Special Magistrate Erica Augello on Monday found that a St. Pete Beach property owned by William and Theresa Buchanan violated the city's RU-2 prohibition on short-term rentals and assessed a flat $3,000 fine plus $330 in administrative costs.

Augello's finding followed code-enforcement testimony that multiple Airbnb and VRBO reviews indicated stays shorter than 30 days, evidence the city said showed the property had been used for short-term rentals in violation of section 9.5 (prohibited uses) of the City of St. Pete Beach Code of Ordinances. City counsel pointed to nine reviews and recommended a $1,000-per-violation fine totaling $9,000 plus administrative costs; the magistrate concluded the violations were irreversible and imposed a single $3,000 fine for the nine violations.

Jessica Golden, who identified herself as the host and a representative of Golden Realty Consulting, told the magistrate the owners were unaware of the RU-2 restriction, that calendars for Airbnb and VRBO have been updated to require minimum 30-day stays, and that existing bookings made before the notice remain under review. "We would just like to state that we were not aware of the policy," Golden said, adding the calendars had been changed to require 30-day bookings.

The magistrate noted that money already exchanged for completed stays could not be undone: "I can't give you time to undo the stay, unless we had a time machine," Augello said. The magistrate ordered the standard short-term rental compliance conditions in her written order, assessed the $330 administrative cost to the city, and required the owners to provide proof within 10 business days that future bookings under 30 days have been canceled.

Augello declined the city's higher $9,000 recommendation and explained the $3,000 assessment was intended to be equitable while still enforcing compliance. The magistrate also warned that future violations within the five-year window could be treated as repeat offenses.

The city will issue a written order detailing the fine, administrative costs and the requirement to cancel short-term reservations; the order may include recording fees should a lien be required.