A group of Neighbors

working together

to protect our homes

and neighborhoods,

and to improve our

community
Transient Rentals in Key West:

What will happen?

The Bottom Line....
Key
West
Neighborhood
Associations
They're at it again!
Every so often a letter like this one below appears.
It's almost always from an out-of-towner telling us what is good for us.
Occasionally there are the product of someone's public relations firm.

This one, like others, is best digested cum grano salis.
Cit Letter 7/22/08

Islamorada is doomed due to rental ordinance

I just received word today that the village of Islamorada has banned short-term rentals.

Did somebody give you guys a frontal lobotomy?

I am a photographer who comes to your lovely village to take pictures and submit them to vacation
magazines. These magazines pay me on how well I can describe my stay.

They also want to know where I stay. You know, those little get-away places that are off of the beaten
path. The mom and pop restaurants that have the best food, where to get a good deal on a boat rental and
where the best fishing and fun is.

These assignments usually take a week or so. I stay in a short-term rental, preferring this over the noise
and people above, below and beside me in a hotel.

I feel as if Islamorada has just taken my fun away. Yes, the short-term rental people will suffer but so will
all of the people who depend on the tourist dollar. With the economy the way it is, most people can only
afford to stay someplace for a week, and they want the most bang for their buck. Well, I guess you're out
of luck if you want to stay in Islamorada because you can't stay there for a reasonable price anymore.
You're going to have to pay for at least a month's stay or check into one of the many over-priced hotels
along the highway. Which, by the way, still has the noise and congestion it always had.

If this ordinance is enforced, the only people living in Islamorada will be the ones left in their
multimillion-dollar houses. But, I guess that's OK because they will be paying multimillions of dollars in
taxes to make up for the loss of tourist trade.

So, say goodbye to your week-long stay in Islamorada. Say goodbye to boat rentals, restaurant hopping,
water-sports rentals and tourists.

Say goodbye to sunset margaritas and talking about the catch of the day. You can do it someplace else
where your tourist dollar means something.

You can catch my sunset in Pismo Beach, Calif..

Marjorie Elwood

Pismo Beach, Calif.

Editor's note: The Islamorada ordinance, which takes effect Oct. 1, limits the number of short-term rental
licenses in the city to 331, and with exceptions prohibits short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods
zoned for single-family homes.
Hmmm, not even Pismo Beach has
"little out of the way places"
any more!
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