September 15, 2026 Town Council Workshop and Meeting — Agenda Breakdown

The rental-homes ordinance: what it would require

What it would do, in plain terms. Ordinance 2026-8 would add an article called "Rental Homes" to Chapter 12, Businesses, of the Town Code. It covers homes, condominiums and mobile homes that are "available for rent or lease for a period of no less than 180 days," and excludes motels and hotels. Before offering a home for rent, the owner would have to register it with the Town and apply for a rental housing business license. The owner is "ultimately responsible" for following the rules, including a tenant's failure to. The main requirements:

• Register every year. Owners register within 30 days after the ordinance takes effect, then by February 1 each year. A buyer who keeps renting has 10 days to register. The registration lists the owners, the local agent, the maximum and actual number of occupants, and the "[n]ames and addresses of current adult tenants and the number of minor children." Owners must tell the Town within 10 days of any new tenant.
• Pass an inspection. Within 15 working days of a complete application and fee, the Town inspects for code compliance and either issues the license or lists the defects to fix. Units are re-inspected every 24 months, "contingent upon Town resources." To go inside, the Town needs the consent of the person living there or a warrant. A tenant can request an inspection.
• Name a local contact. An owner who is not a full-time Eatonville resident, or who lives more than 40 miles away, must name a local agent who lives within 40 miles. A designated contact must be reachable around the clock and respond to the Town within one hour.
• Keep a tenant file. Owners keep a record of each tenant's address, phone number, email address, and the make, model, year and tag number of their vehicles for at least two years, and must make current tenants' information available within one hour of a request from the Chief Administrative Officer.
• Screen tenants a set way. Before move-in, the landlord must get a criminal history for every occupant 18 or older, including the sex offender registry; verify income; verify contact information for previous landlords from the last three years; and take an application that includes the tenant's Social Security number and date of birth. Every tenant must sign a written lease and a "Florida crime free housing lease addendum, the form for which being on file with the Town." That form is not in the packet.
• Limit occupancy. No more than two people per bedroom, plus two.
• Show the registration number in ads. Advertising an unregistered rental would be unlawful.

Penalties. The draft states them several ways:

• a code enforcement board fine "of up to $500 per violation, per day for continuing repeated violations";
• a civil citation "up to $500 per offense";
• a paragraph setting fines "not less than $100.00 and not to exceed $300.00 for each and every offense";
• a table of $100, $300 and $500 per unit, the top tier for a third violation "within a 12 month period."

Renting without a license after 30 days' notice carries a per-unit fine — marked up so that it appears to change from $1,000 to $5,000 — "and also be a misdemeanor offense." Three license revocations make the revocation permanent, and the Town could recover its attorney's fees.

Fees. The draft refers to an application fee, an annual fee and reinspection fees, but no fee amounts appear anywhere. It says only that the Council "may establish fees for inspections provided under this Article by resolution."

Where the draft came from. The document attached to both items is not a fresh Ordinance 2026-8. Its header reads "ORDINANCE 2023-5," with that number and the note "(Formerly Indexed As # 2022-3)" struck through, and no new number written in. The signature page leaves blanks for readings in "2023" and lists that year's Council and Town Attorney. The number 2026-8 appears only on the agenda and the cover sheet, which says the item was "[p]reviously discussed during workshop on April 15, 2026." The packet does not say when the markup was made.

Parts of the draft still use terms that do not match Eatonville's government, such as a civil action "before the District Judge." The preamble describes "the short-term rental of residential property," while the applicability clause covers homes available for 180 days or more. The effective date is blank. Rules on noise and fireworks are struck from the tenant rules but still required on the notice every rental must post.

What state law says. In 2023 the Legislature added §83.425 to Florida's landlord-tenant law. It says "[t]he regulation of residential tenancies, the landlord-tenant relationship, and all other matters covered under this part are preempted to the state," meaning the state, not local governments, sets the rules on those subjects. The statute lists examples, among them "the screening process used by a landlord in approving tenancies," "rental agreement applications," and "terms and conditions of rental agreements." The tenant-screening section in this draft is not left over from 2023: the markup strikes an earlier screening block and inserts the requirements again as new text. Whether §83.425 limits any of them is a legal question the packet does not answer. There is no memo from the Town Attorney, and the only legal-sufficiency line is the unsigned 2023 one.

Paperwork still to come. A business impact estimate is a short form, required by state law for most new ordinances, that estimates the cost to businesses. The farmers-market ordinance on the same agenda includes one. This ordinance does not; its cover sheet says one "will be required by the 2nd Reading." The packet also has no public-hearing notice or second-reading date for Ordinance 2026-8, though the agenda lists it under Public Hearing.

Ordinance 2026-7: farmers markets in a second commercial zone

What it is. A change to the Town's land development code, recommended by the Planning and Zoning Board on August 13. Farmers markets are already a permitted use in the C-1 commercial district. Ordinance 2026-7 would also permit them in the C-3 commercial district. This is the first of two public hearings; the notice in the packet sets the second reading for October 6 at 7:30 PM.

What the rule would say. A farmer's market is "a temporary, open-air use consisting of multiple vendors offering fresh agricultural products, locally produced food items, locally handcrafted or artisanal goods for direct sale to the public from temporary booths, tents, or similar temporary structures." Customer parking follows the code's general business ratio and may be off site; on-street parking is allowed, but not along residential streets. Each vendor booth needs one parking space, on site or at an off-site location approved by the Chief Administrative Officer. A market that does not run every day can instead submit a parking plan listing its vendors, hours, parking spaces, and shared and overflow parking.

The business impact estimate. It is in the packet. It projects no compliance costs and no new fees, and says "No impact is expected."

Worth watching. Nothing in the packet points to a dispute over this item. Residents can speak at the hearing: the notice says interested persons "may appear at either Public Hearing and be heard."

HostDime: another construction update, and the running penalty

What it is. A presentation from HostDime on "the status on construction and opening," at the request of Chief Administrative Officer Marlin Daniels. Exhibits: "N/A."

Where things stood. Amendment No. 2 to the development agreement calls for HostDime to pay the Town $250 for every day after July 31, 2025 that the building lacks a final certificate of occupancy — the Town's sign-off that a finished building can be used. On September 1, Daniels put the total at $99,250, and Councilwoman Randolph said none had been collected. If no certificate has issued by September 15, that is 411 days, or $102,750. The Council's informal consensus that night was for the Town Attorney and administration to meet with the company about raising the penalty to as much as $500 a day through a third amendment, which HostDime would have to agree to.

The draft August 18 minutes, attached to this packet for approval, record HostDime's Manny Vivar telling the Council, "We are pursuing the CO (Certificate of Occupancy) by the end of September," and that "there are no constraints in the project." The same minutes record Public Works Director Mundy telling the company about flooding at its road: "If this is not solved before the certificate of occupancy, you are leaving us with a problem."

Worth watching. In August, Councilman Mack asked the company to attend every meeting. On September 1, Vivar did not attend; Daniels said he had called to say he could not make it. Whether a HostDime representative appears on September 15, and gives a date, is the first thing to watch. Background is in Cheatonville's HostDime brief and the August 18 breakdown.

Dr. Phillips Charities: the standing Hungerford update

What it is. The charity's update on its plans for the Hungerford School property, which it has asked to give "during every town council meeting." Sponsored by Councilman Mack. Exhibits: "N/A."

Where things stood. On September 1, the update said the closing on the land was "on track" and that every Eatonville resident would get an information sheet at their door within two weeks, and announced another community dinner at Macedonia Church on October 7. The lawsuit challenging how the property's transfer was approved was reported on August 4 to be set for trial October 27. Resolution 2026-41, which would put the Town on record supporting that lawsuit, has been tabled since August 4 and is not on this agenda.

Worth watching. On September 1 the charity said the information sheet would reach every resident within two weeks, which is September 15. Whether it has gone out is worth asking.

Consent: the August 4 and August 18 minutes

What it is. Approval of the minutes of the August 4 and August 18 regular meetings, attached in full: five pages and four. Consent items pass together in one vote unless a member pulls one out. The cover sheet is a reused copy: it is headed "SEPTEMBER 1, 2026" and still says the exhibits are "Forthcoming on or before scheduled meeting." On August 18, the Council was asked to approve minutes that were not in the packet. This time they are.

What's in them. Minutes here are a summary, and they say so. Cheatonville did not publish a recap of August 18, and these are the first minutes of that meeting to appear in a Town packet. Beyond the HostDime exchange above, they record the Clerk reporting that Councilwoman Randolph was "unavailable tonight," and the Mayor saying of the HostDime amendment item, "We will save the resolution for the next meeting." They also record a Deputy Town Clerk announcement that the National Park Service "would contribute $40,000 toward selecting vendors for the project" to revamp the Town's historic markers.

Details to fix before approval. The August 18 minutes close with "Mayor Gardner Motions for Adjournment." Ruthi Critton is Mayor and presided. Both sets refer to Vice Mayor Thomas at points as "Vice Chair," and the August 18 staff line lists seven names after "(6)."

What the record still leaves open

From this packet. Whether Ordinance 2026-8 has had any legal review; what its fees would be; a clean 2026 text; and a business impact estimate and hearing notice before the second reading.

Still open from earlier. HostDime's accrued penalty and the proposed third amendment, discussed September 1 with no vote. Resolution 2026-41, tabled since August 4. The $1,789,254 the Town's budget worksheets record as paid to the CRA this fiscal year through May 31, against a $230,000 budget, which no Town packet has explained.

New in the CRA's September 17 packet. It budgets $1,842,932.02 in tax-increment money from the Town next year, and $1,618,339.13 going back to the Town as "TIF Rebate." The Town's proposed budget sets aside $232,136 for its CRA payment. The CRA breakdown lays out the difference.