Today marks a kind of sad day for me; I no longer feel safe in my own home. The short term vacation rental next door has changed my whole sense of safety and security. The owner/operator has decided that money matters more than the neighborhood and rents it out to whoever will pay the asking price. This weekend it was a group of students on spring break. They have no respect for the neighborhood and have been loud. Last night we called the police and the noise quieted down; this morning, we saw them smoking pot in the backyard (they can see into our backyard and we can see into their backyard). Police responded and at least one of them had a medical marijuana card, so there was nothing the police could do. (Apparently police no longer deal with misdemeanor drug possession.)
As I was walking the dog, I got a frantic call from my wife that some guy named Rob was banging on our door demanding to come in. I turned around and hurried back. When I got home, I went inside and then came out again only to see “Rob” walking out from our side yard. I yelled at him and told him to get off our property. I saw him walk down the street the wrong way (not towards the rental) and instantly knew he was drunk (can you say public drunkenness?). I then walked down the street to see where he was going next. He went to my neighbor’s house and then the next neighbor trying to get in. I walked back and stopped in front of my neighbor’s house; I saw him again bang on my neighbor’s door (who wasn’t home) and Rob insisted that he was renting the place. I told him he wasn’t and to get off the property. (I sent that neighbor a picture of Rob on his property.)
My wife was on hold with the police for 11 minutes and when she finally got through, the dispatcher wouldn’t send officers because the guy was no longer on our property and was inside a residence.
The owners/operators talk about this being managed by “bad apples”; the problem is that some of the people turning to vacation rentals as mini-hotels (just the properties that are used exclusively for short term vacation rentals) are in it only for the money. If they weren’t, they’d be renting out the properties on a long term basis.
While the city council’s Smart Growth and Land Use Committee is bringing this up on April 22nd, I fear that anything they decide to do will be reactionary and allow this behavior to continue. If the police can’t respond fast enough (they are already under staffed), how can these problems be witnessed and documented? It becomes a case of neighbor saying one thing and no one listening. (Video evidence doesn’t appear to count in this case.)
Change needs to happen now; these mini-hotels have to go. If nothing is done about these, what are my options to keeping my sanity? Move? Where do I go? If I move, I kick the problem down the road to my nice neighbors. How many more days/nights will I have to put up with this? Will someone knock on my door at 3 am and scare the crap out of me? Will some drunk person vandalize my house? Every weekend I fear what will be coming next; this is a horrible way to live.
To all those that claim property rights and that people should be able to do what they want with their properties, live next to a mini-hotel for awhile and feel what it is like to have no idea if the renters will be respectful or you’ll have to call the police.
(As a side note, I hate to call the police, but my options are limited. My neighbor only wants to do short term rentals and there is no way that he can (or will) vet everyone that stays. One person rents and brings 10 friends.)
