITION TO SENATE BILL 476 AND HOUSE BILL 883,
WHICH NEGATIVELY IMPACT THE CITY'S ABILITY TO
ADDRESS THE IMPACTS OF THE SHORT -TERM RENTAL OF
RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES BY DEFINING THE TERM
"VACATION RENTAL" AND FURTHER PREEMPT LOCAL
AUTHORITY TO PROHIBIT OR REGULATE VACATION
RENTALS IN A MANNER DIFFERENT THAN RESIDENTIAL
PROPERTIES.
WHEREAS, Senate Bill 476 and House Bill 883 (the "Bills ") define "Vacation
Rental" as any unit or group of units in a condominium, cooperative, or timeshare plan or
any individually or collectively owned single family, two - family, three - family, or four -
family dwelling house or dwelling unit that is also a transient public lodging
establishment; and
WHEREAS, the Bills attempt to preempt local authority by mandating that
Vacation Rentals shall be deemed residential property and may not be prohibited or
treated differently than other residential properties based solely on their classification,
use, or occupancy; and
WHEREAS, if passed, the Bills would severely restrict the City's ability to
address the negative impacts associated with short -term rentals; and
WHEREAS, the Land Development Regulations ( "LDRs ") are designed to protect
and preserve the identity, image, environmental quality, privacy, attractive pedestrian
streetscapes, and human scale and character of the City's residential neighborhoods
and buildings and to encourage and promote construction that is compatible with the
established neighborhood context; and
WHEREAS, the RM -1, RM -PRD, RM- PRD -2, RPS -1 and RPS -2, CD -1, RO, RO-
3, and TH zoning districts do not permit hotel uses, except for the West Avenue Bay
Front Overlay District, a specified section of the RM -1 district in North Beach, Bed and
Breakfast Inns in the RM -1 district in historic districts, and apartment hotels in the RPS -1
and RPS -2 districts; and
WHEREAS, the LDRs define "hotel unit" as "a room, or group of rooms, ...,
intended for rental to transients on a day -to -day, week -to -week, or month -to -month
basis, not intended for use or used as a permanent dwelling and without cooking
facilities," though this definition includes a suite hotel unit, which the code defines as
including cooking facilities; and
WHEREAS, therefore the City Code treats residences leased in the City on a
day -to -day, week -to -week, or month -to -month basis as a hotel unit and transient
occupancy; and
WHEREAS, the City has determined that there is a potential for harm if transient
rentals are permitted without regulations protecting against adverse external effects of
such use or prohibited in certain instances; and
WHEREAS, single family, multifamily, and townhome unit owners' sense of
community and privacy would be compromised by unregulated and unrestricted
commercial and transient use of single family homes, and units in multifamily buildings,
9 Y � Y 9 ,
and neighborhoods of both kinds, respectively; and
WHEREAS, single family, multifamily and townhome unit owners have
reasonable expectations of a community of permanent neighbors and owners and the
privacy such a community entails; and
WHEREAS, the privacy and ambience of such single family, multifamily and
townhome residential buildings and areas are materially undermined by unregulated and
unrestricted transient rentals; and
WHEREAS, the values associated with single family, multifamily and townhome
residential areas can only be preserved by very limited and controlled commercial and
transient use of residences, if at all; and
WHEREAS, based upon the factors listed above, any relaxation of the current
LDRs with respect to short term rentals in single family and multifamily zoning districts
are local decisions that must be limited in size and scope to specifically defined
neighborhood areas, only one of which has undertaken a process of examining the short
term rental issue and come to a neighborhood consensus with regards to the advisability
and desirability of the introduction of these uses into those neighborhoods.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, that the Mayor and City
Commission hereby express opposition to Senate Bill 476 and House Bill 883, which
define the term Vacation Rental and attempt to preempt local authority to prohibit or
regulate Vacation Rentals in a manner different than residential properties
PASSED AND ADOPTED THIS *II DAY OF Marc , 2011.
AT ST:
lUitX TAX C • ,
CITY CLERK AYOR
APPROVED AS TO
FORM & LANGUAGE
•R EXE •N
a » 6 rney
ate
T:\AGENDA\2011 \3 -09 -11 \Senate Bill 476 reso rev.doc
P- MIAWI
City of Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, Florida 33139, www.miamibeachfl.gov
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor Matti Herrera Bower and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Jorge M. Gonzalez, City Manager 4,4 44
DATE: March 9, 2011
SUBJECT: DISCUSSION REGARDING A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, EXPRESSING
OPPOSITION TO SENATE BILL 476 AND HOUSE BILL 883, WHICH
NEGATIVELY IMPACT THE CITY'S ABILITY TO ADDRESS THE IMPACTS
OF THE SHORT -TERM RENTAL OF RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES BY
DEFINING THE TERM "VACATION RENTAL" AND FURTHER ATTEMPT TO
PREEMPT LOCAL AUTHORITY TO PROHIBIT OR REGULATE VACATION
RENTALS IN A MANNER DIFFERENT THAN RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES.
ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDATION
Adopt the Resolution.
ANALYSIS
The City of Miami Beach has been taking steps to regulate short term rental of homes
and apartments, in order to address the negative impacts these activities may have upon
residential neighborhoods. After much discussion and investigation, Ordinance No.
2009 -3629 was approved on February 25, 2009, which clarified that in single - family
zoning districts, short -term rentals of less than six (6) months constituted transient or
hotel occupancy, and were prohibited. This codified a previously issued Planning
Director's interpretation (Administrative Interpretation 00 -2, February 29, 2000) which
was based upon the limitation by the existing zoning and Comprehensive Plan of any
main permitted use within these single - family districts other than single - family residential
dwellings, other applicable land development regulations, and existing resort tax
legislation requiring such taxes to be paid for transient usage of less than six months.
On June 9, 2010, the Mayor and City Commission adopted Ordinance No. 2010 -3685,
which amended the Land Development Regulations (LDRs) to prohibit short term
transient rental of apartment units in those low- intensity residential zoning districts which
did not permit hotels. Leases in these limited districts are now limited to a minimum of
six months and one day.
The ordinance also contained a legalization provision which identified a small number of
properties that would be eligible for short term rental of apartment units within the
specified area based upon proof of previous short term rentals according to a specific
formula. For apartment buildings of four or more units (all of which are required to
register for resort tax with the City regardless of short or long term occupancy) the
Agenda Item / R
Date 3_q_
Commission Memorandum
March 9, 2011
Oppose Senate Bill 476 and House Bill 883
Page 2
property must have been A) registered with the City for Resort Tax, and have made a
Resort Tax payment as of August 31, 2009; B) have had City of Miami Beach Resort
Tax taxable room revenue equal to at least 50% of total room revenue over the last two
year period covered by such payments, and C) be licensed by the State of Florida as a
Transient Apartment Building as of August 31, 2009. For resort condominiums, which
can be a number of units in one building, or several units in different buildings, the same
requirements apply as for apartment buildings above. For properties with less than four
units, the property must have been licensed by the State of Florida as a resort dwelling
as of February 1, 2009.
In Senate Bill 476 and House Bill 883 (the "Bills "), which have been filed for the 2011
Florida Legislative Session, make amendments to Chapter 509, Florida Statutes. These
bills have apparently been filed in response to complaints from vacation - rental home
owners in Southwest Florida, and are designed to preempt any future efforts to regulate
vacation homes as if they were hotels or motels.
The bills include the following amendments:
• Redefine a "Transient Public Lodging Establishment" as any unit, group of units,
dwelling, building, or group of buildings which is rented to guest more than three
times in a calendar year for a period of less than 181 days (currently 30 days).
This definition is consistent with the Planning Director's interpretation which was
codified as part of Ordinance 2009 -3629, that rental of a home for Tess than 6
months constituted a transient use.
• Includes "Vacation Rentals" in the definition of Public Lodging Establishment and
defines a Vacation Rental as any unit or group of units in a condominium,
cooperative, or timeshare plan or any individually or collectively owned single
family, two- family, three - family, or four - family dwelling house or dwelling unit that
is also a transient public lodging establishment (rented for less than 181 days
more than 3 times per year).
• Attempt to preempt local authority by mandating that Vacation Rentals shall be
deemed residential property that may not be prohibited or treated differently than
other residential properties based solely on their classification, use, or
occupancy. This amendment would limit regulations or restrictions of short -term
rentals to restrictions and regulations that also apply to other (non -short -term
rental) residential properties. For example, if the City permits residential use in a
district, short-term rentals must be permitted in that district and they cannot be
treated any differently than other residential property.
• Applies the existing exemptions related to bathroom fixture requirements,
providing bathroom soap and clean towels, and linens.
• Exempts Vacation Rentals from the mandatory annual or biannual inspections
required of other public lodging establishments. Vacation Rentals shall be made
available for inspection upon request by the Division of Hotels and Restaurants.
• Operators of properties that are classified as Vacation Rentals must apply for
and receive a license from the Division of Hotels and Restaurants prior to the
commencement of operation.
In summary, the legislation confirms that leases of less than 181 days constitute
transient use, and requires owners of Vacation Rentals to receive a license as a
Transient Public Lodging Establishment from the Division of Hotels and Restaurants
Commission Memorandum
March 9, 2011
Oppose Senate Bill 476 and House Bill 883
Page 3
(confirming that resort tax is due on rentals of the property). However, the bills authorize
the owners of condominium and cooperative units, single - family homes, duplexes and
four- piexes to lease their units for periods of Tess than 181 days, and the bill further
attempts to prohibit the City from restricting such a use, or from treating short-term
rentals differently than other residential properties are treated based on their
classification, use, or occupancy.
CONCLUSION
The Administration recommends that the Mayor and City Commission adopt the
attached resolution opposing Senate Bill 476 and House Bill 883.
J MG /JGG /H F /kc
Attachment
T:\AGENDA\2011 \3 -09 -11 \SB 476 Opposition.docx
Florida Senate - 2011 SE 476
By Senator Evers
2- 00687 -11 2011476
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to public lodging establishments;
3 amending s. 509.013, F.S.; revising definitions;
4 amending s. 509.032, F.S.; conforming provisions to
5 changes made by the act; providing that vacation
6 rentals are residential property for purposes of
7 provisions related to the treatment of such
8 properties; amending s. 509.101, F.S.; requiring that
9 the operator of a vacation rental retain any advance
10 payment or deposit made for the vacation rental until
11 the occupancy begins or is cancelled; amending s.
12 509.221, F.S.; clarifying that vacation rentals are
13 exempt from certain sanitary rules; amending s.
14 509.241, F.S.; clarifying an exemption from licensure
15 for condominium associations that do not own vacation
16 rentals; amending s. 509.242, F.S.; providing that
17 public lodging establishments formerly classified as
18 resort condominiums and resort dwellings are
19 classified as vacation rentals and defining the term
20 "vacation rental "; amending s. 509.251, F.S., relating
21 to license fees; conforming provisions to changes made
22 by the act; deleting an obsolete provision; amending
23 s. 509.291, F.S.; increasing the membership of an
24 advisory council to the Division of Hotels and
25 Restaurants of the Department of Business and
26 Professional Regulation; providing for the Florida
27 Vacation Rental Managers Association to appoint a
28 member to the advisory council; providing an effective
29 date.
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30
31 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
32
33 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section
34 509.013, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
35 509.013 Definitions. —As used in this chapter, the term:
36 (4)(a) "Public lodging establishment" includes a transient
37 public lodging establishment as defined in subparagraph 1. and a
38 nontransient public lodging establishment as defined in
39 subparagraph 2.
40 1. "Transient public lodging establishment" means any unit,
41 group of units, dwelling, building, or group of buildings within
42 a single complex of buildings which is rented to guests more
43 than three times in a calendar year for a period of less than
44 181 periods of less than 30 days or 1 calcndar month, whichever
45 is less, or which is advertised or held out to the public as a
46 place regularly rented to guests.
47 2. " Nontransient public lodging establishment" means any
48 unit, group of units, dwelling, building, or group of buildings
49 within a single complex of buildings which is rented to guests
50 for periods of at least 181 30 days or 1 calcndar month,
51 whichever is less, or which is advertised or held out to the
52 public as a place regularly rented to guests for periods of at
53 least 181 30 days or 1 calcndar month.
54
55 License classifications of public lodging establishments, and
56 the definitions therefor, are set out in s. 509.242. For the
57 purpose of licensure, the term does not include condominium
58 common elements as defined in s. 718.103.
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0114 6
59 Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) and subsection
60 (7) of section 509.032, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
61 509.032 Duties. -
62 (2) INSPECTION OF PREMISES. -
63 (a) The division has responsibility and jurisdiction for
64 all inspections required by this chapter. The division has
65 responsibility for quality assurance. Each licensed
66 establishment shall be inspected at least biannually, except for
67 transient and nontransient apartments, which shall be inspected
68 at least annually, and shall be inspected at such other times as
69 the division determines is necessary to ensure the public's
70 health, safety, and welfare. The division shall establish a
71 system to determine inspection frequency. Public lodging units
72 classified as vacation rentals rcsort condominiums or rcsort
73 dwellings are not subject to this requirement, but shall be made
74 available to the division upon request. If, during the
75 inspection of a public lodging establishment classified for
76 renting to transient or nontransient tenants, an inspector
77 identifies vulnerable adults who appear to be victims of
78 neglect, as defined in s. 415.102, or, in the case of a building
79 that is not equipped with automatic sprinkler systems, tenants
80 or clients who may be unable to self - preserve in an emergency,
81 the division shall convene meetings with the following agencies
82 as appropriate to the individual situation: the Department of
83 Health, the Department of Elderly Affairs, the area agency on
84 aging, the local fire marshal, the landlord and affected tenants
85 and clients, and other relevant organizations, to develop a plan
86 which improves the prospects for safety of affected residents
87 and, if necessary, identifies alternative living arrangements
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88 such as facilities licensed under part II of chapter 400 or
89 under chapter 429.
90 (7) PREEMPTION AUTHORITY. -
91 (a) The regulation of public lodging establishments and
92 public food service establishments, including, but not limited
93 to, the inspection of public lodging establishments and public
94 food service establishments for compliance with the sanitation
95 standards adopted under this section, and the regulation of food
96 safety protection standards for required training and testing of
97 food service establishment personnel are preempted to the state.
98 This subsection does not preempt the authority of a local
99 government or local enforcement district to conduct inspections
100 of public lodging and public food service establishments for
101 compliance with the Florida Building Code and the Florida Fire
102 Prevention Code, pursuant to ss. 553.80 and 633.022.
103 (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
104 contrary, vacation rentals, as defined in s. 509.242(1) (c) , are
105 deemed residential property and may not be prohibited or treated
106 differently than other residential properties based solely on
107 their classification, use, or occupancy.
108 Section 3. Present subsection (3) of section 509.101,
109 Florida Statutes, is renumbered as subsection (4), and a new
110 subsection (3) is added to that section, to read:
111 509.101 Establishment rules; posting of notice; food
112 service inspection report; maintenance of guest register; mobile
113 food dispensing vehicle registry. -
114 (3) It is the duty of each operator of a vacation rental,
115 as defined in s. 509.242(1)(c), to retain any advance payment or
116 deposit paid by a guest until the occupancy begins or is
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117 cancelled pursuant to any rental agreement or the operator's
118 cancellation rules.
119 Section 4. Subsection (9) of section 509.221, Florida
120 Statutes, is amended to read:
121 509.221 Sanitary regulations. -
122 (9) Subsections (2) , (5) , and (6) do not apply to any
123 facility or unit classified as a vacation rental or rcoort
124 eondo nontransient apartment, or rcoort dwclling as
125 described in s. 509.242(1) (c) , (d) , and (g) .
126 Section 5. Subsection (2) of section 509.241, Florida
127 Statutes, is amended to read:
128 509.241 Licenses required; exceptions. -
129 (2) APPLICATION FOR LICENSE. —Each person who plans to open
130 a public lodging establishment or a public food service
131 establishment shall apply for and receive a license from the
132 division prior to the commencement of operation. A condominium
133 association, as defined in s. 718.103, which does not own any
134 units classified as vacation rentals rcoort condominiums under
135 s. 509.242 (1) (c) is shall not be required to apply for or
136 receive a public lodging establishment license.
137 Section 6. Subsection (1) of section 509.242, Florida
138 Statutes, is amended to read:
139 509.242 Public lodging establishments; classifications. -
140 (1) A public lodging establishment shall be classified as a
141 hotel, motel, resort condominium, nontransient apartment,
142 transient apartment, roominghouse, bed and breakfast inn, or
143 vacation rental rcoort dwclling if the establishment satisfies
144 the following criteria:
145 (a) Hotel. —A hotel is any public lodging establishment
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146 containing sleeping room accommodations for 25 or more guests
147 and providing the services generally provided by a hotel and
148 recognized as a hotel in the community in which it is situated
149 or by the industry.
150 (b) Motel. —A motel is any public lodging establishment
151 which offers rental units with an exit to the outside of each
152 rental unit, daily or weekly rates, offstreet parking for each
153 unit, a central office on the property with specified hours of
154 operation, a bathroom or connecting bathroom for each rental
155 unit, and at least six rental units, and which is recognized as
156 a motel in the community in which it is situated or by the
157 industry.
158 (c) Vacation rental Rcsort condominium. — A vacation rental
159 is any unit or group of units in a condominium, cooperative, or
160 timeshare plan or any individually or collectively owned single -
161 family, two - family, three - family, or four - family dwelling house
162 or dwelling unit that is also a transient public lodging
163 establishment. A resort condominium is any unit or group of
164 - -_-__ - -- - _ - _ -- -
165 rcntcd morc than thrcc times in a calcndar year for periods of
166 - - -- _- _ - _- - - -.- - =
167 which is advertised or held out to the public as a place
168 regularly rcntcd for periods of less than 30 days or 1 calcndar
169 • o -, -' - - -.- -
170 (d) Nontransient apartment or roominghouse. — A nontransient
171 apartment or roominghouse is a building or complex of buildings
172 in which 75 percent or more of the units are available for rent
173 to nontransient tenants.
174 (e) Transient apartment or roominghouse. — A transient
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175 apartment or roominghouse is a building or complex of buildings
176 in which more than 25 percent of the units are advertised or
177 held out to the public as available for transient occupancy.
178 (f) Roominghouse. — roominghouse is any public lodging
179 establishment that may not be classified as a hotel, motel,
180 resort condominium, nontransient apartment, bed and breakfast
181 inn, or transient apartment under this section. A roominghouse
182 includes, but is not limited to, a boardinghouse.
183 (g) Resort dwelling. A resort dwelling is any individually
184 or collectively owncd one family, two family, thrcc family, or
185 four - family dwelling house or dwelling unit which is rented more
186 than three times in a calendar year for periods of less than 30
187 days or 1 calendar month, whichever is less, or which is
188 -o•- -o o -- c o.
189 for periods of less than 30 days or 1 calendar month, whichever
190 is less.
191 (g) (h) Bed and breakfast inn . — bed and breakfast inn is a
192 family home structure, with no more than 15 sleeping rooms,
193 which has been modified to serve as a transient public lodging
194 establishment, which provides the accommodation and meal
195 services generally offered by a bed and breakfast inn, and which
196 is recognized as a bed and breakfast inn in the community in
197 which it is situated or by the hospitality industry.
198 Section 7. Subsection (1) of section 509.251, Florida
199 Statutes, is amended to read:
200 509.251 License fees. -
201 (1) The division shall adopt, by rule, a schedule of fees
202 to be paid by each public lodging establishment as a
203 prerequisite to issuance or renewal of a license. Such fees
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204 shall be based on the number of rental units in the
205 establishment. The aggregate fee per establishment charged any
206 public lodging establishment shall not exceed $1,000; however,
207 the fees described in paragraphs (a) and (b) may not be included
208 as part of the aggregate fee subject to this cap. Vacation
209 rental Dc3ort condominium units within separate buildings or at
210 separate locations but managed by one licensed agent may be
211 combined in a single license application, and the division shall
212 charge a license fee as if all units in the application are in a
213 single licensed establishment. Rcsort dwclling units may be
214 liccnscd in the samc manncr as condominium units. The fee
215 schedule shall require an establishment which applies for an
216 initial license to pay the full license fee if application is
217 made during the annual renewal period or more than 6 months
218 prior to the next such renewal period and one -half of the fee if
219 application is made 6 months or less prior to such period. The
220 fee schedule shall include fees collected for the purpose of
221 funding the Hospitality Education Program, pursuant to s.
222 509.302, which are payable in full for each application
223 regardless of when the application is submitted.
224 (a) Upon making initial application or an application for
225 change of ownership, the applicant shall pay to the division a
226 fee as prescribed by rule, not to exceed $50, in addition to any
227 other fees required by law, which shall cover all costs
228 associated with initiating regulation of the establishment.
229 (b) A license renewal filed with the division within 30
to
230 days after the expiration date shall be accompanied by a
231 delinquent fee as prescribed by rule, not to exceed $50, in
232 addition to the renewal fee and any other fees required by law.
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233 A license renewal filed with the division more than 30 but not
234 more than 60 days after the expiration date shall be accompanied
235 by a delinquent fee as prescribed by rule, not to exceed $100,
236 in addition to the renewal fee and any other fees required by
237 law.
238 Section 8. Subsection (1) of section 509.291, Florida
239 Statutes, is amended to read:
240 509.291 Advisory council. -
241 (1) There is created an 11- member a 10 mcmbcr advisory
242 council.
243 (a) The Secretary of Business and Professional Regulation
244 shall appoint seven voting members to the advisory council. Each
245 member appointed by the secretary must be an operator of an
246 establishment licensed under this chapter and shall represent
247 the industries regulated by the division, except that one member
248 appointed by the secretary must be a layperson representing the
249 general public and one member must be a hospitality education
250 administrator from an institution of higher education of this
251 state. Such members of the council shall serve staggered terms
252 of 4 years.
253 (b) The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association shall
254 designate one representative to serve as a voting member of the
255 council. The Florida Vacation Rental Managers Association shall
256 designate one representative to serve as a voting member of the
257 council. The Florida Apartment Association and the Florida
258 Association of Realtors shall each designate one representative
259 to serve as a voting member of the council.
260 (c) Any member who fails to attend three consecutive
261 council meetings without good cause may be removed from the
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262 council by the secretary.
263 Section 9. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.
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