Why are you advertising for something you know is not legal?

There are 7,300 alleged violators in the St. Pete area. The only ones besides a few like yourself are the hotel & motel industry. People vacation patterns have changed. They want to be connected as a family unit and not stuck is a hotel room. The 7,300 are giving what the tourism industry needs. The temperance movement had its supporters and laws, but in the end it gave way to change

Did you know that Arizona just vacated it rental laws and now allows anyone to rent their property without restriction. Florida & Arizona are the two most vacation destinations for vacationers. Have you considered the financial impact to the state if no one is allowed to rent their home to vacationers. Suffice it to say - all of us would likely see a tax increase. The State Legislature is addressing this issue now and will likely make its decision soon.

What has that got to do with your present unlawful activity?

Go after child predators or real criminals. Let the state decide the fate of vacation rentals. Hope youre spending as much time on the other 7,299 as you are on me. I might give your accusations more credence if you gave me your name

Hey Jeff,
Work with the CITY legislature to change the laws. Until then, unfortunately you are breaking the law.
P.S. Throwing others under the bus...’Get them, not me’ only makes you look foolish. Forget who reported you. That is side tracking you from positive action towards changing the law. Man up!

p.s. wasn’t me, I was a host and got out until laws are changed. Did not see you at any meetings re transient rentals.

The state legislature has prohited any county or city from amending their code. If they do, they must conform with state law which allows residents to rent their property to anyone. You have a good recommenadation but not possible

The state legislature has prohited any county or city from amending their code. If they do, they must conform with state law which allows residents to rent their property to anyone. You have a good recommenadation but not possible

The reason I could not attend any of the meetings is I have a very bad leg and I can hardly walk and that's why I couldn't make any of the meetings

The reopen of this issue is acknowledged

Since a select few of you want change - I will accommodate you - I intend to file whatever documents necessary to have my home designated either as a halfway house, shelter for the homeless, low income housing (Section 8), home for pregnant or abused women or advertising it for rent at the university for college students etc. I have another home so this will not impact me near as much as it will the community I once loved. As I stated in other correspondence - I would comply if that's what the community wanted. So this is my legal way of complying.

Almost anyone can open a halfway house in Florida because there's almost no regulation or accountability.
Every day, hundreds of people emerge from jails, detox centers and mental hospitals desperate for a place to stay while they try to remake their lives. Most can't afford a square meal, let alone first and last month's rent and a damage deposit.
Many wind up in transitional houses — often called halfway houses or sober living houses — that give them a bed and promise to help them find jobs and get to 12-step meetings.
The Tampa Bay Times examined dozens of halfway house programs in the Tampa Bay area. Among them are large, professionally managed facilities that generally deliver what they promise. But many others are little more than flophouses that cram residents two or three to a room in dingy quarters with no job assistance, no trained staff and no support.

Remember this is what you forced me to do to better our community since people wanting to have a family place to visit are unwelcomed on our island

I will consider holding off on proceeding with this option if all of you will agree to hold off complaining until the state legislature decides this issue. The choice is yours. Let me know if my request is unreasonable. I await your response.

Since I am not able to walk very far - may I suggest that those of you who are complaining circulate a petition asking what your neighbors want. The choices are 1) Allow Vacationing guests to stay on our island with No complaints filed against me until the state legislature decides how they want to enact any changes or 2) community prefers that I convert my home into a halfway house to assist in the rehabilitation of those less fortunate. Please do not underestimate or test my resolve. I want this issue settled one way or the other as neighbors complaining, fighting and arguing over an issue that is not causing any harm or inconvenience is not in the best interest of our island community. Let me know the results so I can respond properly.

I can’t speak for the entire island however I can say I don’t care what you do as long as it’s legal.

Just follow the laws that govern our great country.

If 7,300 people are speeding; then everyone is breaking the law. If you are the only one caught doing 56 mph in a 55 mph zone you are still wrong.

I got your vote - 1 vote to house ex-felons - 0 vote for families

If the community wants me to house ex felons - that's fine with me - likely more money for me - if Rschiros is elected to speak for the community and no one disagrees or wants to wait until the Legislature decides the fate of vacation rentals then I will be happy to open Coquina Key Halfway House

There is another benefit if you agree with Rschiros - I will be moving to my other home but not selling my home on the island - I want to leave my lasting legacy on the island whose residents do want families to visit

Oops - don't want

Agreed with Rschiros so you can do whatever is legal.

2 votes to house felons - 0 votes to house families - got it

Oops - Ex-Felons

I wish you FixIt and Rshiros were my next door neighbors or you would benefit 1st hand

Whatever, your threats are on Deaf ears so you can stop it. Your illegal use of your house needs to stop immediately.

Not a threat - I warned you not to test my resolve - You win

Whatever........

Looks like you & Rschiros are now the community leaders and spokesmen on the island - I hope my actions don't create a negative impact - I guess only time will tell - hope you enjoy your soon to be neighbors

You must have the last word, so we will expect that you are finished.

It would be nice for you to let the community know your identity since your voice is making a major impact on them

Coquina Key Community Information Notice:
Senate panel hears values of vacation rentals, mulls regulations

Scott Powers
6 days ago

After hearing a cavalcade of criticisms of short-term vacation rental homes in Florida two weeks ago, the Florida Senate Community Affairs Committee heard many positives Tuesday morning, while deliberating whether there need to be any state regulations.
The committee’s workshop on vacation rental homes was extended from its initial hearing of the 2018 Florida Legislative Session due to an overwhelming number of speakers requests, and many of those who came forward Tuesday were owners of vacation rentals who testified that their properties were great for their communities and great for themselves.

The issue is whether people who rent out a bedroom, or a house or condominium unit, for a few nights at a time to visitors need to be held to the same standards as businesses that operate commercial bed and breakfast inns, hotels, and motels. In the 2017 Florida Legislative Session the Legislature restricted local regulations under the argument that municipalities were getting unfairly out of hand cracking down on vacation rental homes. But now the issue of statewide rules emerges.
State Sen. David Simmons, a Republican from Altamonte Springs, particularly seemed interested in developing some statewide codes to keep vacation rentals from becoming so commercial that unlicensed facilities compete directly with licensed and heavily-regulated facilities such as bed and breakfast inns. He inquired about whether there could be an objective standard of amount of nights, 30, 45, or some other number, in which a vacation rental would be considered a commercial property.
But Simmons, too, appeared swayed by numerous stories of vacation rental hosts such as Lisa and Mark Robertson, who rent out bedrooms in their Destin home through the Airbnb vacation rental marketing company.
Lisa Robertson disputed claims made by critics that unregulated vacation rental homes offer the prospects of such problems as bedbugs, party houses, trash problems, parking violations, and safety concerns, saying those are politically-motivated, disingenuous allegations aiming to “stomp out this innovative, forward-thinking industry.”

She and others testified that Airbnb and like vacation rental marketing companies such as HomeAway have created commitments to excellence, and any hosts who don’t live up to those standards can expect to be punished with bad reviews, when the hosts’ operations thrive or whither based on reviews.
“We are in fact the good neighbors who want to share our world, and actually want to make the world a better place to live,” Robertson said. “We know our community and we want our visitors to love our community also.”
She, like several others, argued that state rules might be acceptable, provided they are fair and reasonable.
Simmons and others focused some attention on Flagler County, which has administered regulations of single-family homes and duplexes, which Flagler County Commissioner Greg Hansen called “a very workable set of regulations which everybody in Flagler County agrees with. They like what we are doing.”
Those regulations require vacation rentals to obtain county certificates and pay bed taxes, to obtain a Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation license as a transient public lodging establishment, and to meet various standards for swimming pools, sleeping rooms, parking, and various services.
“I think we’re doing it right,” Hansen said. “And if you talk to the people who are regulated in our county, I think they agree.”

Our job is to report unlicensed businesses. When the City says you are legal, then the reporting will stop. Until then, you are illegal so that is where it stands now. If they let you keep doing what you are doing, then that is up to them. So far, no one from the City has said you can keep doing what you are doing and in fact, you have received multiple fines so it needs to stop.

FYI - I am a licensed business in the State of Florida & have a State Tax ID Number

The issue is the city. Go talk with them again. Spend your efforts there, instead of all your non focused comment, threats, promises. Half way house? Go to it. Sell it and move on, as you stated. Bye.

The fact is this issue is now a state issue - but the current zoning laws are in place until the state decides. I hope you don't mistake my commitment as a threat - clearly that's not my intention - my intention is to generate income - I am NOT selling my home. I do intend to find another revenue source if the state decides not to allow vacation rentals. Then, I have a rental option choice to make such as a halfway house or other venue. I can appreciate and respect that you have already made up your mind on this issue. I had hoped that people who have not been harmed or inconvenienced would be patient and allow the state to decide. I will continue to deal with this issue and complainers on a professional basis.

You are not licensed in St. Petersburg where your business is operating. Some people think they are above the law and maybe you are, but this is not the way to be.

Fix it - you are correct - St Petersburg, to the best of my knowledge, has not issued/required any type of business license for vacation rentals. I don't think I'm above the law - I'm just a St. Petersburg resident challenging a local zoning code which is now being reviewed by the state to see if they (the state) wants to make any changes statewide.

That may be all well and good, but continuing while violating the law and lying is completely wrong and you should not be doing that. Right now you are just someone who thinks they are better than anyone else and greedy and disrespectful. Good people follow the laws that are at hand and respect the neighborhood that they and others live in and respect the people that have to come down there and deal with you and the people who have to listen to all of your nonsense. You are breaking the law and that is that. You have pled guilty on multiple occasions, paid the fines, and everyone in the entire City needs to take action and back up the personnel that have to cite you. It Is time that you are SHUT down.

Thank you for your comments - they are most welcomed and appreciated. You again make false assertions of me being better than anyone else, greedy, disrespectful - all I an say is that your wrong and I hope you find happiness in your character assassination of someone you don't know.

It is also not right that you are taking vacationers money while operating illegally. You are so full of greed and money (your words) INCOME that you don't see the damages. This is your mantra, Mr. Banes.

Everyone else has to follow the law except you.......WOW...!

And this must be personally harming you in some way - wow - you do want to be heard - bottom line is - the state is reviewing this issue and hopefully will decide the fate of vacation rentals soon.

Not only that, since you have been doing this sine 2015, you should be required to pay restitution to your neighborhood and the City for all of their trouble. What makes you different from the truckers who truck food all over the country to make a living and come home and can't park their trucks in the driveway of their house so they can get some rest and relaxation or the plumber with a box truck who has to be on call and can't park in front of his house with advertising so that all of the neighbors will call him when they need help! Just because you are willing to pay the fines and make more money than others, does not make you right. We are not sympathetic to your rhetoric and even if they do pass whatever you want, you should still be held to restitution for the time you have been doing this!

You do bring up a couple of good points - parking for truckers and trucks for contractors. Personally, I am not adverse to either. If a contractor has his/her own business or if a company gives them a vehicle to use then I have no complaints allowing them to park at their residence. Again, I think that restricting a person for earning a livelihood is wrong. The vehicle is a requirement for him/her to earn a living and should be allowed. Amazing how people want to control the lives of others. Hope someday, the city lifts/changes the code on contractor/business standard vehicles parking on private property.

You sound ridiculous now.

FOR THE RECORD for those who are watching and listening. A registration to collect taxes for transient rentals does not mean that Mr. Banes or anyone else in the City of St. Petersburg can rent their homes overnight. Anyone who rents for less than 6 months must register and pay the tourist taxes. That is all that he is registered with the State to do because he is allowed to rent for a minimum of 30 days and then only 3 times per YEAR. So the fact that he states he is registered which gives him some kind of authority to break the law and rent overnight is a complete fabrication and he is just trying to throw anyone who is listening off with this absurd rhetoric. Please take any and all action to stop this unlawful business from happening in yours and any neighborhood in the City of St. Petersburg. Disrespecting the neighbors and the law is not the way to be.

Issue 3846007 has been marked as a duplicate of this issue.

Mr.Banes has a new group of tenants that checked in on Wednesday for the holiday weekend. See vrbo listing.. photos of car tags to follow.

Ms. McGlawn located at 3380 Coquina Key Dr, SE - these are guests visiting me for the Thanksgiving Holiday - Please stop trying to ruin my holiday enjoyment and find another crusade to embark on. I use my calendar for multiple purposes.

Codes: duplicate issues closed, please refer to Active SCF issue #4136735, link below:

https://seeclickfix.com/issues/4136735

Or call Codes and refer to active case 18-5649.

http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2018/01400

Postponed and Removed from consideration .

Codes: duplicate issues closed, please refer to Active SCF issue #4136735, link below: https://seeclickfix.com/issues/4136735 Or call Codes and refer to active case 18-5649.