Last year, when the City Commission passed it's first ordinance banning transient rentals in residential neighborhoods, gated communities, such as Truman Annex, were exempted from the law. Only Sheila Mullins, who was mayor at that time, voted against that ordinance, arguing that all neighborhoods should be treated equally.
The State Dept. of Community Affairs (DCA) agreed with Mullins and rejected the law because it did not comply with the City's Comprehensive Land Use Plan.
So the Commission voted again. This time, no neighborhoods were excluded from the ban. Only then-City Commissioner Jimmy Weekley opposed passage of that ordinance. The new law was approved by the DCA.
But last October, Weekley defeated Mullins for the mayor's chair. Many consider Weekley bought and paid for by the transient rental landlords. During the campaign, they contributed thousands to Weekley's war chest. Many of these contributors are suing the City to overturn the current law.
So few are surprised that Weekley is now leading a move to "revisit" the rental law and, this time, to once again exempt gated communities. His cover story is that he wants to avoid a lawsuit. But a group of Truman Annex homeowners who oppose transient rentals in their neighborhood say they'll sue if the law is changed.
The big question, of course, is that if the City Commission goes back to an ordinance excluding gated communities, won't the DCA just reject it again?
City Commissioner Merili McCoy doesn't think so. She said she thinks that the DCA has "lost interest" in this issue.
She may be right, DCA Secretary Steven Seibert told Key West The Newspaper this week that the DCA now views the transient rental matter a local issue that should be dealt with by the City Commission.
"The transient rental issue has divided the Key West community for some time," Seibert said. "On the one hand, there are those who believe that transient rentals confer many economic benefits. On the other hand, there are those who feel their proliferation threatens the quality of life in the Keys.
"The Key West City Commission is the body empowered to address community issues such as this. They have adopted an ordinance which places restrictions on where and in what manner transient rentals may operate.
"Because Key West is an area of critical state concern and the ordinance is a land development regulation, it was required to be submitted to the DCA for approval," he said. "But our subsequent approval was challenged by parties both pro and con, and we are now joined with the City in responding to those challenges.
"We support the City Commission's authority to enact regulations such as this one which affect the quality of life in their community. Alternatively, we also support the Commission's right to explore options to resolve concerns raised by their constituents regarding the ordinance.
"It would be inaccurate to say the DCA has last interest in the transient rental issue. However, we do believe that it is primarily a local issue which needs to be dealt with at the local level," he said.