NEW SMYRNA BEACH — Paul and Cabrini Rudnick and their dog Lane, making their first visit to this seaside town from Pennsylvania, opted to stay in a 3-bedroom, 3-bath home on Cooper Street.

The Rudnicks have been enjoying strolls to the beach and the quaint shops along Flagler Avenue, a block over, and miles away, it would seem, from a legislative fight over vacation homes like the one they secured through Airbnb.

The house on Cooper Street is one of more than 300 listings on the online vacation rental site from the Canal Street shopping district to the Atlantic Ocean. While some homes are in areas zoned for short-term rentals and bed-and-breakfasts, many are not.

As city officials in New Smyrna Beach and other local cities attempt to enforce laws regulating which homes can be used for short-term rentals, property owners have expressed frustration with what they say is an overreach of government authority. Meanwhile, state lawmakers in Tallahassee are again considering bills that propose to wrest control over these rentals from local municipalities to the state.

Rental operators’ concerns

About 55 people attended a meeting Monday at City Hall where New Smyrna Beach and Southeast Volusia Advertising Authority officials talked about current regulations, the status of the bill and how the authority markets them locally.

“There’s only a handful of districts that allow short-term rentals,” said Robert Mathen, the city’s senior planner. He showed a zoning map which displayed purple clusters set aside for short term rental homes and green outlines that marked where bed and breakfasts are permitted.

Many of the renters who spoke at the meeting described a sudden crackdown on short-term rentals after decades of the rules not being enforced.

Rick Taylor's 2-bedroom “cozy beach house," dubbed the “Lazy Pelican" just north of Flagler Avenue, sits outside the city’s short-term rental districts.

“Part of the frustration is that code enforcement is acting on the assumption of guilt if you’re advertising,” Taylor said. “It’s a way that they can harass people.”

Jennifer Frankenstein manages 274 vacation rental properties in New Smyrna Beach. She is also president of the Florida Vacation Rental Management Association, and echoed Taylor's concerns. She said her company, Great Ocean Condos, paid $343,405 in bed taxes and $389,221 in state sales taxes, while providing $5.5 million in rental revenue to condo and homeowners.

“I’m licensed. I’m insured. I'm regulated. I’m inspected. I do every single thing right,” she said. “You can’t take an ordinance that has been on the books forever, never, ever, ever, enforce it, and then all of a sudden say, ‘I’m going to start enforcing it.’ ”

The city responds

Planning Director Amye King said she hears that a lot. But the City Commission — responding to complaints — expanded the city code staff, leading to stiffer enforcement. The city reported going from 10 citations in 2015 to 164 citations in 2016 before dipping a bit last year to 104 citations.

“In New Smyrna, all we’re really doing is enforcing what was already on the books,” City Manager Pam Brangaccio said.

In order to rent a home as a bed-and-breakfast in New Smyrna Beach, the property has to fall within the city’s B&B overlay district, King said. Rental operators have to live in the home and food has to be served.

B&Bs without the ‘B’

James and Robin Moyle of Edgewater bought the home at 200 Cooper St. — where the Rudnicks were vacationing — in April 2006.

The Airbnb listing for the home shows positive reviews going back to July. The city opened a code enforcement case on Aug. 18. In October, the property owners met with the planning board and were given several tasks.

"The property owners did not follow through on anything until they received a notice of hearing from code enforcement on 1/4/18," code case notes state. On Jan. 9, the Moyles filed a change-of-use application to convert the property to a B&B.

In a phone call Wednesday, James Moyle said he and his wife got a "cease and desist" letter from the city to stop renting. Since, he and his wife have been working with the city to gain a local license, adding he recently "became licensed by the state to be a lodging-only bed and breakfast," Moyle said.

To comply with city rules, the Moyles are trying to find a caretaker to live in the home when they rent it, and they are willing to "do what it takes to make it work."

Resident Lisa Martin, who followed the ad authority meeting, said investment homeowners like the Moyles are trying to bend the city's rules.

"You want to do short-term rental? I have no problem with that," Martin said. "But do it in the zone that's zoned for it."

Moyles’ friend Bill Gallagher, a New Smyrna resident since 1998, said long-term rental tenants are problematic, too, and: "Condos and hotels are more detrimental to the charm than the vacation rentals."

Cabrini Rudnick, who routinely uses Airbnb for rentals, said she loves staying in residential homes.

"I'm a renter, but I wouldn't want renters in my neighborhood, so I get it," she said.

Around the corner from the Rudnicks, 20-year resident Tom Hay said he has “mixed feelings" about the vacation rentals.

Hay said while he “doesn’t like the idea of having different neighbors all the time,” he said he has fewer concerns about Airbnb than he has about larger hotels popping up around the city. He likes that the revenue and benefits are going directly to the homeowner, and while he has no immediate plans to rent out his home, he prefers to have the option.

But he did say over the years his neighborhood has become more of a vacation rental haven and party spot during events.

Scanning his block of cozy-looking beachside cottages and pointing to rental after rental, Hay said, “I’m struggling to point out long-term residents… There are times I can’t get out of my driveway because cars are packed around the house.”

Property rights or home rule?

Last week, a state Senate committee advanced a proposal that would largely hand oversight of short-term rentals to the Division of Hotels and Restaurants.

The Senate Regulated Industries Committee will hear the combined Senate Bills 1400 and 1640 at 12:30 p.m. Thursday. A similar proposal (House Bill 773) would also preempt local regulation of vacation rentals and is awaiting its first hearing.

While state politicians say their efforts are attempting to protect property owners from municipal overreach, local elected officials — backed by the Florida League of Cities — say the legislation is yet another attack on the concept of home rule.

While New Smyrna Beach allows short-term rentals in designated areas and is facing challenges in enforcing its laws, officials in the neighboring town of Ponce Inlet have banned them outright and are wary of the proposed state takeover.

Ponce Inlet Mayor Gary Smith, in a prepared statement, described the problem as “mini-hotels in neighborhoods,” where trash, noise and parking are contributing to declining property values.

“Long-term residents are moving out as a result and the residential character of traditional neighborhoods is being eroded,” Smith said. “It is very sad to see proposed legislation that puts the rights of those who buy properties for commercial gain above those who choose to make that area their home."

Yet a glance at Airbnb.com showed at least 21 rentals available in Ponce Inlet ranging from $90 to $600 per night.

Ponce Inlet Town Manager Jeaneen Witt said the Town Council has directed her code-enforcement staff to enforce its short-term rental ordinance “more vigorously,” and that simply advertising a property for rental can be considered a violation.

“I expect we will see a decrease in these rentals once more of these cases are brought forward," she said.

In Ormond Beach, where there is also an ordinance banning the rentals, City Commissioner Dwight Selby hopes to see a reduction.

"We're trying to create a community,” he said, “and zoning is how we do that more than anything else."