Rumors were flying last week that the City officials had cut a "secret" deal with the group of out-of-town Truman Annex property owners who are suing to overturn the City's ordinance banning short-term transient rentals.
Indeed, the City Commission met in closed session Monday night to discuss the lawsuit. But what the Commissioners really reportedly discussed was softening the current ordinance.
Although City Attorney Bob Tischenkel assured the Commissioners that the current ordinance would stand up in court, Mayor Jimmy Weekley told Tischenkel to draft a new ordinance for the Commission's consideration— an ordinance that would allow transient rentals in Truman Annex.
In his recent election campaign, Weekley was strongly supported by out-of-town owners in Truman Annex who want the rental ban overturned. And it appeared Monday night that Weekley may have the votes to make that happen. Commissioners Harry Bethel, Percy Curry and Merili McCoy also appeared to support changing the ordinance to exempt gated communities from the transient rental ban.
Commissioner McCoy told Key West The Newspaper Wednesday that the zoning of Truman Annex allows transient rentals.
"But I would only support transient rentals in Truman Annex if there is a super majority vote of the residents there to approve it," she said.
She said she would also want transient rental landlords to pay the City $1000-per-year per-unit to finance additional code enforcement officers and to build an affordable housing trust fund.
But a group of year-round residents at Truman Annex, led by Henry and Martha Dupont, say they strongly oppose short-term transient rentals in their neighborhood.
"All this talk about Truman Annex being zoned for transient rentals is pure bunk," said Martha Dupont. "If that were true, those wanting to rent to transients here wouldn't need the approval of the City Commission. And they wouldn't have to give the City an annual payoff.
"By trying to force us to accept transient rentals in our neighborhood— while protecting neighborhoods in other parts of the island— the City Commission would be clearly discriminating against us. And we won't allow that to happen.
"If they do that, we will file a class action suit against the City and we will go all the way to the Supreme Court if that is what it takes," she said.
The original vote on transient rentals by the City Commission earlier this year did exempt gated communities from the ban. But that ordinance was rejected by the State Dept. of Community Affairs (DCA) because it did not conform to the City's Comprehensive Plan.
So the Commission reversed itself, voting to ban all unlicensed transient rentals of less than 28 days across the island.
KWTN asked Commissioner McCoy: If the Commission reverses itself again, wouldn't the DCA just reject that ordinance, too?
"No," she said. "I think they've lost interest."
"I hope that's not the case," said Mrs. Dupont. "But it is possible that the forces pushing for transient rentals here may have been able to lobby the governor to tell the DCA to back off.
"But even if both the DCA and the City Commission cave in, we won't give up. If we need to, we will sue. And we have deep enough pockets to take our case as far as we need to take it."
Thursday was a holiday and no one at the DCA was available to comment.