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By Bryan Boggiano

After complaints from residents about noise, trash, and safety, Coral Springs might move to tighten current regulations on vacation rental properties.

The city commission will discuss amending the current ordinance regulating vacation rental properties at their Wednesday meeting starting at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, located at 9500 West Sample Road.

The development comes after residents of Running Brook Hills spoke to the commission at their January 5 and February 16 meetings, expressing concerns that loosely regulated vacation rental properties were making their neighborhood less safe.

They told the commission that five homes on their block are now vacation rentals.

City staff worked with the residents to collaborate on updating the current ordinance.

In response, the city’s Planning and Zoning Board discussed the matter at their March 7 meeting. The board voted 4-1 to forward a favorable recommendation to the commission to amend the current ordinance.

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The proposed changes must operate within state law, which does not allow local governments to ban vacation rentals or regulate the duration or frequency of these properties.

Vice Mayor Joshua Simmons discussed the issue with Coral Springs Talk.

But, local laws do allow local governments to use the Florida Building Code and Fire Prevention Code to conduct inspections.

The changes the commission will vote on will affect the registration, the vacation rental standards related to nonresidential activity and occupancy, code enforcement, and suspension of a property’s certificate of compliance.

For sleeping rooms, they must be at least 70 square feet, with 50 feet for each occupant, have a closet, and have a minimum width of 8 feet, in addition to other requirements.

The amended ordinance would also require a property survey, a city-approved floor plan, and an agreement with the city allowing Coral Springs Police to issue trespass warnings.

Property owners must keep a register of all guests, but with the proposed changes, they would also have to keep track of all license plate numbers of all vehicles authorized to stay on the property overnight.

Under the proposed vacation rental ordinance changes, the whole unit would have to be rented, and the maximum amount of transient occupancy would be 16. A building official or fire marshal can place occupancy limits for safety reasons.

No more than three unregistered property occupants would be allowed at any time. No unregistered guests would be allowed on the vacation rental property from 10 p.m. through 6 a.m. Sunday through Thursday or 11 p.m. through 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Owners would also have to provide the city with all venues that list the vacation rental property, which the city will continuously monitor and enforce noise control.

The proposed changes also outline suspensions for vacation rental properties that violate the rules. After two violations, the city manager or special magistrate can suspend a license for 30 days if a property has as many as six violations, which goes up to 415 days.

“The proposed changes are intended to help mitigate impacts and maintain the residential character of our neighborhoods while still allowing these businesses to operate as required by the state,” said Paula Rubiano, digital media coordinator.

If the commission favors the proposed changes, they will forward the updated ordinance to their April 2 meeting for a second and final reading.

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Bryan Boggiano

Bryan has a degree in journalism from the University of Florida and earned his masters in geosciences from Florida International University, where he focused in atmospheric sciences. His interests include weather, entertainment, and municipal government.