Representatives of the Highlands Neighborhood Coalition appeared at the Highlands Board of Commissioners meeting Thursday night to present some early results from its 2025 Resident Survey.
Cathy Henson, president of the HNC, said, “The reason for our survey is to find out how residents feel about living in Highlands and what we can do to ensure that it remains the paradise that attracted us all here. The town leadership is always open to feedback to maintain a high quality of life for all residents, now and in the future.”
HNC is a not-for-profit, grassroots organization of neighbors and neighborhoods with a mission to preserve the past, protect the present, and advocate for the future of the Town of Highlands and the local community.
Henson along with fellow board member James Worrell described the survey process and provided some initial results. Survey respondents were split almost exactly between one-third full-time residents, one-third part-time residents and one-third seasonal residents.
In a follow up interview with The Highlander, Worrell said almost 300 Highlanders have responded to the survey, but they’d like to hear more.
“Residents told us what they think makes Highlands a very special place, but also some things that threaten our town as a good place to live,” said Worrell. The survey questions are open-ended so residents can say whatever they feel.
In response to the question asking what makes Highlands special, the top response was the weather, followed by natural beauty and the people. On the question asking what threatens Highlands as a good place to live, the top response was short-term rentals, followed by over-development and over-tourism.
“We are hearing what the residents think and we are sharing those views with our elected officials. We hope tonight’s presentation is the first part of a robust discussion about resident needs and expectations,” said Worrell.
The organization’s goal is to reach every resident with the survey. HNC has already reached out to thousands of residents through its own supporter network, other active neighborhood associations, and newspaper advertisements and plans to keep seeking responses.
During the meeting commissioners recommended they reach out to registered voters for input, “and we’ve been in touch with the Macon County Board of Elections,” said Worrell.
Henson said, “We want to hear from everyone, and the town will benefit the more residents and elected officials work together.”
The Highlands Neighborhood Coalition
The Highlands Neighborhood Coalition began when residents – full time, part-time and seasonal – became concerned about short term rentals in residential neighborhoods.
“We’ve been working on that for five years,” said Henson. “What we realized is that’s just a symptom of a larger problem … depending on your prospective … over-tourism.”
Or as Henson put it, too many people in town.
HNC began working with the town to get a handle on short term rentals. When Hurricane Helene hit and Highlands was without power, trees were down, residents needed repairs, HCA identified another issue with their core group – communication. Henson said they realized in an emergency people didn’t know who to call to remove a downed tree, when the power was out, and the internet didn’t work. “Neighbors were asking us and we realized people needed to know who to call in a disaster. Again, it became a livability issue.”
Henson said the focus of HNC is on people who live in Highlands.
“We all know why we came here – weather, location, the small-town feel. But we’re getting a lot of feedback lately on what’s making it difficult to live in Highlands – too many people in town, too much traffic, too much congestion,” said Henson.
Looking at the future
Henson said HNC is interested in putting together a coalition of people – businesses, Chamber members, local leaders, to navigate competing interests – it’s not an either/or issue.
“It’s not you live here or you do business here, it’s what level of business and tourism does a town like Highlands need to support an economy and still maintain a small town place that people choose to live,” said Henson
Worrell also pointed out the need to add more voices into their mix before they think about next steps – developing an action plan to address issues raised in the survey.
For young families and working families, living is unaffordable in Highlands.
“One thing that we’ve looked at over the years is the impact on school enrollment when there’s not affordable housing for younger families,” said Worrell. “We don’t want to get so small that Macon County decides we’re too expensive to maintain a stand-alone school. Anyone who grew up in a small town knows, the school is the center of the community and activities.”
Worrell said the lack of affordable housing and long-term rentals makes it difficult to attract a workforce. “And there are different types of employment – young professionals, doctors, dentists. That’s why we want to bring together a group of people who aren’t just thinking about Highlands as it is this minute, but how it could be, and how it should be, so that it’ll be a livable place for residents and also offer the type of tourism economy that makes sense for a town our size.”
He said at one point there was a push by the town to focus on making the area a good place, a livable place for residents.
“And that discussion doesn’t happen very much anymore,” said Worrell. “What we’re trying to bring about is a discussion about what they want Highlands to be for residents – people who live here and invest here, in the nonprofits, the community programs – and if some months out, we get to a point where it’s not a place for residents, that’s fine, but at least the planning will have been done.”
Henson, who has been a part-time resident for the past 21 years, said it important to get all the people who love Highlands to work together on a plan that includes elected officials, businesses and residents – full-time, part-time and seasonal. “Working together we can make this a really great place.”
Take the survey
If you would like to participate in HNC’s resident survey you can access it at: highlandsneighbor hoodcoalition.com.
- Rachel Hoskins
rhoskins@thefranklinpress.com