Subject:
Title
Resolution relating to Short Term Rental Fee Schedule to support a proposed ordinance of Pinellas County, Florida providing for the administration, management, and enforcement of a Short Term Rental program inclusive of the Certificate of Use requirement within Section 138-3232. (Regular Agenda Item that is companion to Item No. 40).
label
Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Approval through resolution to adopt a fee schedule to support a Short Term Rental (STR) program associated with a proposed Ordinance amendment to Section 138-3232. The Ordinance amendment has been modified with public input and direction from the Board of County Commissioners provided at the Ordinance’s first reading.
• The associated proposed Ordinance, supported by robust 3rd-party technology, is intended to bring greater accountability with a Certificate of Use requirement.
• The fee for the initial Certification of Use and annual renewal thereafter is $450.00. A building inspection is required associated with the Certificate of Use process, which has a separate fee of $150.00, and a bi-annual inspection thereafter with a fee of $100.00. Failed inspections requiring a reinspection have an additional fee of $100.00.
• The fees collected with the initial Certificate of Use and Building Inspection(s) and annual renewal thereafter will cover the total costs of the STR program.
• The estimated revenues associated with this program are budgeted at $1,133,500.00 in Fiscal Year 2025.
Body
Strategic Plan:
Healthy and Safe Communities
Prosperity and Opportunity
Smart Service Delivery
Summary:
Summary
The updated ordinance (138-3232) proposes to bring greater accountability to short term rental (STR) owner/operators within the unincorporated Pinellas County to preserve the highest quality of life within residential neighborhoods and to bring an increased awareness and consistency with the Florida Building Code and Florida Fire Prevention Code. The regulation of STR’s will fall under the Code Enforcement Division with support from the Building Division on inspections.
The ordinance amendment includes:
• Purpose and Applicability - individual rooms within owner occupied properties is deleted as the State does not license individual rooms
• Areas Embraced - this section clarifies the geographical jurisdiction of the ordinance.
• Definitions - added to clarify key terminology used throughout the ordinance including updated bedroom definition.
• Mandatory Certificate of Use - this section is the key provision that will deliver greater accountability and will be supported by 3rd party technology with the capabilities of “address identification” of STRs and continual monitoring of host platforms for compliance purposes. Inspections are part of the Certificate of Use process.
• Standards - Maximum occupancy kept at 10 occupants (including children), noise quiet hours kept at 10pm to 9am. Minimum Life/Safety Standards enumerated for consistency with the Florida Building Code and Occupancy.
• Inspections - occur at initial Certificate of Use application and every 2-years thereafter to demonstrate meets minimum life/safety standards.
• Advertisement - this is a tool to support the Mandatory Certificate of Use and compliance monitoring.
• Enforcement - updated to have broader application and consistency with the Pinellas County code.
• Consistency - Standard STR language throughout the Pinellas County Code.
• Funding for this Ordinance Amendment and Fee Schedule are generally included in the Fiscal Year 2025 Adopted Budget.
The Certificate of Use program is targeted to be effective April 1, 2025. An educational campaign will be launched in the spring of 2025 including notification to the 2,200 +/- STR owner/operators in the unincorporated county to the requirement of a mandatory Certificate of Use starting in April 2025.
Body
Background Information:
The Local Planning Agency (LPA) recommended approval of the Ordinance during their January 8, 2025 public hearing (vote 4-0.) No one appeared at the hearing and no correspondence was received.
Fiscal Impact:
The fees associated with the short term rental program are correlated to the costs of building and maintaining the short term rental program operations inclusive of additional code enforcement personnel, expanded code enforcement hours, initial costs and annual subscription 3rd party technology and communications plan implementation.
Revenues associated with these changes to the fee schedule are budgeted at $1.134M and expected to be approximately $1.008M. Expenses associated with this ordinance change are budgeted at $1.030M and are expected to be approximately $953,000.
Staff Member Responsible:
Director Kevin McAndrew, Building & Development Review Services
Partners:
N/A
Attachments:
Fee Schedule
Short Term Rental Ordinance
Business Impact Estimate
Resolution