12.f) First Reading Proposed Ordinance 2022-06 Amending, Title 10 of the Municipal Code of the Town of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, by Adding Chapter 2 Entitled "Short-Term Rentals"
It is clear from the evolution of this ordinance that the Town Council is looking to create onerous fees and requirements for STR owners to reduce the number of STRs in business in favor of corporate owned hotels and time shares. The purpose that supposedly started this initiative was to address lifestyle issues impacting FT residents, namely: trash, noise and parking. These issues are caused by all visitors(and residents) and for the town to single out STRs as the problem is unfair, unreasonable and will likely lead to costly litigation. Recent actions by town council such as choosing to allocate Atax money to marketing rather than services that would actually improve these lifestyle issues such as more police, beach patrol, trash, town inspectors, etc. speaks volumes about where their priorities lie. Most STRs are owned by individuals(like myself) who use the rental revenue to help offset expenses so that they can also enjoy the island. I live in SC and split my time between Columbia and HHI and plan to eventually be FT on HHI. I have a FT job as I would not be able to live off the net revenue from my STR(after the already high taxes and fees). There is this false narrative that all STR owners are getting large profit from STRs. A small minority are owned purely for investment purposes. Travel behavior has changed and increasingly guests want to have their own space, especially those traveling with families which has made STRs more attractive and has cut into hotel revenue. The town should not be inserting itself on behalf of the large hotels, especially since it already subsidizes them with the tax money given to marketing organizations and consultants. STRs market the island, support local restaurants & businesses & generate significant tax revenue while getting no tax money from the town, yet the town now is looking to make them the scapegoat for the issues that the town has failed to control with existing laws that address these issues. While the town council is so focused on singling out STRs as the source of problems they are losing sight of the value STRs add to the island, namely driving tourism, support of the hospitality industry (HHI's primary industry) and generating significant tax revenue used to fund HHI projects that benefit all residents and keep their taxes from rising. The same residents who are complaining about STRs will be the 1st ones complaining when taxes go up because owners choose to stop renting v deal with the rules and fees.
It is clear from the evolution of this ordinance that the Town Council is looking to create onerous fees and requirements for STR owners to reduce the number of STRs in business in favor of corporate owned hotels and time shares. The purpose that supposedly started this initiative was to address lifestyle issues impacting FT residents, namely: trash, noise and parking. These issues are caused by all visitors(and residents) and for the town to single out STRs as the problem is unfair, unreasonable and will likely lead to costly litigation. Recent actions by town council such as choosing to allocate Atax money to marketing rather than services that would actually improve these lifestyle issues such as more police, beach patrol, trash, town inspectors, etc. speaks volumes about where their priorities lie. Most STRs are owned by individuals(like myself) who use the rental revenue to help offset expenses so that they can also enjoy the island. I live in SC and split my time between Columbia and HHI and plan to eventually be FT on HHI. I have a FT job as I would not be able to live off the net revenue from my STR(after the already high taxes and fees). There is this false narrative that all STR owners are getting large profit from STRs. A small minority are owned purely for investment purposes. Travel behavior has changed and increasingly guests want to have their own space, especially those traveling with families which has made STRs more attractive and has cut into hotel revenue. The town should not be inserting itself on behalf of the large hotels, especially since it already subsidizes them with the tax money given to marketing organizations and consultants. STRs market the island, support local restaurants & businesses & generate significant tax revenue while getting no tax money from the town, yet the town now is looking to make them the scapegoat for the issues that the town has failed to control with existing laws that address these issues. While the town council is so focused on singling out STRs as the source of problems they are losing sight of the value STRs add to the island, namely driving tourism, support of the hospitality industry (HHI's primary industry) and generating significant tax revenue used to fund HHI projects that benefit all residents and keep their taxes from rising. The same residents who are complaining about STRs will be the 1st ones complaining when taxes go up because owners choose to stop renting v deal with the rules and fees.