Cape to require registration of rentals
Residential property owners who rent out their homes soon will have to register with the city of Cape Coral.
Cape Coral City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved an ordinance requiring the registration of all rental properties of four units or fewer so the city can reach a responsible party for each rental property.
There will be a one-time fee of $35 to register, which can be done online or in person at City Hall effective Oct. 1.
The owner will have to inform the city of contact changes within 30 days and any ownership change will require a new registration by the owner. No inspection of the property is required.
The objective is to protect neighborhoods from blighted conditions such as noise, litter, inadequate maintenance and even criminal activity, officials said.
Several people spoke in favor of the ordinance.
Kevin Besserer, director of public policy for the Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association, which supported the ordinance.
“This will help the city deal with the bad actors out there,” Besserer said.
The no inspection clause was of importance to Genelle Bennett, of Real Property Management of Central Florida, who also expressed support of the ordinance.
Resident Louis Navarra expressed support by relating his experiences with renters and their parties and trash, quoting singer Bobby Darin in the process.
There was little discussion by the city council, who passed the ordinance 8-0.
The ordinance had been pulled last month by City Manager Rob Hernandez to address an issue with legal concerns as to whether multi-family buildings of five or more units can be captured under the same umbrella.
That issue caused members of the real industry, including the Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association, to pulled their support previously.
In other business, the city may have to reconsider its decision to hold its workshop meetings on Fridays at 9 a.m. after several council members expressed concern that the scheduling change will interfere with their employment.
Councilmember Jennifer Nelson said she was going to have trouble attending Friday workshops due to other Council and work responsibilities, which could force her to miss meetings.
Councilmember Jessica Cosden expressed the same concerns, saying she had to participate remotely at the last workshop and that not only does she have a job in addition to her Council responsibilities, but young children, one with special needs.
The reason behind the Friday workshop change was to allow for in-depth discussions on city issues, particularly regarding the city’s strategic plan and how the city could work to bring more commercial business to Cape Coral.
Mayor John Gunter said he was open to Friday originally because such workshop meetings might last five to six hours, and didn’t have the desire to hold a early evening meeting on Wednesday and be there until late at night.
The workshops, also called Committee of the Whole meetings, could be moved back to Wednesdays, with an earlier start time of 2 or 3 p.m.
Council previously moved its meetings from Mondays to Wednesdays, leaving the start times for both regular and workshops at 4:30 p.m. before moving the workshops to Friday mornings.
To reach CHUCK BALLARO, please email news@breezenewspapers.com