§ 8-14. General provisions.

Any licensee or vacation rental agent shall comply with the following:

(1)

Vacation rental units shall be cleaned thoroughly before each tenancy. The floors of the unit shall be vacuumed and/or mopped before each new rental period.

(2)

All outside storage of trash and debris shall be in covered trash containers. Each vacation rental unit shall be equipped with at least four (4) covered trash containers for such purpose.

(3)

Serve as the local contact person for the vacation rental and shall be available 24 hours per day, seven (7) days per week for the purpose of responding promptly within one (1) hour to complaints regarding the conduct of the occupants of the vacation rental or to the questions and concerns of the registered tenants of the vacation rental unit. The name and phone number of the contact person shall be registered with the City of Marathon and provided to the Sheriff's Department.

(4)

Provide access to any authorized City employees to inspect the vacation rental unit.

(5)

Each licensed vacation rental shall not contain more than one (1) kitchen.

(6)

Maintain a list of registered tenants, the number of occupants which will be present during any occupancy, and the number, make and model of vehicles each tenant will have on site during each occupancy. This information shall be readily available upon request of any City employee or Sherriff's Deputy.

(7)

The owner shall provide off-street parking on property owned or lawfully leased by the owner of the property or the occupants for all vehicles, watercraft and trailers to be used by the tenants during any occupancy. The watercraft may be moored at either an existing on-site docking facility or stored on a trailer in an approved parking space. Vehicles, watercraft, and trailers may be parked on the right-of-way within the limits of the vacation rental unit property lines if it is the common practice of those on the street where the vacation rental is located, and the placement of the vehicle, watercraft, or trailers would not impede the normal and safe flow of traffic on the street.

(8)

The total length of docked vessels shall not exceed the width of the property at the waterline. Docked vessels may not be rafted together so as to align two (2) or more vessels abeam of one another. No docked vessel may create a hazard to navigation. For the purpose of this article, a hazard to navigation shall mean that the dock and vessel measures in excess of 25 percent of the width of the water body adjacent to the property. No boat docked at a vacation rental property shall be chartered to a person other than registered guests of the vacation rental unit or used for live-aboards, sleeping or overnight accommodations.

(9)

Recreation vehicles shall not be used for sleeping or overnight accommodations at the vacation rental unit.

(10)

The occupancy of an individual dwelling shall conform to the occupancy limits of the Florida Fire Prevention Code and the Florida Building Code. Notwithstanding the foregoing, total occupancy in all cases shall be subject to the following:

a.

The maximum overnight tenant occupancy load of any vacation rental unit shall not exceed two (2) persons for each bedroom in the vacation rental unit, plus two (2) persons.

b.

Before the hours of 7:00 a.m. or dawn, whichever is earlier, and after 10:00 p.m., the occupancy load of the vacation rental may not exceed the maximum allowed number of overnight tenants.

c.

The City may grant additional occupancy limits, upon the application by the property owner, if the City determines that the vacation rental unit is on a lot greater than one-half (½) acre in area, has sufficient parking to accommodate a greater number of tenants than prescribed by this article, greater occupancy limits will not have an adverse impact on traffic, and that the additional occupancy would not cause a threat to fire safety. In no event shall the occupancy limit exceed the occupancy limits of the Florida Fire Prevention Code and the Florida Building Code.

(11)

There shall be a written lease between a vacation rental dwelling owner and the tenant and it shall contain the tenant's agreements to the following:

a.

Compliance with the regulations contained in this article.

b.

Acknowledging responsibility for all occupants during the rental term to comply with such restrictions as a condition of the agreement, signed by such tenant prior to occupancy.

c.

Violations of the posted occupancy and use restrictions may result in immediate termination of the rental agreement, eviction from the vacation rental unit by the vacation rental licensee or vacation rental agent and appropriate fines levied by the City.

(12)

Nothing in this article is intended to exclude the application of any other ordinance of the City of Marathon to the property or to the related parties.

(13)

Vacation rental units shall be registered, licensed and meet all applicable State requirements contained in Fla. Stat. Ch. 212 (Florida Tax and Revenue Act), Fla. Stat. Ch. 509 (Public Lodging Establishments), Chapter 69A-43 F.A.C. (Uniform Fire Safety Standards for Transient Public Lodging Establishments), Chapter 61C-3.001 F.A.C. (Sanitation and Safety Requirements) and Chapter 69A-60 F.A.C. (The Florida Fire Prevention Code), as may be amended.

(14)

The vacation rental unit shall comply with all State of Florida Department of Health and Florida Department of Environmental Protection standards for wastewater treatment and disposal.

(15)

Complaints to the vacation rental licensee or vacation rental agent concerning violations by occupants of vacation rental units to this article shall be responded to within one (1) hour, on site if necessary. The person who made the complaint shall be contacted by telephone or in person and informed as to the results of the actions taken by the vacation rental licensee or vacation rental agent. A record shall be kept of the complaint and the vacation rental licensee's or vacation rental agent's response and reported to the City within two (2) hours of the notification of the complaint by contacting the City in the manner prescribed by the City.

(16)

No person, owner, tenant, broker, real estate agent, other agent or other representative of the owner may hold out or advertise a residential dwelling for vacation rental if the property has not been issued a vacation rental property license or hold out or advertise a residential dwelling for occupancy or uses not licensed by these regulations. Sufficient evidence to prove vacation rental uses of a dwelling unit shall include: (i) registration or licensing for short-term rental or transient rental use by the State under Fla. Stat. Chs. 212 (Florida Tax and Revenue Act), and 509 (Public Lodging Establishments); (ii) advertising or holding out a dwelling unit for vacation rental use; (iii) reservations, booking arrangements or more than one (1) signed lease, sublease, assignment, or any other occupancy or agreement for compensation, trade, or other legal consideration addressing or overlapping any period of 28 days or less; or (iv) the use of an agent or other third person to make reservations or booking arrangements.

(Ord. No. 2010-14, § 2(8-4), 1-11-2011)