My usual approach when confronted with complicated issues – such as the short-term vacation rental controversy in our community – is to cut through the rhetoric and reduce them to matters of right versus wrong, then rely on my moral compass to render my verdict.
I ask myself: What is the honorable thing to do?
So it’s somewhat fortuitous, even serendipitous, that I’m addressing this debate as I travel back to Vero Beach from my 35th class reunion at Washington & Lee University, where a proud tradition of honor is embraced by every student and remains the cornerstone of an outstanding academic institution.
To this day, incoming freshmen embark on their academic pursuits only after they pledge to abide by a rigorous Honor System that dates back to 1865, when Robert E. Lee began his tenure as president of then-Washington College, and pervades every aspect of student life, both on and off campus.
The roots of W&L’s Honor System, in fact, stem from a conversation in which a student asked Lee, former general of the Army of Northern Virginia and the college’s new president, for a copy of the school’s rules.
“We have no printed rules,” Lee is said to have replied. “We have but one rule here, and it is that every student must be a gentleman.”
Lee’s ideal was the foundation for a student-run Honor System – there is no faculty influence or administration oversight – that forbids lying, cheating, stealing or any other violation of the community’s trust. And for those who violate the cherished code, there is only one sanction: banishment from the university.
It was a wonderful way to go through college, being able to self-schedule exams, leave dorm rooms unlocked and take others at their word. It’s the right way to go through life.
Indeed, it sickens me that so many people in today’s anything-goes, whatever-it-takes culture place so little value in such a noble concept.
Honor, I’m afraid, has gone the way of civility, integrity and consideration for others, all of which have become passe in a society that now embraces self-absorption, celebrates personal gain and chooses convenience over character.
But not at W&L – and not for me.
So it is from such a perspective – through the prism of people conducting themselves honorably, as ladies and gentlemen who engender trust and deserve respect – that I view the ongoing and sometimes-heated battle in our community over the desire of some to rent homes in residential neighborhoods to vacationers on a short-term basis.
And here’s what I see: People wanting to profit at the expense of their neighbors.
The Florida Legislature says it’s legal to do so, having created a 2011 law that allowed local governments to ban short-term rentals only if an ordinance existed prior to the state action.
The City of Vero Beach has had such an ordinance on the books for decades, prohibiting residences from being rented for fewer than 30 days.
Last month, in the wake of a Central Beach crime spree stemming from a weekend rental on Dahlia Lane in January, the City Council raised the fine imposed on violators to $500 per day.
That increase has prompted a legal challenge based on claims the ordinance was vague in defining the time period for “transient occupancy” and was rendered meaningless because it wasn’t enforced until 2014.
The City disagrees.
“We’re sorry if anyone didn’t understand this and bought homes for short-term rentals,” City Attorney Wayne Coment said, “because they shouldn’t have.”
I’m not a lawyer and wouldn’t dare try to predict what a judge might decide, so I’ll leave the legalities to the courts and concern myself with what’s right and wrong – which, as we all know, often has little to do with what’s legal and illegal.
And I’ll start with this: The Florida Legislature was wrong to allow short-term vacation rental homes in residential neighborhoods.
People who buy and own homes in residential neighborhoods should not be forced to endure the intrusion and uncertainty of a constant turnover of tenants – on a weekly, bi-weekly and even every-weekend basis – in what amounts to unlicensed, unregulated and unwanted hotels.
Imagine your home being sandwiched between two of these short-term vacation houses, where a steady string of strangers, often with no ties to the community and showing no interest in their neighbors, check in and check out all winter long.
How would you react?
My guess is, you wouldn’t be happy.
Nor would I. Nor would most of the local homeowners I know, including many who live in unincorporated Indian River County, where commissioners hope to discourage short-term rentals by regulating them as they do other businesses.
When you move into a residential neighborhood, especially in a small-town community like Vero Beach, you look forward to getting to know your neighbors. You don’t expect them to change every week or two.
Sure, you might meet some nice folks. You also might meet some not-so-nice folks, or worse.
Fact is, you don’t know who’s going to show up next door or what unpleasant situations might arise.
Those profiteers who want to use homes they own for short-term vacation rentals – many of them purchased the property for precisely that purpose – say what happened on Dahlia Lane was an aberration, and that renters continue to be properly screened.
Well, what do you expect them to say? These people have a vested interest here, so much so that they’re ignoring the will of the community and dragging the city to court, all under the guise that their tenants patronize our restaurants and shops and help the local economy.
This, to me, is where the issue becomes a matter of honor.
Does anyone really believe that the people who want to take down the city’s short-term rental ordinance are, in any way, doing so for civic-minded reasons, rather than for personal gain?
Anyone believe they weren’t keenly aware of the ordinance when they bought the property, yet did so figuring the city wouldn’t bother to enforce it?
I don’t think so.
Then there’s the matter of trust.
Vero Beach residents don’t want these transient vacation rentals in their neighborhoods. If they did, they’d have flooded City Hall with demands to allow them.
That hasn’t happened. That won’t happen. And the people opposed to the city ordinance know it.
That’s not only being a bad neighbor, it’s also a violation of the community’s trust. Yet they persist in their selfish efforts to put profit before principle.
Where’s the honor in that?
Look, I’m all for capitalism and making money. I think there’s too much government intrusion into our lives. And I strongly support private property rights – but only until they infringe on someone else’s.
That’s what’s happening here.
Think about it: If I can’t legally put a sign on my car and use it as a taxi without getting the required license and permit, I shouldn’t be able to place an online advertisement and use my house as a hotel.
If someone wants to run a hotel, do it as a commercial venture in an area zoned for that purpose. Get the required licensing. Submit to all necessary inspections. Meet all the federal, state and local regulations, including those defined in the Americans with Disabilities Act.
But don’t do this. Don’t pretend you don’t understand the spirit of the law.
Don’t try to slither through a crack in the city code. Don’t take advantage of the good people who own homes and trust their neighbors to behave … neighborly.
True ladies and gentlemen conduct themselves honorably – with civility, integrity and consideration for others.
They are good neighbors. They are the type of high-character people who embrace a sense of community and tend to gravitate to places like Vero Beach.
In years past, when I’ve explained the virtues of W&L’s Honor System to others, I’ve often received responses that included the words “naive,” “outdated” and “unrealistic.”
Some accused me of exaggerating.
That happens less here, where the concept of honor remains more than a punchline. That is something that makes this community so special.
That’s why, to me, this short-term rentals issue really isn’t so complicated.
When you cut through the rhetoric and reduce it to a matter of right versus wrong, this issue is a question of honor.
That’s not for the courts to decide.
