Venice banning rentals … again

??Author: Joshua Thompson

Like a growing number of Florida municipalities, the City of Venice sought to eliminate competition for local hotels by banning the short-term rental of private residences.  Ordinances that accomplish this are questionable enough, and are the subject of several PLF cases.  What made Venice different is that it sought to forgo any statutory action at all, instead deciding to use code enforcement to harass the renters into subsiding.  In 2008, some owners brought suit, and assisted by PLF's Atlantic Center, they were successful in getting a state court to invalidate these efforts.  The city then quickly reached a settlement with the owners.

It appears Venice is back at it again, and once again is being challenged on its rental-banning efforts.  A group of property owners, represented by former PLF attorneys Nick & Steven Gieseler, has filed suit against the ordinance the City passed ostensibly to fix the problems arising from the Milo situation.  The Sarasota Herald-Tribune has the story, including a copy of the complaint just filed in the case.