After a motion, a substitute motion, and an amendment, the Destin City Council finally passed a motion at its meeting on Monday that would require short-term condo rentals and timeshares to be subject to the same fee rates as the current city ordinance for short-term rentals.
The amended replacement motion passed 4-3, with Councilmembers Dewey Destin, Teresa Hebert and Kevin Schmidt voting yes and Johnny King, Torey Geile and John Stephens voting no. Mayor Bobby Wagner broke the tie with one yes vote.
In July, the City Council began exploring the inclusion of short-term rental condominiums in the city’s current rental program, potentially at a lower price due to the smaller square footage.
The current fee structure for short-term rentals in the city is as follows, according to the city’s agenda item:
- There is a $500 application fee for up to 2,499 square feet.
- 2,500-4,999 square feet pay a $600 application fee
- 5,000 square feet + payment of a $700 application fee.
Troy Williams, the city’s director of building code compliance, suggested one option would be to impose a fee of 30 cents per square foot to keep everyone under the same amount.
Previous coverage: Destin wants to include condos in the short and long-term rental program
Council member Teresa Hebert said the basic idea behind it was “infrastructure.”
“It sounds like we’re adding additional costs … and I know the homeowners don’t want any more fees,” she said.
Hebert read a lengthy statement explaining that the growing number of people has increased the need for services in the area, such as beach safety and the sheriff’s office, and that the cost of those services has increased.
She also said that the number of traffic violations and ordinance violations had also increased.
“These do not all come from our Destin residents,” she said.
“I don’t think our request is very high compared to the impact on us as a city … and we pay the lifeguards, the security guards and the sheriff’s department,” Hebert said.
Council member Geile agreed with Hebert and made a substitute motion to keep the 30 cents per square foot for short-term rentals.
“I think ‘per square foot’ makes more sense,” Geile said.
“I am in favor of doing something,” said Council Member Kevin Schmidt.
Schmidt asked the city attorney what the next step would be if the motion was approved on Monday.
City Attorney Kimberly Kopp stated that they would come back with an ordinance and the fee resolutions would need to be changed. There will also be two public hearings on the ordinance.
“There is a need for action against the burdens caused by tenants,” said Schmitz.
The city “did not do a good job” of collecting these costs, said Schmidt.
He said there is always talk, “but what do we do, the city has to do more.”
Schmidt said he would like to see the fees collected allocated to the parks, the building department or the general fund. “That’s how we’re leading the way,” he said.
Council member Dewey Destin agreed that a fee should be charged.
“Short-term rentals are a business that attracts a lot of people,” Destin said.
“I don’t want to make it more complicated. I would like a flat rate and don’t want to get into the square footage,” Destin said.
“We have to come up with something beautiful and simple,” he said.
“We have to take care of our needs… it’s the police, it’s the lifeguards. Everything the city does is influenced by all the people that come and visit us,” Destin said. But they also make it possible for all of us to live here.
“We don’t want to kill the goose that laid the golden eggs. We just want them to get their fair share,” Destin said.
Geile said he thought it was “fairer” to the business owner to charge 30 cents per square foot.
Destin amended the replacement proposal to charge the condominiums the same rate that the city currently charges for the short-term rental property.
King disagreed, saying that he didn’t think a small condo would have the same impact as a house.
The motion to apply the same fee rates to properties such as short-term condos, hotels and timeshares as are currently set in the city’s short-term rental ordinance ultimately passed by a vote of 4 to 3.
