CITY OF JACKSONVILLE BEACH

OFFICE OF THE MAYOR

Governor DeSantis April 23, 2024

Office of the Governor
402 S. Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32301

Governor DeSantis,

The City of Jacksonville Beach recently submitted a letter urging you to veto SB 280, related to
Short Term Vacation Rentals (STVR). Based on the events within our community this past
weekend, we reaffirm our request to consider that veto.

This past summer, in advance of legislative session, our Council met with Representative Kiyan
Michael and Senator Clay Yarborough to discuss issues of importance to our community. An
issue of high importance is the impact of STVRs on our community, ranging from loss of
residentially owned housing through corporate STVR ownership, to weekend STVR rentals for
gang member parties. More specifically, there were two incidents that occurred last Spring
requiring the actions of the Jacksonville Police Department (JBPD) SWAT team and Jacksonville
Sherriff’s Office (JSO) Gang Unit. A copy of information shared with our legislators is attached,
including excerpts from media outlets of those events, for your information.

This past weekend, two more gang related STVR issues occurred. The first occurred on
Saturday, April 20, when the owner of an STVR in a residential neighborhood contacted the JBPD
stating renters had brought guns to their rental unit (believed to be observed through a security
camera). JBPD and JSO identified gang members and guns in the STVR, resulting in the arrest
of several individuals and significant concerns from surrounding residents.

The second issue occurred on Sunday, April 21. Cleaning personnel for an STVR arrived at the
residential property after checkout time to find numerous people inside, marijuana, and the
presence of firearms. The STVR manager requested the presence of officers to help clear the
residence, resulting in the presence of JBPD and the JSO Gang Unit and the identification of
several persons of interest associated with the ATK gang out of Jacksonville.

The City of Jacksonville Beach has been dealing with the issue of STVRs for years. The issues
with STVRs are gradually moving from party houses to creating serious life/safety issues for the
residents living adjacent to these properties. SB 280 does not help local communities deal with
the types of issues they are seeing with STVRs. We encourage you to veto SB 280, and call for
a partnership between legislators and local elected officials to develop meaningful legislation that
will work for all vested parties.

11 North Third Street, Jacksonville Beach, Florida 32250 | www.jacksonvillebeach.org

 CITY OF JACKSONVILLE BEACH
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR

Sincerely,

Christine Hoffman Michael Staffopoulos

Mayor, City of Jacksonville Beach City Manager, City of Jacksonville Beach
choffman@jaxbchfl.net mstaffopoulos@jaxbchfl.net

Attachments: August 2023 STVR Summary

cc: Chris Spencer, Florida Director of Policy and Budget

Rep. Kiyan Michael
Sen. Clay Yarborough
Jacksonville Beach City Council

11 North Third Street, Jacksonville Beach, Florida 32250 | www.jacksonvillebeach.org

 City of Jacksonville Beach – STVR Summary
August 23, 2023

There are several issues local jurisdictions are dealing with related to Short Term Vacation
Rentals (STVRs). Lack of local jurisdictional authority to take action against an STVR is first and
foremost. Currently, there are only three circumstances under which a local authority can take
action:

• Reporting a registration violation to the State, and waiting for action to be taken
• Citing the property through Code Enforcement for all issues regularly associated with
residential property
• Discovering a fire code violation, and addressing it immediately or through normal code
enforcement procedures (depending on the severity of the hazard)
The City’s registration process is applicable to single-family, two-family, and townhomes with no
HOAs. The City’s local business tax receipt (LBTR) is applicable to all STVRs, regardless of
property type (i.e., inclusive of condominiums). Approximately 545 properties meet the
requirements of local registration. 285 have successfully registered, with the balance (260) not
being registered. 235 properties have received LBTR, but this number is a combination of all
STVR properties in the City, not just those meeting local registration requirements.
A reason why there are so many properties unregistered is due to their continuously changing
status as an “active listing.” These properties are advertised as an STVR for several months.
Once the City becomes aware of their presence, and sends a letter requiring registration, the
listing is pulled, no longer making the property an STVR, and thus not requiring registration.
Months later, the property is re-advertised, either under new ownership, or because it is
reactivated as an STVR. This makes tracking and reporting for these STVRs difficult.
Our Fire Marshal performs safety inspections on STVRs seeking registration. Based on these
inspections, it is the City’s position that requiring both local registration and safety inspection
should be required, to ensure that properties are safe for visitors, similar to the requirements of
both hotels and bed & breakfasts. The following is what our Fire Marshal commonly sees in the
field:

• Single family homes converting mother-in-law rooms into 2nd STVR rental unit
• Sheds and accessory structures converted into STVRs without permits or using
incompatible structures
• Apartment buildings using units for STVR, which by code changes the building use to hotel
• Missing and non-operative smoke alarms
• Rooms with no secondary escape (such as a window)
• Unsafe electrical wiring
• Interior staircases with no handrails
• Unsafe outside stairs or decks
• Pools without child safety protection compliance devices
A recurring issue with no address at the local level is advertisement of accommodations beyond
the authorized registration. For example, a single-family home has three bedrooms and a
common area, receiving a local registration to sleep 8 (2 per bedroom, +2). However, the
advertisement may be for 10, 12, or more. There is no recourse to stop the rentals from occurring
until a violation of the registration is submitted and investigated by the State. When Police show
up after hours to investigate “overcrowding”, there is nothing they can do as they cannot confirm
how many individuals are staying overnight in the STVR. They have to treat it as a house party,
with the majority “going home” when the party is over.
The majority of complaints received by the City for active STVRs are related to chronic/similar
(but intermittent) code related issues, making enforcement difficult. The top three are noise,
parking, and trash. Using noise as an example, Police get called on a Friday/Saturday night with
noise complaints. After speaking with the tenants, the sound is turned down (compliance). The
following weekend, the same complaints are made, and the process repeats itself, as the STVR
has new tenants who have not yet been spoken to by the Police about our noise ordinance.
A new issue the City has had to deal with is the rental of STVRs to gangs for the purposes of
livestreaming their parties where they display guns, alcohol, and gang members. There have
been several local raids made by JBPD and JSO jointly on STVRs where multiple gang members
with warrants are arrested, and guns are seized (see attached articles). This is unnerving for the
neighbors to know that this can happen at any given time next to their home, and there is nothing
to stop it. There is no requirement for the STVR to screen their applicant, or have a presence on-
site to ensure the use of the premise is compliant with local, state, or federal law, as a hotel or a
bed and breakfast may have.
A final issue we are seeing in the community is the “sharing economy” moving into the rental/use
of private swimming pools. First, STVRs have now started sharing amenities between/amongst
properties, such as a swimming pool between two rental properties. There is no education from
the state as to what STVR owners can or cannot do with their property, and local authorities have
no tools to prohibit this from occurring.
A new web page called “swimply.com” allows private property owners to rent out their swimming
pools to anyone that wants to hold a party/use their facilities. It is STVR “light”, as the customer
is not renting the whole property, just the pool, grill, and/or outdoor amenities of the home. It is
unknown as to what long-term impact this may have on the fabric of neighborhoods and
communities, but if expanded, could easily result in complaints similar to those received for
STVRs.
A map showing the distribution of STVRs within our community is attached. Please note the
number of STVRs (mostly non-compliant with registration) that are west of 3rd St./A1A, and in the
traditional residential areas of the City. The trend of expanding STVRs, and loss of traditional
neighborhoods, is continuing throughout our community. This trend reduces homeownership
opportunities in Jacksonville Beach (corporate purchases), while driving up the need for workforce
housing. A second attachment for property on Roberts Drive (PDF) is provided. The document
shows this property owner regularly placing and withdrawing their property on STVR advertising
platforms. There is a belief that this is intentional, to continuously restart the clock on
requirements to comply with local registration, as referenced above.
8/28/23, 3:38 PM Guns, gangs, drugs: Number of arrests, seizures growing in Jacksonville Beach

NEWS WEATHER NEWS4JAX+ SPORTS FEATURES RIVER CITY LIVE JAX BEST NEWSLETTERS WJXT CW17 BREAKING NEWS

NEWS WEATHER NEWS4JAX+ SPORTS FEATURES RIVER CITY LIVE JAX BEST NEWSLETTERS WJXT CW17

BREAKING NEWS WATCH LIVE: Clay County Emergency Management holds news briefing ahead of Idalia LIVE TRAC

Ads by
Send feedback Why this ad?
Check For Malware Now
Is Your PC Infected With Malware? You May Not Even Know It. Chec
Scan.
Ad

LOCAL NEWS
Guns, gangs, drugs: Number of arrests, seizures growing in Jacksonville
Beach
Police chief: Stopping guns and drugs is top priority for officers
Vic Micolucci, I-Team reporter, anchor

Published: March 13, 2023 at 3:46 PM

Updated: March 13, 2023 at 6:15 PM

Tags: Duval County, Jacksonville Beach

Full Screen 1/3

News4JAX.com via Jacksonville Beach Police Department

Photo of confiscated guns, drugs shared by Jacksonville Beach police.

  

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – Jacksonville Beach is known for its beach access, festivals and nightlife, and the police chief said he’s trying to keep it from being a haven for criminals.

Chief Gene Paul Smith opened up to News4JAX on Monday about his commitment to clamping down on drugs, gangs and guns.

Recommended Videos
NOW PLAYING

Police investigatin…

Body cam footage…

‘Jacksonville is…

https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2023/03/13/guns-gangs-drugs-number-of-arrests-seizures-growing-in-jacksonville-beach/ 1/6
8/28/23, 3:38 PM Guns, gangs, drugs: Number of arrests, seizures growing in Jacksonville Beach

NEWS WEATHER NEWS4JAX+ SPORTS FEATURES RIVER CITY LIVE JAX BEST NEWSLETTERS WJXT CW17
Guns killed record… BREAKING NEWS

It’s led to two large raids at short-term rental homes in recent weeks. Jacksonville Beach police teamed up with a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Violent Crime Task Force called the
Community Problem Response Unit (CPR) to make multiple arrests and seize dozens of illegally possessed firearms.

“It’s important to us I set the goal on in 2019 when I took over,” Smith said, pointing to a document listing his department’s goals. “Address illegal guns, illegal drugs and criminal street
gangs citywide.”

Ads by
Stop seeing this ad Why this ad?

A week earlier, police raided a party at a short-term vacation rental on 11th Avenue North in Jacksonville Beach. They arrested four people and said they seized 14 firearms and

narcotics. Officers noted several partygoers were documented gang members. Photos show officers and detectives from both agencies questioning dozens of people in the street.

Weeks before that, Smith said officers seized another 10 drugs and arrested four other wanted men at a separate party at a rental home on 6th Avenue South.

“I think that’s enough concern. I don’t think I have to reinforce that concern to anybody. I think any natural normal person would be concerned about that,” Chief Smith said.

Officers are trained to look for signs of drugs, gangs and illegal firearms. Department records show they’ve been busy.

In 2020, they seized 102 guns.

In 2021, the number rose to 110.

In 2022, officers confiscated 133 firearms.

In 2023, so far, they’ve taken a hold of 24.

Since 2019, records show 539 gun cases with 174 arrests.

https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2023/03/13/guns-gangs-drugs-number-of-arrests-seizures-growing-in-jacksonville-beach/ 2/6
8/28/23, 3:38 PM Guns, gangs, drugs: Number of arrests, seizures growing in Jacksonville Beach

NEWS WEATHER NEWS4JAX+ SPORTS FEATURES RIVER CITY LIVE JAX BEST NEWSLETTERS WJXT CW17 BREAKING NEWS

Ad
Ads by
Brand New Cadillac's
Stop ForadCheap
seeing this Why this ad?
New Cadillac's Are Turning Heads. Discover Sales Using Top Searches.

All Things Auto Open

The chief acknowledged there is gang activity at the beach.

“We’ve identified that numerous times over the years, then the gang members will come out here from different parts of the city and not necessarily to try to come live at the beach or
take over the beach, but this is where they want to come and be seen,” he said.

The agency teams up with Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office task forces and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Several officers on the force are part of an ATF task force.

“It’s active engagement with our community and enforcing all laws in this city, whether it be city ordinance, state law, misdemeanor felony, we just enforce the law and in the course of
enforcing those laws, we might directly or indirectly come across firearms,” he added.

Jacksonville Beach has roughly 70 officers to protect around 24,000 residents. However, especially in warmer months, the number of people in city limits can double or triple due to
visitors.

Ads by
Send feedback Why this ad?

Jacksonville Beach has had two gun-related homicides in the past 13 months.

A 32-year-old military veteran, Shawn Davis Jr., was shot and killed at a party at a vacation rental in August. No one has been arrested. The state attorney’s office is reviewing
the case.

In February 2022, Jared Bridegan, a father of four, was shot and killed. One person has been arrested, and police say the case remains open as more people were involved. **link

“Statistically, Jacksonville Beach is a very safe place,” he noted. “But if the second component is that we have to make people feel safe. If we can be the safest city in the country, but if
they don’t feel safe, then what are we here for? So we try to do both.”

The chief says citizens can help. If you see something suspicious, say something to police.

People can call 911 for emergencies or (904) 270-1667 for non-emergencies.

Copyright 2023 by WJXT News4JAX - All rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Vic Micolucci
Lifetime Jacksonville resident anchors the 8 and 9 a.m. weekday newscasts and is part of the News4Jax I-Team.

email facebook twitter instagram

Read next:
School closures: Several Northeast Florida counties announce Idalia-related shutdowns this week

Tracking the Tropics and your Local Forecast

‘Prepare for hurricane strength conditions’: City to close schools, open shelters as Tropical Storm Idalia approaches

LIVE TRACK: Tropical Storm Idalia targets Florida as a Category 3 hurricane

Click here to take a moment and familiarize yourself with our Community Guidelines.

Conversation FOLLOW LOG IN | SIGN UP

Join the conversation

https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2023/03/13/guns-gangs-drugs-number-of-arrests-seizures-growing-in-jacksonville-beach/ 3/6
 E Dashboard

Rental Unit Record

1624 Roberts Dr, Jacksonville Beach,

Active ● N PRINT
Identified J
FL 32250, USA Compliant X
N SEND A LETTER

Listing(s) Information Rental Unit Information

Airbnb - 923375368357832003 VRBO - 321.3432239.4005367 Airbnb - 31979060

Map data ©2023 Report a map error

Identified Address
1624 Roberts Dr, Jacksonville Beach, FL
32250, USA

Identified Unit Number

None

Identified Latitude, Longitude

O Matched Details
30.271816, -81.400788

Parcel Number
Analyst 3OOG
1796020600
Explanation
Property matched to real estate listing. Owner Name

WARREN GARY D
Listing Photos Matching 3rd Party Sources

Owner Address

61 RIDGE LN

= HIGHLANDS, NC 28741, US

Same exterior.
Timeline of Activity
View the series of events and documentation pertaining to
R Zip Code Match B City Name Match this property

F 1 Documented Stay
July, 2023
Listing Details
J Listing air923375368357832003 Identified
July 24th, 2023
Listing URL
- https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/923375368357832003
Listing Status
• Active
Listing air31979060 Removed
-
K
Host Compliance Listing ID air923375368357832003 July 8th, 2023

Listing Title
- Jax Beach Pool Home S Listing air923375368357832003 First

-
Activity
Property type House July 8th, 2023

Room type
- Entire home/apt I Listing air923375368357832003 First

Listing Info Last Captured

- Aug 01, 2023
Crawled
July 8th, 2023

Screenshot Last Captured

- Aug 03, 2023
F 1 Documented Stay
Price
- $296.1333333333/night
June, 2023

Cleaning Fee
- $
J Listing hma321.3432239.4005367
Identified
June 12th, 2023

S Listing hma321.3432239.4005367 First

Information Provided on Listing Activity
June 3rd, 2023

Contact Name
- Dana I Listing hma321.3432239.4005367 First
Crawled
Latitude, Longitude
- 30.273015, -81.401989 June 3rd, 2023

Minimum Stay (# of Nights)

- 6 H STVR Educational Letter 2023: In Transit

-
May 31st, 2023 F
Max Sleeping Capacity (# of People) 6

-
H STVR Educational Letter 2023: Sent F
Max Number of People per Bedroom 2.0 May 16th, 2023

Number of Reviews
- 1 S Listing air31979060 Reposted

Last Documented Stay

- 07/2023
K
April 2nd, 2023

Listing air31979060 Removed

March 29th, 2023

Listing Screenshot History S Listing air31979060 Reposted

P View Latest Listing Screenshot
February 9th, 2023

K Listing air31979060 Removed

February 6th, 2023

S Listing air31979060 Reposted

December 25th, 2022
June 0 July 7 August 2
K Listing air31979060 Removed
December 22nd, 2022

S Listing air31979060 Reposted

December 9th, 2022

K Listing air31979060 Removed

October 3rd, 2022

S Listing air31979060 Reposted

August 17th, 2022

K Listing air31979060 Removed

August 14th, 2022

S Listing air31979060 Reposted

August 5th, 2022

K Listing air31979060 Removed

August 1st, 2022

F 1 Documented Stay
July, 2022

S Listing air31979060 Reposted

July 4th, 2022

K Listing air31979060 Removed

June 24th, 2022

S Listing air31979060 Reposted

 May 19th, 2022

K Listing air31979060 Removed

May 16th, 2022

S Listing air31979060 Reposted

December 30th, 2021

K Listing air31979060 Removed

December 27th, 2021

S Listing air31979060 Reposted

December 21st, 2021

K Listing air31979060 Removed

December 18th, 2021

F 1 Documented Stay
August, 2021

F 2 Documented Stays
July, 2021

F 1 Documented Stay
June, 2021

H STVR Educational Letter: Delivered F

May 18th, 2021

H STVR Educational Letter: Sent F

May 7th, 2021

F 2 Documented Stays
April, 2021

F 1 Documented Stay
September, 2020

F 1 Documented Stay
August, 2020

H Second Warning: Delivered F

July 13th, 2020

H Second Warning: Sent F

July 3rd, 2020

F 1 Documented Stay
May, 2020

S Listing air31979060 Reposted

April 19th, 2020

K Listing air31979060 Removed

April 16th, 2020

S Listing air31979060 Reposted

January 30th, 2020

K Listing air31979060 Removed

January 25th, 2020

H First Warning: Delivered F

January 24th, 2020

H First Warning: Sent F

January 18th, 2020

F 1 Documented Stay
January, 2020

F 1 Documented Stay
December, 2019

J Listing air31979060 Identified

November 11th, 2019

F 1 Documented Stay
November, 2019
I Listing air31979060 First Crawled
March 1st, 2019

S Listing air31979060 First Activity

March 1st, 2019