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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Gulfport City Council Workshop on Rent Stabilization and Short-Term Rental Regulations - October 20, 2022

City Council — Thursday, October 20, 2022

BodyGulfport, Florida

SessionCity Council

DateThursday, October 20, 2022

StatusFILED

Video Record

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Transcript — Verbatim

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording. Names come from transcript evidence. “Possibly” marks uncertain attribution.

Speaker 1

0:10

Welcome everyone to the city council workshop.

Unassigned speaker

0:12

I

Speaker 1

0:13

will have a call to order by the city clerk

Unassigned speaker

0:15

and

Speaker 1

0:15

then roll call.

Unassigned speaker

0:16

Council

Speaker 2

0:17

Mayor Ferdovich?

Speaker 1

0:18

Here.

Speaker 2

0:18

Councilmember Thanos?

0:19

Here.

0:19

Vice Mayor Brown?

0:20

Here.

0:20

Councilmember Ray?

0:21

Here.

0:22

Mayor Henderson.

0:22

Here.

0:23

City Manager O'Reilly.

0:24

City Attorney Salzman.

0:25

City Clerk to meet the president.

Speaker 1

0:27

All right.

0:27

So everybody, thank you for coming.

0:29

This is the place to be if you're gonna have comments on these two items.

0:33

I know we've got public comment right up front, but since public comment tonight is specific to these two discussion items, uh the way I'm gonna do it is break it down we'll do 2A first, which is dealing with the rent stabilization issue.

0:48

And so what we'll do is we'll have the comments from the city manager, um, any other presentation that might be tied to that, and then open it to public comment

Unassigned speaker

0:56

and

Speaker 1

0:56

then have council discussion, and then we'll do the same thing for short-term rental regulation.

1:00

That way there'll be two opportunities to comment if you're here to comment on both.

1:10

I'm gonna do one public comment for each one.

1:12

I'll put it wherever you like.

1:14

Not in the middle though.

Unassigned speaker

1:15

Okay,

Speaker 3

1:16

my thought was people have opinions now, but

Speaker 1

1:19

once

Speaker 3

1:19

they hear what we have to say, they may have other questions or something.

Speaker 1

1:22

Well, that's why the presentation is gonna go first, and then I mean we can put it after our discussion or before, but I'm not gonna mix it up by putting in the middle.

1:29

So which do you want?

1:30

I don't mind which way we do

Unassigned speaker

1:31

it.

Speaker 3

1:32

Well, maybe we should have them first then, because then we'll hear what they have to say.

Speaker 1

1:36

No, I thought that would yeah, that was the intent.

Speaker 3

1:37

Right, I I would do both, but

Speaker 1

1:39

okay, all right, great.

1:41

All right.

1:41

So the first item up on the list is the processes establishment application, implementation, and enforcement of rent stabilization or otherwise known as rent controls.

1:50

Uh so I'll turn it over to the city manager to introduce

Speaker 4

1:52

this.

1:53

Thank you, Mayor.

1:54

Mayor, um, council had had brief cons discussions in regards to uh in response to comments that it received during public session previously about is it feasible for the city to implement some type of rent stabilization or rent controls.

2:08

Um very clearly it's specifically laid out in state statute that the requirements and the necessity that what you would need to do to effect something to this effect.

2:21

What the statute does provide is that you would draft an ordinance that is supported by documentation and feasible that could be quantified, which subsequently would then allow you to pass an ordinance if you elected to schedule a referendum.

2:38

The referendum would have it can only be enacted.

2:40

Rent controls or rent stabilization can only be enacted by the res voters of the municipality, and it can only be for one year.

Unassigned speaker

2:49

Can

Speaker 3

2:50

I so can everybody hear him?

2:51

Because somebody commented to me that sometimes it's hard to hear you.

Speaker 4

2:54

Oh okay,

Unassigned speaker

2:56

no matter for me.

Speaker 4

2:57

Okay, that's fine.

2:58

Um so basically, you would have to address the issue, substantiate it, vote for an ordinance to then set a referendum question, which then would be based on pending on timing, it may be as late as next November.

3:17

And it subsequently then council the voters would vote, and it would only be in effect for one year.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Affordable Housing█████████████████████████████████████37%

Short Term Rentals████████████████████████████████32%

Public Engagement████████████12%

Short Term Rental Regulation██████████10%

Technology and Innovation██2%

Procedural█1%

Homelessness█1%

Zoning Regulations█1%

Business Taxation█1%

Summary of Proceedings

Gulfport City Council Workshop Meeting

October 20, 2022 | 6:00 PM | Gulfport City Hall

The Gulfport City Council held a workshop meeting to discuss two major topics: rent stabilization (rent controls) and short-term rental regulation and enforcement. The meeting included presentations from City Manager Jim O'Reilly and City Attorney Andy Salzman, followed by extensive public comments and council deliberation. No binding votes were taken, but council provided clear direction on next steps.

Public Comments & Testimony

Rent Stabilization (Item 2.a)

Leonard Gukenheimer (5213 Dillet Ave) urged council to fund a study to document the housing situation, suggesting local universities and volunteer surveys could help.
Coley (no address given) spoke about the need to keep Gulfport affordable for artists and creative residents, noting that low rent allowed him to contribute to the community.
Noreen Smith (3831 54th St S) reported her rent increased from $775 to $1,200 in 13 months, with another increase expected. She strongly supported a rent stabilization referendum.
Karen Schwartz (5213 Dillet Ave) proposed forming a coalition of landlords willing to cap rents voluntarily out of compassion, rather than relying on regulation.
Jonathan McCoachy (Baywood Point Dr) expressed skepticism about rent control effectiveness, citing unintended consequences like conversion to short-term rentals. He advocated building more affordable housing.
Charlene Trimmer (DuPont St S) questioned the study's value given rising insurance costs and previous failed affordable housing projects in the area.
Robert Salta (1407 Gray St) cited economic studies showing rent control makes housing worse in the long run. He urged council to consider the study's findings objectively.
Laura (property manager, Seaside Villa's) detailed rising property insurance ($2,000/unit increase in two years) and taxes ($1,300/unit in five years), arguing that rent caps would hurt maintenance.
Hory (Seaside Villa's employee) noted that occupancy and rents are beginning to cool in the area.
Karen Love (no address) opposed a study and rent control, stating supply and demand determines prices. She favored converting illegal short-term rentals to long-term.
Additional speaker (unnamed) advocated public-private partnerships for affordable housing.
Maureen McCormick (5306 26th Ave S) noted Orange County has a rent control referendum on the November 2022 ballot, suggesting council review that study.
Margaret Tober (no address) thanked staff for information and supported a study, while clarifying that the Holy Name affordable housing project failed due to density and diocese issues.

Short-Term Rental Regulation (Item 2.b)

Laura (4920 27th Half S) spoke in favor of short-term rentals, explaining she uses Airbnb to supplement income, provides housing for traveling nurses and artists, and does not want to convert to long-term rentals.
Karen Love again urged enforcement of the existing ordinance, stating illegal short-term rentals contribute to the housing crisis.
Charlene Trimmer reported that some homeowners are illegally splitting houses into two units (top/bottom) without proper permits.
Michael Castleman (5870 27th Ave S) emphasized the need for enforcement, noting the majority of the 321 identified short-term rental units are outside permitted zones. He suggested grandfathering existing units or expanding zones.
Regina Buscemi (no address) demanded enforcement of existing rules, stating that many residents have been forced out by unregulated short-term rentals.
Jerry (27th off 58th St) recounted his successful effort to document and report a neighbor's illegal vacation rental, with assistance from Code Enforcement Officer Mark Taylor. He urged a zero-tolerance policy.
Walter Barker (Trader Windows Dr) condemned the city for placing enforcement burden on citizens and supported hiring a dedicated code enforcement officer and purchasing software.
Albert (5414 19th Ave S) questioned why the city can't demand that platforms like Airbnb stop listing illegal rentals in Gulfport.
Jonathan McCoachy suggested creating a public portal for nuisance complaints (noise, etc.) to target problem properties without a citywide crackdown.
Maureen McCormick shared her negative experience living near unregulated short-term rentals on Anna Maria Island and urged enforcement to preserve neighborhood character.

Discussion Items

2.a. Processes, Establishment, Application, Implementation and Enforcement of Rent Stabilization

City Manager O'Reilly presented the statutory framework: to enact rent control, the city must draft an ordinance supported by a study documenting a housing emergency

Meeting Transcript

Welcome everyone to the city council workshop. I will have a call to order by the city clerk and then roll call. Council Mayor Ferdovich? Here. Councilmember Thanos? Here. Vice Mayor Brown? Here. Councilmember Ray? Here. Mayor Henderson. Here. City Manager O'Reilly. City Attorney Salzman. City Clerk to meet the president. All right. So everybody, thank you for coming. This is the place to be if you're gonna have comments on these two items. I know we've got public comment right up front, but since public comment tonight is specific to these two discussion items, uh the way I'm gonna do it is break it down we'll do 2A first, which is dealing with the rent stabilization issue. And so what we'll do is we'll have the comments from the city manager, um, any other presentation that might be tied to that, and then open it to public comment and then have council discussion, and then we'll do the same thing for short-term rental regulation. That way there'll be two opportunities to comment if you're here to comment on both. I'm gonna do one public comment for each one. I'll put it wherever you like. Not in the middle though. Okay, my thought was people have opinions now, but once they hear what we have to say, they may have other questions or something. Well, that's why the presentation is gonna go first, and then I mean we can put it after our discussion or before, but I'm not gonna mix it up by putting in the middle. So which do you want? I don't mind which way we do it. Well, maybe we should have them first then, because then we'll hear what they have to say. No, I thought that would yeah, that was the intent. Right, I I would do both, but okay, all right, great. All right. So the first item up on the list is the processes establishment application, implementation, and enforcement of rent stabilization or otherwise known as rent controls. Uh so I'll turn it over to the city manager to introduce this. Thank you, Mayor. Mayor, um, council had had brief cons discussions in regards to uh in response to comments that it received during public session previously about is it feasible for the city to implement some type of rent stabilization or rent controls. Um very clearly it's specifically laid out in state statute that the requirements and the necessity that what you would need to do to effect something to this effect. What the statute does provide is that you would draft an ordinance that is supported by documentation and feasible that could be quantified, which subsequently would then allow you to pass an ordinance if you elected to schedule a referendum.

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