Indian Rocks Beach commission delays decision on short-term rental ordinance, workshop ordered instead

Vacation rental vote delayed

FOX 13's Jordan Bowen reports on the controversy over vacation rental homes continuing in Indian Rocks Beach as the city has kicked the can down the road on approving or denying changes to proposed vacation rental rules.

INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, Fla. - The controversy over vacation rental homes continues on Indian Rocks Beach. The city was supposed to vote on approving changes before pushing the discussion down the line.

Tuesday night was a temporary win for some homeowners in Indian Rocks Beach.

A 'homes not rental' lawn sign in Indian Rocks Beach.

A 'homes not hotels' lawn sign on Indian Rocks Beach.

"We were relieved to have the opportunity to workshop this, and that was what was missing before," long-time homeowner Beth McMullen said.

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Dig deeper:

The commission met on Tuesday night and decided to hold a workshop to discuss regulating short-term rentals in Indian Rocks Beach. They were set to have a second and final reading and then a vote on a new ordinance that would loosen restrictions on short-term rentals.

Home on Indian Rocks beach.

Renter owner and homeowner Matthew Barrowclough was hoping it would pass.

"The city commission voted, unfortunately, in a non-leadership way to kick the can down the road. They had the opportunity to close this topic out after already going through the first reading of it," Barrowclough said.

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The backstory:

In January, the commission held a first reading for an ordinance that would roll back some restrictions.

Indian Rocks Beach.

The biggest proposed changes include increasing the occupancy limit from 10 to 12 people if there's space, making it so the city cannot suspend or terminate a short-term rental license. This would allow redefining a bedroom as a living space. This would allow, for example, a dining room to count the same as a bedroom.

What they're saying:

Some long-time homeowners feel that short-term rentals take away from the quiet community feel of the neighborhood.

"There were just a lot of parties. There were a lot of trash issues that we had to deal with. There were people speeding up and down our roads. There were a lot of loud noises at night when we're all trying to sleep," McMullen said.

Indian Rocks residents in attendance for Tuesday's city commission meeting.

Indian Rock Beach residents were in attendance for Tuesday's city commission meeting.

The majority of rental owners will tell you they take pride in following the rules and feel it's not fair they're all being penalized for a few bad apples.

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"They want to think that all these people are going to come in and visit their little beach community and take away their privacy, and it's not the case," Barrowclough said.