Round Two - Miami Beach Vacation Rentals

At the August 26th Planning Board Meeting the Board recommended the City Commission allow short term rentals of single family homes with a minimum duration of 90 days and a frequency of not more than 3 times per year. To view the video of the meeting go to the City Video Archive and scroll the time on your video viewer to approximately 1:26:50 (one hour, twenty-six minutes and fifty seconds) into the video.

The City Commission received the Planning Board's recommendation but did not hear it at the September 10th Commission meeting.

However, the Commission Agenda had an item (C4D) which addresses short term rentals of Multi Family Properties. The City Attorney and City Manager state that "transient uses are prohibited in [multi family] zones." They go on to state that "when discovered [renting to transients], owners are cited for violation of the... City Code". They recommend the Commission codify the prohibition.

After several minutes of discussion, the Commission agreed to send the issues of both Single Family and Multi Family short term rentals to the Land Use and Development Committee. Commissioner Gross pointed out that "the Special Master has ruled that Jorge Gomez (City Planning Director) does not the authority to do what he did [restricting rentals to no less than six months], that the Administrative Interpretation is not authorized."

To view the video of the Commission meeting go to the City Video Archive and scroll the time on your video viewer to approximately 5:45 (five hours and forty-five minutes) into the video.

Mark your calendar:
The Land Use and Development Committee meets Monday, September 22nd at 4:00 in the Commission Chambers (3rd Floor, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, FL). See the Agenda with the proposed Ordinances (apologies for the poor quality).

It is imperative that property owners go to the Land Use and Development Committee meeting to engage the Commissioners in a dialogue. Property owners need to protect their rights. The Commission needs to know that:

1. The current City Code does not prohibit short term rentals,


2. If the Code is amended it must recognize the "Grand Father Rights" of property owners, and/or compensate property owners for their loss of use (see Bert J. Harris Jr. Private Property Protection Act and United States Constitution First Amendment),


3. The prohibition of short term rentals will create an economic stress on the City's budget and businesses, and


4. Sends a message to visitors that they are unwelcome unless they want to stay in hotels.