INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The Board of Indian River County Commissioners Tuesday morning approved moving forward with establishing a short-term rental committee after lengthy discussion from the public and concerns from two Commissioners.
The resolution creating the committee was approved with a split vote of 3-2, with Commissioners Joe Flescher and Tim Zorc dissenting.
Flescher voiced concerns that appointees to the committee would be selected county-wide by each Commissioner rather than requiring Commissioners to appoint those from within their own districts.
Commissioner Bob Solari, who proposed the formation of the committee, held firm to keeping the makeup of the committee as is, explaining that he has a strong appointee in mind who does not live in his district.
Commission Chair Wesley Davis agreed, as did Commissioner Zorc.
“I think we want the best people to be part of the committee,” Commissioner Zorc said, adding that he is lucky in that he has a strong appointee living in his district.
However, by the end of the debate and discussion, Zorc reversed his support for the committee and ultimately voted against creating it.
Representatives from the Indian River Neighborhood Association, the South Beach Property Owners Association, and other such civic groups voiced opposition to the committee, calling the effort a stall tactic. They said having a committee research and work on the issue of short-term rentals for a year would only delay changes that could better regulate such ventures.
Commissioner Peter O’Bryan disagreed, explaining that the County is already working on two regulations regarding short-term rentals that are expected to address the two biggest complaints – parking and events.
Those regulations are working their way through staff and will ultimately come before the Commission as public hearings for the Commission to get public input and decide to approve, reject or modify.
The regulations, he said, would not be hindered by the committee.
The County Commission is expected to make its appointments to the committee during its meeting in August. The first committee meeting is expected to be in September.
The resolution calls for the committee’s automatic “sunset” – date of disbanding – for one year after its first meeting or at such time as the committee has accomplished its mandate, whichever occurs first.
