Cocoa Beach Florida Residents and STR Owners!!

[Forest Owen]

Dear Cocoa Beach Residents and STR owners,

The City of Cocoa Beach will be voting on Thursday to enact new restrictions targeting vacation rental owners in our city with new fines, fees, and restrictions ultimately aimed at putting short-term rental owners out of business. Please TAKE ACTION NOW to ask the Commission to vote NO on these mandates!

This proposal targets all short-term rental owners, including the vast majority who responsibly manage their properties and have never had a single complaint from neighbors. The City of Cocoa Beach does not track vacation rental property noise violations, so it would appear the City is considering this proposal not based on data but based on anecdotal evidence, speculation, and the whims of the Commission and Mayor.

Among other provisions, this ordinance would implement a $525 registration and $325 renewal fee, the highest in the state of Florida. (for comparison, Miami-Dade charges $136 and Collier County charges $50).

However, the most extreme provision is a new noise regulation for short-term rentals only. A neighbor reporting "any noise or sound at any time" from a short-term rental can be a violation. Three such violations within a calendar year would result in a property being deemed a "noise nuisance property" with fines up to $500, required hand delivery of the noise ordinance to all guests, and would require the owner to impose a $1,000 deposit on all future guests which would be forfeited if there is a violation. This means a visiting family having a bar-b-que in the backyard of their vacation rental, or two children playing baseball would be in violation should any noise or sound be heard by a neighbor from inside their house.

This is a new noise standard and punishment unlike anything seen in the State of Florida and shows a blatant disregard for property rights. 

The meeting is being held at Cocoa Beach Country Club, at 5000 Tom Warriner Boulevard in Cocoa Beach at 7:00 PM.

Thank you for your support!

*Parts of message have been copied from Space Coast Association of REALTORS®*