St. Pete Beach commissioners are holding off on creating a new short-term rental registration program, signaling instead that the city should focus on enforcing its current rules and consider low-cost technology to help track violations.
The City Commission discussed the proposal Wednesday night but did not vote on it. By the end of the meeting, commissioners favored continuing existing enforcement efforts and exploring whether software or artificial intelligence could help identify illegal rentals more efficiently.
Focus shifts to enforcement
Much of the discussion centered on whether a registration system would address the city’s main short-term rental issues. According to staff, the most common complaints involve properties operating in areas where short-term rentals are not allowed or owners renting more often than city rules permit. Noise and parking complaints are less common.
Commissioner Karen Marriott argued that a registry would be unlikely to catch people already violating the rules.
"I think what we need to do is enforce the rules that we have", Marriott said. "I don’t see … how somebody who is running an illegal short-term rental is going to come to the city and register it."
Staff also said a registry would likely include owners who are already following the rules, while illegal operators could avoid signing up. City officials added that short-term rentals do not currently rank among St. Pete Beach’s biggest overall code enforcement problems, and complaint numbers are declining. Still, staff said proving violations has become harder as operators learn how the city builds enforcement cases.
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Existing rules remain in place
St. Pete Beach already limits rentals of less than 30 days in many residential areas. Shorter rentals are allowed in some locations, including the RM zoning district and Pass-A-Grille Overlay.
Assistant City Manager Adam Poirrier told commissioners the city’s legal team believes St. Pete Beach could establish a registration program. But he said doing so could also bring added requirements, including building and fire inspections, as well as significant staff time.
Staff reviewed programs in Cocoa Beach and Anna Maria, where cities assign two to three full-time employees to oversee short-term rentals. Officials said registration fees could offset those costs, but the fees would need to be tied to the actual cost of operating and enforcing the program.
Concern over grandfathered restrictions
Another key issue was protecting St. Pete Beach’s existing short-term rental restrictions. The city had those rules in place before Florida limited local governments’ ability to impose new restrictions in 2011, leaving St. Pete Beach with more control over rentals than some nearby beach communities.
Poirrier said preserving that legal position is critical.
"It is my biggest fear that we inadvertently do something in a new ordinance that would cause complications for our grandfathered ordinance", Poirrier said.
City officials said any future ordinance would need to avoid changing the duration or frequency of rentals covered by the current rules.
No new requirements approved
Commissioners did not instruct staff to draft a registration ordinance or create a new program. Instead, the meeting ended with support for maintaining current enforcement and possibly researching low-cost AI or data-mining tools used by other communities to identify properties that may be violating city rules.
No new short-term rental requirements took effect Wednesday night.