NEWBERRY — The issue of short term rentals have been debated for some time. During the public comment section at the Newberry County Council meeting on August 16, Zach Bowers argued in favor of Airbnb, rather than against, as some have done in other meetings.
“Overregulating short term rentals isn’t just a potential infringement on property rights, but also could be a financial misstep for out county,” Bowers said.
His argument for follows a previous argument from the council’s July 19 meeting, where Greg Grant came and argued that Airbnb and short term rentals are a nuisance to the community.
“We’ve run into some problems with Airbnb in our neighborhood,” Grant said. “At the present time, we have three that are actual functioning businesses…We have another two that are being built.”
From complaints of trash everywhere to loud music, he feels as if they cause more issues and messes for the community to clean up than anything else.
“We spend more time picking up their trash whenever they leave than anything else,” said Grant. “And some of this trash is actually just he bags.”
He explained that many of the renters don’t know where the dump is, or the dump’s hours, so rather than taking their trash there at the appropriate time or holding onto it until they can dump it, they leave it on the side of the road. Other issues he brought up were the speeding problems on not just the road, but in the water, where no wave zones are ignored.
The only way to change the neighborhood’s rules on short term rentals is through a majority vote. According to Grant, they cannot get a majority vote since many of the property owners don’t live in the area, let alone the state. Their vote is not an accurate representation of rest of the neighborhood, hindering any change that could be made.
“The problem we run into is that with our bylaws, we have to have 66% of the people who own property in our neighborhood to vote,” explained Grant. “A lot of them don’t even live in the state of South Carolina.”
Restricting short term rentals is not unheard of. It’s banned to rent full houses in Charleston, with property owners required to obtain a short term rental license from the Department of Planning, Preservation and Sustainability, as well as have liability insurance coverage. It also requires a full-time resident to sleep in the house while guests are there. Other places, such as Summerville, require a resident to reside on the rentals listed address 183 days a year and keep a peaceful environment for neighbors. Some places also provide a limited number of rental licenses, limiting the number of short term rental places that are available.
Zach Bowers argued for Airbnb as an advocate of property rights and with the interest of the county in mind.
“I stand before you not just as an advocate for property rights, but as someone who is deeply committed to the economic and community growth of our beloved county,” Bowers said.
According to Bowers, property rights are a foundation of American principles and restricting short term rentals requires much thought and care. Otherwise, the economic benefit of rentals may be stifled, making life harder for those who use Airbnb as an added, flexible mean of income.
“Short term rentals, often perceived as mere vehicles of profit, actually embody a unique blend of commerce and community,” Bowers explained. “They bring visitors, enhancing local businesses and showcasing our communities charm.”
Over the last year, the revenue generated from short term rentals in the region was $37 million, with 10,000 nights demanded in Newberry County.
“For Newberry County specifically, there were 10,357 demand nights,” Capitol City Chief Executive Officer Miriam Atria said. “From that 10,000 plus demand nights, $2.6 million in revenue was generated in short term rentals in one year.”
Bowers said that the concerns of those against short term rentals are valid, coming from a place of care for the community. His concerns, as someone arguing for short term rentals, come from the same place. He explained that restricting the rights of property owners and short term rentals could have economic drawbacks, such as decreased property values, less incentives to maintain property and dissuade future investors.
“We must be wary of solutions that are too broad and heavy handed,” Bowers said. “An overly restrictive ordinance may not only limit potential economic growth, but might inadvertently harm those it seeks to protect.”