VERO BEACH — The City Council has set a packed workshop agenda for Tuesday, with discussion items ranging from long-range planning to the ongoing health of the Indian River Lagoon, to immediate quandary of what to do about vacation rentals in residential neighborhoods.
Vero this month placed responsibility for Code Enforcement officers under the authority of Police Chief David Currey to better handle the enforcement of code violations. Code Enforcement had been handled by the Planning Department, but it was suggested that enforcement of the city code is a 24-hour, seven day a week job and that police could work with the current Code Enforcement staff to catch violators in the act and secure the evidence needed to impose fines.
A task force has been formed to brainstorm about options for curbing the practice of homeowners renting out their single-family homes and condos by the week or by the night. Florida law greatly restricts what cities and counties can do with regard to vacation rentals, and Vero’s enforcement actions have recently been challenged in court, but city officials are confident that recent clarifications to the city code better position Vero to impose fines and issue “cease and desist” orders to vacation rental landlords.
Another important topic on the council’s plate us the future of Vero’s waterfront. Currently, that valuable, scenic and environmentally sensitive real estate is the headquarters of Vero’s Big Blue power plant and its sewer plant.
The city has plans in the works to mothball Big Blue and that is considered to be the working policy or goal at City Hall, but a final vote has not been taken to shut down the plant.
It has not yet been revealed how Vero would handle the layoff of the 28 employees who operate and maintain the plant. Presumably, a combination of severance packages and early retirement incentives would be presented to the Teamsters union, which represents the non-management personnel.
Vero’s sewage-treatment facility is also located directly on the riverfront, and many inside the city and in neighboring communities want to see the plant moved off the river, perhaps to the airport. Consultants hired by the city, however, have said that the plant will serve the city well for another six to eight years.
In fact, Vero is currently expanding the plant, adding a sludge de-watering and processing facility which would allow the treated, solid by-product of Vero’s waste to be composted into a usable mulch material.
Among other items on the agenda are concerns about publicity and access to meeting videos on the internet.
The workshop is a continuation of a meeting begun last month, during which the agenda was not completed.
The Vero Beach City Council meets at 9:30 a.m. in council chambers at City Hall. The meeting is televised on government Channel 13 and live streamed on the internet at www.covb.org.