Choose Fairness
Choose Compromise
Choose Compassion
You may be aware there's a petition to ban short term rentals in Austin Park. We can ban short term rentals in Austin Park without devastating a local Nocatee family and neighbor. We ask you to choose what is kind and right—please grandfather our home in.
.jpeg)
Our Ask: A Fair Compromise That Still Bans Future Short Term Rentals
We are sincerely requesting to grandfather in the 2 (or possibly only 1 as the other is for sale) existing short-term rentals, with no transfer when the property sells.
This is not about opening the floodgates to dozens of short term rentals — it is about protecting one local Nocatee family who purchased in good faith.
We kindly ask you to read the information below and take our circumstances into consideration before making your decision.
.jpeg)
Why We’re Speaking Up
We purchased our home in Austin Park with the hope of bettering our family, with the clear understanding at the time that short-term rentals (STRs) were permitted. In fact, a STR had already been operating successfully in the neighborhood for nearly two years. We made this decision in good faith, relying on the HOA’s governing documents. Just days after our purchase, new efforts to restrict STRs began.
These efforts could have been revitalized long before our purchase and prevented this difficult situation. They weren’t though and here we are. We were the first family to purchase a home in Austin Park with the intent to short term rent it, let us be the last. Please do not punish us for neighborhood inaction and timing that was beyond our control.
Safety Is Our Top Priority. Don’t Fall For Fearmongering.
We understand that some concerns have been raised about short-term rentals and neighborhood safety. However, all of the examples being shared come from articles in other cities and don’t reflect the reality here in Ponte Vedra or Nocatee. Words like “drugs, guns, gangs, theft, violence, and human trafficking” are powerful and concerning, but they are not connected to short-term rentals in Ponte Vedra.
In fact, there are hundreds of short-term rentals in Ponte Vedra that have operated for many years without these issues. The absence of any local reports or articles on STR-related crime here shows that these concerns are not based on what’s happening in our own neighborhoods. Short term rental crime in Ponte Vedra does not exist, that is a fact.
Unfortunately, there was also a misunderstanding when it was suggested that a group of investors planned to buy multiple homes and convert them to STRs. This claim has no basis and is not true.
Please make your decision based on facts and the reality of our community, not on fear or assumptions.
Neighbors Spoke. We Took Action!
- Shuttle bus arrived, we banned them.
- Cars parked on the street, we forbid it.
- Guests looking for cheap accommodations, we raised our prices.
- We screen guests above and beyond what is required by any standards.
We do not stand idly by. We are ideal landlords who take pride in our home. We maintain it constantly and when something isn't right, we take action!
You Will Not Find A Better Landlord In Austin Park!
Actual Guest Demographics
-
1 Austin Park resident whose family came to visit (wouldn't it be nice to have a place for your family and friends to stay when visiting)
-
1 Women's Non-Profit Leadership Retreat
-
1 Family visiting for a local wedding
-
1 Family visiting local Nocatee friends
-
1 Nocatee Family getting their floors replaced
-
4 Families searching for a home in the area
- 3 Groups here for work
- Including one company helping to work on the new Seabrook School
- 10 Families here for vacation
- 1 Church Track Team here for a local track meet at Bishop Kenny
- This is the shuttle bus group that surprised us and our neighbors, and we quickly updated our rules to ensure no shuttles, buses, RVs, boats, or similar vehicles would be allowed so the neighborhood remains peaceful.
No Criminals, No Human Trafficking, No Gangs.
Just People Like You & Our Family!
Their Claims vs. Our Facts
Claim: Oversized commercial vehicles park at rentals.
Fact: One privately-owned shuttle bus (about the size of an RV) came once—and this has been permanently banned. It was a church track team visiting for a track meet at Bishop Kenny.
Claim: STRs affect the ability to identify or report suspicious activity.
Fact: Suspicious activity is easily identifiable. Our guests have done no such thing nor has it ever occurred from a short term renter in Austin Park. There is no documented crime from the hundreds of short term rentals in Ponte Vedra or Nocatee.
Claim: Short term rentals lower property value.
Fact: We purchased our home at a premium, likely higher than market value, because we intended to short term rent it. We raised the value of the neighborhood with our purchase. Grandfathering us, while not allowing new rentals, won’t harm—and may help—your home’s value.
Neighborhood Wide Issues
These claims are neighborhood-wide issues, but they’ve been presented in a way that may unfairly influence opinions about our short-term rental.
-
Claim: More cars parked in the street and blocking sidewalks.
-
Fact: We have permanently banned street parking. Driveway parking only must be agreed upon when booking.
-
Claim: Large quantities of trash left outside of rentals.
-
Fact: Our trash is always placed in bins. We’ve never had any left outside. In fact, we hired a neighborhood kid to bring trash bins to the curb and back.
-
Claim: Increase speeding and risk to pedestrians.
-
Fact: Speeding is a neighborhood-wide issue and not linked to short-term rentals.
-
Claim: Short-term rentals cause parties and noise.
-
Fact: We’ve had zero parties and zero noise complaints. We forbid parties and have a strict Quiet Time Policy that all guests agree to.
-
Many of our immediate neighbors have never had an issue and in fact support our right to short term rent our home.
-
We live nearby, monitor guest arrivals with cameras, screen guests about their purpose of staying, and deny any party requests.
Petition Tactics Were Not Exactly Forthright, Rather One-Sided
We know this is an emotional topic for many in the neighborhood, and we respect that people have strong feelings. At the same time, some approaches used to push this ban have felt unfair, including suppression of speech, circumventing the HOA Board, using fearmongering tactics, or not presenting all of the facts.
-
We were excluded from conversations by being blocked on Facebook, preventing us from responding to community posts.
-
Safety concerns rely on examples from other cities, with no evidence of STR-related crime in Ponte Vedra. It’s important to remember that these concerns are not supported by local facts.
-
We also believe transparency is important. Costs of about $8,000 have already been spent on drafting amendments, with expenses continuing to rise.
-
No option to grandfather in existing STRs was presented, nor was our story shared.
-
This renewed effort only began after our purchase; prior efforts to ban STRs had no momentum and/or stopped.
-
Information was attempted to be gathered by going around the HOA Board’s decision to withhold it.
-
Neighbors who chose not to sign felt pressure or frustration directed toward them.
We simply ask that this discussion be guided with honesty, fairness, and compassion.
This Is A Steamroll Approach!
Why Choose Compassion
Shutting us down would deeply impact our family, all because of fears that have never actually occurred here.
This is not simply an investment to us — it represents our passion, our energy, and years of hard work, often at the expense of time away from our own family, to make the dream of hosting a reality.
We strive to be the kind of landlords any community would want — attentive, proactive, respectful, and committed to enforcing the rules.
We’re not a corporation or out-of-state investors. We are your Nocatee neighbors — the same people you’ll see at Food Truck Friday, the parks, and around the neighborhood.
The Choice Before Us:
Both Options Ban Future Short Term Rentals
Allow 1-2 well-managed, community-friendly Short Term Rentals until they naturally phase out with a future sale. (One is up for sale, leaving only ours)
THIS IS FAIR. THIS IS RIGHT.
OR
Devastate a local family by stripping them of their labor, their time spent, their rights, their savings, and their dream because of fear-based hypotheticals.
THIS IS UNJUST. THIS IS WRONG.
We urge you: Choose compassion, not fear.
This Amendment Is Likely To Pass Whether You Remain Neutral or Choose Not To Vote
We’re not asking anyone to take sides or to choose for or against the amendment itself. Our only request is that you help encourage the HOA Board to include a clause that grandfathers in our home. You can do this by filling in the Contact Form below and including your address .
Choosing to stay neutral or uninvolved, even unintentionally, allows the effort to remove us to move forward. We sincerely hope you’ll stand with us in asking for fairness and compassion.
Please Choose Fairness, Compromise, & Compassion
By including your address in the Contact Form below, you express support grandfathering in the two existing short term rentals in Austin Park IF AND ONLY IF the HOA Board decides to move forward with drafting an amendment that bans future short term rentals.
All supporters will remain confidential except to the HOA Board.
If you have questions, contact us in the form, by phone or e-mail.
Phone:
904-574-2494
Email:
Address:
191 Cornwall Dr.
Ponte Vedra, FL 32081