Governor vetoes bill that would prevent municipalities from enforcing vacation rental ordinances

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis struck down a bill that would’ve taken away local power to enforce short-term rental ordinances.

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In the Governor’s letter, he said the bill would’ve created “new bureaucratic red tape”. It’s one reason the City of Jacksonville Beach was one of many coastal communities in Florida to push hard against the bill.

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“We need to have local control over what’s happening in our communities,” Jacksonville Beach Vice Mayor Sandy Golding said. “When these issues happen, we need to be able to react quickly. Unfortunately anything at the state level takes a long time.”

Governor DeSantis vetoed SB 280 last Thursday. He said it would “prevent virtually all local regulation of vacation rentals...even though markets are far from uniform.”

In April, Action News Jax told you three men were arrested on drug possession charges at a Jax Beach vacation rental and one of them was a convicted felon.

READ: SCOTUS ruling clears path for Florida’s ban on public sleeping and camping

Just a few blocks away, police detained two men at a short-term rental connected to a gang that same weekend.

Vice Mayor Golding said gangs renting out these properties has become a serious safety issue in recent years.

“They have guns and drugs and they’re basically flaunting and promoting it,” she said.

While the veto was a win for the city, Golding said there’s still issues holding short-term rental owners accountable. The state’s preemption bars local officials from suspending problem rentals until the issues can be corrected. It’s something Jax Beach city officials are still fighting to fix.

“I hope going forward that we will be able to have more of a voice in what’s happening with future legislation,” Golding said.

In his letter, the Governor urged the legislature not to look at vacation rentals with a one-size fits all approach moving forward.

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