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A group of citizens started a GoFundMe to raise money for legal fees to fight back against the town's decision to enforce an original ordinance that bans short-term rentals in zones R-1, R-2 and R-3.
At a special called Board of Commissioners meeting, the board verbally agreed to start enforcing its current zoning ordinance, not allowing short term rentals in zones R-1, R-2 and R-3, starting Jan. 3, 2022.
After hearing the news, a group of citizens started a GoFundMe to raise money for legal fees to fight back against the town.
According to the GoFundMe page, the committee is made up of Debi Bradshaw Martin, Caroline Ragsdale, Will Pichard, Becky Blakeney, Chris Rideout, David Bee, Julia and Chris Weller, Kristy Jones-Favalli and Jennifer Huff.
So far, the group has managed to raise $93,000 of their $200,000 goal, with 124 donors and 789 shares.
Jennifer Huff, who set up the fund, said they started the GoFundMe to protect the property rights of short-term rental owners.
“We made this decision after seeing the way the Mayor and the Town of Highlands Board of Commissioners handled the Town Hall meetings regarding short-term rentals,” Huff said. “In an instant they changed the lives of hundreds of people--some who will find this financially devastating. And before long, the trickle-down effect will surely cause businesses to suffer, resulting in the loss of jobs. As owners of short-term rentals, we employ a lot of locals from cleaners, handymen, plumbers, electricians, lawn maintenance people, others, not to mention all of the guests we direct to restaurants, spas, shops, wilderness and fishing guides, etc. They will certainly feel this impact too.”
Also, according to the GoFundMe page, the group is filing a lawsuit against the Town of Highlands and have retained the Asheville law firm of Allen, Stahl and Kilborne with attorney Derek Allen acting as leading counsel.
“The GoFundMe account will be used to pay the retainer and legal fees of the law firm incurred in the prosecution of the litigation,” the page says. “All funds will be managed and disbursed by Highlands Area Vacation Rental Owners/Managers, LLC, established to manage the litigation. The treasurer of the LLC will be authorized to disburse payment of the GoFundMe funds to the law firm upon receipt of invoices for legal services rendered in the litigation.”
Huff said that during the town council meetings, there was no mention whatsoever about the economic impact to Highlands with this decision.
“Many have commented that they bought their home for the sole purpose of using it as a vacation rental—folks who seek to supplement their retirements, maybe pay for their children’s college educations, or to improve their properties,” Huff said. “A few were told just a few short weeks ago that there was no problem with this at all. Eventually real estate agencies will suffer as the market will make a big correction. And of course, management companies will feel a massive negative impact. Clearly, there had been discussions with certain groups, but unfortunately those discussions didn’t include STR owners, business owners, or realtors. Most of the public was completely caught off guard—but not all. It was apparent that some knew exactly what to expect based on their prepared statements, when they spoke at the virtual town hall meeting. I find the lack of transparency disheartening and unnecessarily divisive.”
The feedback on the page, according to Huff, has been encouraging, but not expected.
“This is a big deal. People are concerned and fired up. But again, because this was handled the way it was, we feel many homeowners still don’t know what’s going on and will be shocked at what has happened with little or no advanced notice. The Mayor and the Commissioners made no effort to listen to all of the people. Apparently, they did not want to hear the other side—the very real and personal stories of how this will affect families, including many long-time homeowners. I hear the stories daily. I know by now many have written the Mayor and Town Council, but I’m not aware of any public response. So, it appears they simply don’t care about the incredible ramifications for the Town and how many people and businesses will be devastated by this.”
Overall, Huff said the group’s goal is to restore their property rights and preserve the economic vitality of the town and its residents.
“To be clear, we do not want, and this did not have to be a ‘battle,’” Huff said. “With the political divide over COVID-19, masks and other world events, we don’t need more division. What we want is a fair shake and a reasonable opportunity to be heard. Every respectable and responsible STR owner I know wants to ensure their local neighbors aren’t bothered or inconvenienced in any way. Most have never had a single negative incident hosting guests. This is not Daytona Beach. We have wonderful and responsible families and visitors from all over the United State and the world. And they love and are very respectful of the Highlands community. We welcome police enforcement of noise complaints, trash compliance, or illegal parking restrictions. If there’s an irresponsible STR owner, they make us all look bad, and they should be corrected. We can co-exist. The police have no validated complaints on record from vacations rentals over the last two years. This was verified by the Chief of Police.”
When it comes down to business owners, Huff said they are rightfully scared.
“It’s been a hard year for them with COVID and this will be another major hurdle for their businesses. We’ve had businesses contribute to our fund and ask how they can help. We’ve also had businesses donate that wished to remain anonymous. All I know is this: there are not enough hotels to accommodate the tourists that visit this beautiful mountain town. We believe that STRs allow local owners to fractionally participate in our tourist economy. I know Old Edwards Inn has made a statement that they need STRs because they can’t accommodate all of the weddings they host. If you take away the short-term rentals, the wedding business will also take a hit. And if there’s not enough places for them to stay, they’ll stop coming. Or, they’ll plan their weddings at High Hampton Resort, or Dillard, Georgia’s newest wedding venue, Julep Farms. Perhaps The Highlander should be doing some research into whether or not new hotels will be coming into Highlands, and if that’s the real reason behind this sudden decision?”
According to the page, if all of the funds aren’t used, they plan on keeping any balance of funds in the account that will be set up for the LLC, in case this happens again. After a period of time, the group plans to donate the funds to a local nonprofit organization in Highlands.
By Christopher Smith