BRADENTON BEACH – City officials are unhappy about the lack of compliance with the city’s side yard trash pickup requirements for vacation rentals.
Bradenton Beach Mayor John Chappie has repeatedly voiced his displeasure about the accumulation of trash containers alongside city streets, and on Thursday, Jan. 20, the city commission and city staff discussed these issues at length.
Building Official Steve Gilbert said the city’s solid waste ordinance and Transient Public Lodging Establishment (TPLE) ordinance are not consistent with one another regarding side yard pickup requirements. He suggested the city attorney review the two ordinances, and for code enforcement purposes, he suggested revising the solid waste ordinance.
The city’s TPLE ordinance requires vacation rental operators to request and obtain side yard pickup service for their trash. Anyone seeking an exemption must submit a written request to the city clerk for city commission approval. The TPLE ordinance also requires the location of vacation rental trash containers to be posted inside the rental unit.
The city’s solid waste ordinance states trash containers must be placed for collection by 6 a.m. on the scheduled pickup day and must be removed by 8 p.m. that night. That ordinance also says trash containers are to be placed in the curbside right of way unless otherwise approved by the Public Works director. The solid waste ordinance does not specifically address vacation rentals or transient public lodging establishments.
City Attorney Ricinda Perry said the city’s franchise agreement with Waste Pro states that Waste Pro determines where trash containers are to be placed for pickup.
Chappie said he and Public Works Director Tom Woodard have had numerous conversations with Waste Pro and the issues continue. Chappie said the blame is shared by Waste Pro, vacation rental owners and managers, vacation rental cleaning staffs and vacation rental guests.
Chappie said vacation rental guests, when checking out on Friday or Saturday, often bring the trash containers out to the road as a courtesy and the cleaning crews often do the same. This results in trash containers sitting alongside the street until they’re picked up on Monday.
Chappie said this doesn’t relieve Waste Pro of its responsibility to return the empty containers to the side of the rental home. He also said it’s up to vacation rental owners and managers to figure out how to comply with the city requirements. Chappie said repeated compliance failures should result in the property owner losing their city-issued TPLE license.
Perry said the city shares some responsibility because the franchise agreement requires property owners to exclusively use Waste Pro.
Potential solutions
Gilbert noted the city of Anna Maria’s franchise agreement with Waste Management requires all non-homesteaded properties to use side yard pickup service, rather than placing that burden only on vacation rentals. That requirement is supported by Anna Maria’s solid waste ordinance.
Anna Maria’s franchise agreement states side yard pick up locations must be approved by Waste Management and the city must annually provide an updated list of non-homesteaded residential properties to be serviced with containers designated for side yard pick up by a city-approved sticker.
Perry said the city’s current franchise agreement with Waste Pro expires in 2025 and may need to be revised before then. She said continued non-compliance with the side yard pickup requirements could be considered a breach of that agreement.
Woodard said Waste Pro has been told multiple times that side yard trash containers improperly placed alongside the road must still be returned to the side of the rental home or rental unit. He also said it was Waste Pro’s idea to place the red and white WP stickers on containers designated for side yard pickup.
Gilbert said Waste Pro drivers often can’t see the stickers when the containers are sitting alongside a rental home awaiting pickup. He suggested Waste Pro provide its drivers with updated logs that identify which properties require side yard pickup, or have stickers placed directly on the vacation rental homes in a more visible location. Commissioner Jake Spooner suggested loading that information into a handheld GPS device to be used by the Waste Pro drivers.
Gilbert said he recently followed a Waste Pro truck down Avenue C and watched vacation rental trash containers being picked up at the end of the driveway and left there rather than being returned to the side of the house.
Woodard said one solution would be to simply require side yard pickup for all residential properties, which currently costs approximately $15 more per month. Chappie opposed side yard pickup for all residential properties or non-homesteaded properties. Commissioner Jan Vosburgh agreed and said she doesn’t want to subject city residents to those additional costs.
Spooner suggested Waste Pro also be asked to complete its trash collection along Gulf Drive before 8:30 a.m. to help alleviate the traffic congestion that occurs when that trash is collected later in the day.
Cole recommended that Perry, in her capacity as city attorney, contact Waste Pro and reiterate the city’s concerns. Perry said she would, and that she, Gilbert and Woodard would work together with Waste Pro on these issues.
Perry said the main points gathered from the discussion were the need to properly identify what side door or side yard pickup is and what it entails, what identification methods are needed and what can be done about the timing of trash collections along Gulf Drive. She also acknowledged the commission’s desire that Waste Pro respond more quickly to repair or replace condominium and commercial dumpsters that go unemptied because the roller wheels are broken.
