Manatee Co. residents push for short-term rental rules amid party complaints

MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. (WFTS) — Gayle Flynn spent $30,000 on a fence around her property. Not for aesthetics, not for privacy in the traditional sense—but to keep vacation rental guests from trespassing on her land.

"We know that when those lights go up, somebody sold it, it's an Airbnb," said Flynn, who has lived in her neighborhood for 37 years.

WATCH: Manatee Co. residents push for short-term rental rules amid party complaints

Flynn is one of a growing number of Manatee County residents speaking out about the proliferation of short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods. Over the past four years, she's watched her neighbors move out and vacation rental properties move in. Now, she says, 40% of the houses on her street are Airbnbs.

"They've deprived us of our own homes and their own peacefulness that we bought, we bought into," Flynn said.

From Neighbors to Wedding Venues

The issue extends beyond occasional weekend guests. Some homeowners say they're now living next to what have become de facto event venues.

Mark Egbers, who lives about 40 minutes east of Flynn's neighborhood on a dead-end road, says the short-term rental next door is "used a lot as a party place."

"A lot of weddings are being held here. DJs are being invited over with loud music. Catering comes over. I mean they park over there in the past in the dirt, you know, ruining the road," Egbers said.

He's lived in his home for six years and says parties happen about twice a month. But the biggest events can draw crowds of 80 to 100 people.

"I'm not per se against Airbnbs. I'm against the irresponsible Airbnbs," Egbers explained. "If you keep the number of people down... if you keep it down to 8 or 10, then you don't have these problems."

Enforcement Gaps

Both homeowners say the burden of enforcement falls on them—and that calling for help yields little results.

"It falls on us as the neighbors to be the enforcers, and nobody in the county is currently enforcing anything," Flynn said.

Egbers has called the sheriff's department "30 to 40 times" about noise and disturbances.

"I've had them here so many times, and they said, well, there's no problem. The sheriff deputies don't know the rules. They have no decibel meters. Code enforcement is not here over the weekends, so nothing is being done," Egbers said.

He says the list of complaints on the property next door is "about 5 pages long."

Personal Toll

For Flynn, the constant disruption has taken a serious health toll.

"I have constant anxiety, sometimes fear, often fear," she said. "I have now gotten something to use as a sedative from a doctor. I've also gotten something to help me sleep from a doctor. I have to switch from one end of my house to the other end of the house to be able to sleep at night."

She recounted coming home from the hospital after having a heart catheterization procedure: "I went up to my room up there, and that was an Airbnb. It was so loud that I couldn't begin to sleep there."

County Considers New Regulations

At a work session earlier this month, Manatee County Commissioners directed staff to explore creating an ordinance to regulate short-term rentals. The discussion included preliminary cost estimates of approximately $1.5 million in first-year expenses and 11 additional staff positions to administer a regulatory program.

But residents like Flynn believe the solution doesn't have to be that complicated—or expensive.

"The county commissioners are pretending that this is a very complicated issue, and that's not true. They can follow the codes that are in existence and the guidelines that are in existence," Flynn said.

Homeowners are asking for limits on occupancy—either 8 or a maximum of 12 guests—and restrictions on how briefly properties can be rented.

Many Questions Remain Unanswered

Tampa Bay 28 asked the county a series of questions about the potential regulatory program, including:

• When does the county expect to have a draft ordinance available?
• What specific regulations is staff currently considering for short-term rentals?
• Would short-term rental properties be required to register with the county and undergo inspections?
• What fees would property owners be responsible for?
• Could you provide a breakdown of the anticipated $1.5 million in first-year costs and explain how the program would be funded?
• How many short-term rental properties does the county currently estimate are operating in Manatee County?
• How many complaints or code-enforcement cases involving short-term rentals has the county received recently?
• What are the next steps in the ordinance process, including when residents will have an opportunity to weigh in?

The county said it's too early to provide definitive answers, as staff is still working through what a potential regulatory program would look like.

Any proposed ordinance would go through a public process, including public notice, before adoption by the Board of County Commissioners.

Full Statement from Manatee County

A Manatee County spokesperson provided the following statement in response to questions about short-term rental regulations:

The county also provided a link to the September 2nd Work Session where the short-term rental discussion begins: https://youtu.be/JORQk1K1WNM?si=ijG2Hj8p6wd7LQHN&t=683

This story is developing. Check back for updates.