Town of HHI Short-Term Rental Ordinance: Your Input is Important

As a resort area, Hilton Head Island has numerous short-term rental units. According to the Town, the lack of a Short-Term Rental ordinance has led to an imbalance between residential and resort districts and the elimination of some long-term single-family neighborhoods. The Town of Hilton Head Island proposes to craft a Short-Term Rental ordinance to develop a fair, predictable, and balanced approach to manage short-term rental impacts on neighborhoods, the economy, housing stock, public facilities, and the quality of life for residents and the experiences for our visitors. The Town has hired White & Smith Planning and Law Group out of Charleston to assist the Town in undertaking the development of a short-term rental ordinance.

Input from the public is a key part to ensuring that the ordinance will be effective and durable.  The Town of Hilton Head is currently in the Data Collection and Data Assessment phase of the project.  Tyson Smith and Kelly Cousino of White & Smith along with staff have been holding focus group meetings with different stakeholder groups to guarantee that all viewpoints are heard.

Your participation is integral to the success of these potential changes.  We hope that you will be able to participate in a focus group for short-term rental unit owners.  Please contact Teri Lewis, Project Manager, at teril@hiltonheadislandsc.gov if you would be willing to participate in a virtual focus group meeting.

We also encourage you to sign-up for Short-Term Rental Ordinance project updates from the Town. Click here to sign-up for email updates from the Town of Hilton Head.