Tuesday begins the Florida Legislature’s annual session. In recent years, local officials have come to regard the session as The 60 Days of Dread.
That’s because Tallahassee increasingly has tried to undercut the principle known as home rule that allows cities and counties to set most rules for themselves. In some cases, that override extends to the public. In 2021, the Legislature nullified restrictions on cruise ships that Key West voters had approved.
At this point, legislators seem to have mounted fewer attacks on home rule this year. One issue, however, is back again: regulation of vacation rental properties.
Simply put, rental operators want one set of rules statewide, with the state enforcing those rules. Local officials oppose that, arguing that it would make it harder—if not impossible—to shut down chronic violators whose properties degrade and destabilize single-family neighborhoods.
In 2011, the Legislature blocked any new vacation rental regulations but allowed those in place to remain. Three years later, Tallahassee gave back some of that authority, allowing local regulation of traffic, noise and parking. But cities and counties still can’t regulate length of stays or how often owners can rent a property.
The new vacation rental bill comes from Sen. Nick DiCeglie, R-St. Petersburg. During a committee hearing last month, critics noted that Senate Bill 280 would leave enforcement to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which lacks sufficient resources.
“There is no indication whatsoever from either the Senate, the House, and especially from the governor’s office that any additional resources are to be given to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, and yet you want to take the lion share of responsibility and hand it over to an agency that is objectively woefully ill-staffed and underfunded?” Sen. Jason Pizzo, D-Hollywood, asked DiCeglie.
“And you think that your constituents in Indian Rocks Beach and mine in Sunny Isles Beach,” Pizzo added, “are going to be better served because of the level of uniformity coming out of Tallahassee for the governance of short-term rentals?”
Though DiCeglie pitched his bill as local-friendly, several city officials told committee members that it would hamper their ability to protect neighborhoods. Still, the committee approved the bill. It has no companion legislation in the House, but the Senate version could go to the House late in the session if there’s enough push behind it. Boca Raton and Delray Beach oppose any statewide vacation rental legislation.
Boca focuses on response to Live Local Act
For all the focus on vacation rentals, Boca Raton City Council members remain fixated on the Live Local Act and how the city should respond.
On Monday, they discussed a bill filed last week that would amend last year’s legislation designed to encourage development of more affordable housing. Senate Bill 328 and its House companion would set more rules on projects filed under Live Local that don’t require council approval.
Boca Raton has passed ordinances that apply to Live Local projects. Meanwhile, City Manager Terrence Moore said Delray Beach is waiting, since no projects have been filed. I’ll have more on Live Local as the session progresses.
New bill filed to address FAU president search
Legislators who represent Boca Raton and Delray Beach have filed no bills specific to either city. But Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, has filed one that could apply to the biggest issue looming in the city.
That would be the search for Florida Atlantic University’s next president. Last month, the Board of Governors invalidated the first search, which produced three finalists in July. FAU officials are awaiting guidance on when and how to proceed.
Senate Bill 990 would require presidential search committees to choose no fewer than three and no more than five finalists. Recent events surely inspired the legislation.
The University of Florida’s search produced just one finalist for one of the most prestigious positions in American higher education—former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse. He emerged in large part because Florida now requires that the names of all applicants be private until finalists are chosen. Sasse was the choice of Gov. DeSantis.
Last March, DeSantis stated his preference for State Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, as FAU president. The search committee did not choose Fine. The worry now is that DeSantis could engineer another choice through a new committee.
There is no House version of Polsky’s bill. Republicans who control the Legislature likely don’t want to change the system. But SB 990 would end the new secrecy around how Florida picks university presidents.
FAU submits request for dental school funding
Speaking of FAU, the university has submitted another big request for state money toward a dental school.
Last year, the Legislature allocated $30 million for construction and $10 million toward expenses for the school, which the Board of Governors has approved. According to FAU’s proposal, the school would start in 2026 with 45 students.
This year’s request is for $113 million—about $80 million for construction and other one-time costs and roughly $33 million toward operations. With the request comes the politics of the presidential search.
Barbara Feingold, who is vice chair of FAU’s board of trustees, backed Fine’s candidacy as a member of the search committee. Fine helped to secure last year’s $40 million. Feingold had been prepared to donate another $30 million toward the dental college, which would be named for Feingold’s late husband, Jeffrey Feingold.
After the committee failed to make Fine a finalist, however, Feingold said she would withhold that money until she knew who would be president. Based on news reports, Feingold’s connections in Tallahassee led to quick approval of the dental school. As with the presidential search, there’s now uncertainty about the school—and about that big budget request.
Delray’s budget requests
Delray Beach also submitted a list of budget requests, almost all related to public works and public safety.
The city would like $2.5 million toward renovation of Crest Theater at Old School Square. That’s half the cost; Delray Beach would put up the balance. The city had to take on the project after the previous commission ended Old School Square Center for the Arts’ lease. A private donor then withdrew her money.
Delray Beach also is seeking a combined $2.5 million for improvements to North Swinton Avenue and Southwest Eighth Avenue. The city would put up the remaining $3.5 million. Another request is for $1 million toward $2 million worth of improvements at City Hall and the community center. Another $1.5 million from the state would help to pay for three specialty fire-rescue vehicles. One would respond to emergencies on the Intracoastal Waterway.
Bill filed to protect roadside memorials
Last August, county officials mistakenly removed the memorial on West Palmetto Park Road to five teenagers who died in a 1996 car crash. Outrage followed.
A month later, the county restored the memorial. Now, State Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, R-Highland Beach, has filed legislation that would require any government agency to “make best efforts to provide notice to the entity or person who installed” such a memorial “and any person whose deceased loved one is commemorated by such a memorial that such roadside memorial will be altered, dismantled, destroyed or removed.” She named the bill for the five teens who were killed.
Palm Beach County Days brings local officials to Tallahassee
Members of the Boca Raton City Council and Delray Beach City Commission will be in Tallahassee today and Wednesday for Palm Beach County Days. Those local officials will meet with their state counterparts to lobby for budget items and other local priorities. The city council held all three of its meetings on Monday to free up calendars today.
Delray votes down updated boarding houses and pedicabs
City commissioners last week said no to updated boarding houses and pedicabs for Delray Beach.
Kurt Jetta asked for changes that would allow him to expand beyond the 10 shared units at 105 Northwest Fifth Avenue. Such housing, Jetta said, would help young people just starting out, with rents just one-third of what it costs for even a studio apartment. Commissioners would be able to review each project submitted under new rules for such units.
Though Jetta said safety would be a priority, Adam Frankel said tenants had caused “issues” at a nearby church. Other commissioners worried about the effects of such housing in other areas. Commissioners took no formal vote, but only Angela Burns favored the idea, so it’s dead.
Similarly, commissioners rejected the idea that pedicab service—modern rickshaws, basically—would complement the downtown transportation network. They considered it a safety hazard and rejected the proposal.
