Our City Council is wasting time debating the numbers and details regarding short-term rentals. Those of us who live here see the character of our neighborhoods changing by the day. The surrounding communities have acted to regulate these businesses, while we sit with doors open to unlimited investment. The time has come for residents to take action.
If we do not move quickly to manage growth and maintain balance, both the experience of life on IOP and the value of our properties will decline. A small island is not a candidate for a high-density rental market. Our infrastructure is at capacity. Our quality of life is suffering. Our safety is compromised. We are harming our environment. Our residents and visitors alike are frustrated with the traffic, parking and crowds. We are losing our character and charm.
Our family has already moved once on the island because our historically residential street filled with short-term rentals. The renters were generally nice enough, but visitors are on vacation. They are not “neighbors.” They add a disproportionate amount of noise; a disproportionate number of cars coming and going on the street; a disproportionate number of overflowing trash cans. We lost the neighborhood quality of our street in the matter of a few short years.
Like it or not, short-term rentals are a business like any other. We have the right and responsibility to regulate businesses for the good of the community as a whole. It is time for citizen action. We support Preserve IOP Now and the proposal to codify the balance of residential and short-term rental properties.
Dana and John Lanigan
Isle of Palms
