Manatee pitches regulations to clamp down on ‘disruptive’ short-term rentals
Manatee County officials are considering placing stricter regulations on short-term rentals in unincorporated parts of the county.
Commissioners directed staff to look into what regulations could be enacted. Commissioner Bob McCann brought the idea to the board, proposing stricter regulations like registration fees, maximum occupancy, parking limits and requiring certain postings in units.
Some municipalities, like the City of Bradenton and City of Anna Maria Island, already have stricter rules for short-term rentals. For example, the City of Bradenton — which passed its ordinance in 2022 — regulates parking, limits maximum occupancy and requires certain information to be posted inside the rental.
Last year, a similar motion failed with a 3-3 vote, with Commissioners Tal Siddique, George Kruse and Amanda Ballard voting in favor. This time, the approval was unanimous, with Commissioner Jason Bearden absent.
But commissioners had some concerns about how additional regulations might impact county staff who would need to deal with registering and responding to short-term rental issues.
“I would support this if there are plans for using the existing resources and drawing down some of the requirements for things like safety inspections, and you turn that over to the fire district…(and) not have to hire more people,” Siddique said.
“I am concerned about potential cost and staff’s ability to actually enforce it without additional staffing,” Ballard said. “It’ll be a heavy lift, but I’m interested to see what comes back, at least.”
Community split on short-term rental regulations
Community members showed up to speak on both sides of the argument during the June 16 meeting. Some rental owners said the issues are only with a few “bad actors,” while neighbors asked for stricter regulations to deter parties and larger groups that they say negatively affect their neighborhoods.
John McNaught, a Manatee County homeowner and vacation rental owner, opposed the regulations.
“While I understand the desire to address problem properties, the proposal creates an entirely new layer of government regulation, bureaucracy, inspections, fees and other enforcement that will impact thousands of responsible property owners in order to address a relatively small number of bad actors,” McNaught said.
He also said not all vacation rental owners are large-scale business owners, and worried how the tighter guidelines might hurt some owners’ incomes.
“For many, these properties represent years of hard work, financial sacrifice and a path towards retirement security,” he added.
Neighbors, however, stressed their desire to see the stricter rules. Laurie Dills, who moved from Anna Maria Island looking for a “peaceful place to live,” said the short term rentals in her neighborhood have drawn disruptive parties.
Dills asked the commissioners to especially consider minimum stay requirements on short-term rentals.
“I find that people that are there for longer periods of time are less disruptive, or less, they’re more concerned about a residential environment versus the party town or the out-of-town weekend party crowd,” she said.
Other residents echoed concerns about noise stemming from larger groups of vacationers and amenities included on some of the properties.
“For 11 years I’ve enjoyed peace up until the last three months,” resident Sean Davila said. “I have two children…for the last three months, more nights than not, I’ve had to try and put them to bed to the sound of basketball, pickleball being played, music being played.”
With the board’s direction, county staff will review the proposed regulations and return to the commission at a later date.
