There is just something different about Christmas in Highlands.
With all that has gone on surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, there is a real appetite for simpler times and fond memories.
The massive Christmas tree in Kelsey-Hutchinson Founders Park is ablaze with multi-colored lights. A stroll down Main Street brings the smells and sounds of Christmas past with seasonal music playing at almost every business and cinnamon, pine and nutmeg scents wafting through the air. At the town ice rink, children laugh as they try desperately to keep their balance while showing off for their friends.
There are a number of small towns that provide the old time Christmas feel, but in Highlands it somehow seems more genuine. As town and county leaders look toward the future, lets all hope that the authenticity of Highlands’ atmosphere as a vibrant light on a hill can be protected.
Mayor Patrick Taylor has brought up the issue of short-term rental units flooding the market and turning what were once single-family residences into a revolving door of visitors. Regulating short-term rentals is a tall task, one that many larger cities have failed at, and the kind of challenge that will take both time and forethought to complete.
Highlands isn’t a perfect utopia, and leading the list of issues that need to be addressed is the lack of long-term single-family rental properties and/or “affordable” housing availability. A lack of places for people to live full time, combined with an influx of short-term rentals, will push Highlands toward becoming a weekend resort community for affluent visitors who reside elsewhere rather than a traditional first or second home market.
Along with regulating short-term rentals, there is also a serious need to look at the town’s infrastructure related to water, sewer and electric service. To keep up with booming demand, there will undoubtedly need to be upgrades made to facilities and those upgrades will come with a cost to taxpayers.
Let’s enjoy a Highlands Christmas to close out 2020. There is plenty of work ahead in 2021.