SB1128 Vacation Rentals - COTI Letter to Commerce and Tourism Committee
Published on 2/10/2020
COTI’s mission in part is to protect the small-town character of our island community. In furtherance of that mission we oppose and urge you to vote no on SB 1128 because it would undermine a time-tested scheme in place on Sanibel to accommodate thousands of visitors each year while preserving the character of our residential neighborhoods....Troubling as well is the finding that “Vacation rentals are residential in nature. ”Residences are places people call home. When we spend a long weekend or a week at a beach front resort, we don’t consider that resort our residence. Our residence is the place we return to when the vacation is over. It’s the place where we interact socially with neighbors and depend on them in times of stress or emergency. That’s the essence of a community — and it’s not found in resorts.