Collier commissioners discuss allowing guesthouse rentals in Urban Estates

Collier County commissioners moved forward with a plan to allow urban Estates homeowners to rent guesthouses, pointing to a critical shortage of workforce housing.

“It’s been a discussion that our board’s been having for well over a year,” said Commissioner Bill McDaniel.

“There’s a bigger conversation that needs to be had amongst the commissioners, and that is infrastructure,” said Maegan Kouba.

Kouba lives in the Golden Gate Estates and believes this isn’t the solution.

“We don’t want any more traffic,” she added. It’s not that we don’t want growth or we don’t want economic success. But we’re building and building and building and building people are moving, moving and moving and moving. But where are the cars gonna go?”

WINK News talked on the phone with Commissioner Bill McDaniel.

“It’s also important to remember that we’re still an easy six months away,” said Commissioner McDaniel.

He said the 4-1 vote includes a review after one year of the pilot program and only involves homesteaded properties in an area of North Naples.

“Currently, if you build a guest house, you’re not legally allowed to rent it. So this would then allow for the renting of guest houses in the urban estates west of Collier Boulevard,” he added.

He also said people living in the rural Golden Gate Estates expressed interest but noted that the infrastructure isn’t there yet to support a hefty population increase.

“I think the vast majority of the community out here is, we don’t care what you do on your property, right? You pay taxes; you do what you want,” said Kouba. “We live out here, so we don’t have to be in an HOA. So we don’t have the higher powers that be tell us what we can and cannot do on our property.”