News Release

Town Council Committee Approves Recommendations for Short-Term Rentals

March 28, 2022

An ordinance that sets standards for how short-term rentals should operate on Hilton Head Island will move forward to Town Council for consideration at its April 19 meeting.

At a meeting on March 24, members of the council's Public Planning Committee approved the following recommendations:

• That Town Council review and approve a draft ordinance to establish performance standards for short-term rentals.
• That the committee support developing a preliminary framework for the examination of high occupancy short-term rentals.

"The multiple stakeholder meetings and hundreds of public comments we received exemplify the complexity of the short-term rental issue. The Town has made every effort to recognize this and come up with a balanced solution that addresses the property rights of individuals and our quality of life for residents and their neighborhoods," said Town Council Member David Ames, Chairperson of the Public Planning Committee.

The proposed ordinance addresses short-term rental related:

• Licenses, permits, fees and taxes.
• Vehicles and parking.
• Noise management.
• Violations.
• Complaint tracking and response.
• Trash storage and removal.

Town staff recommended that an annual fee be assessed for short-term rental permits. The fee would help recover costs associated with identifying short-term rental properties, ensuring compliance with permitting and business licenses requirements, and addressing violations.

Should Town Council approve the proposed ordinance as drafted, it would become effective on January 1, 2023. The period leading up to that date will allow staff sufficient time to develop and execute an implementation plan, said Anne Cyran, the Town's Interim Community Planning Manager.

For the preliminary framework on high occupancy short-term rentals, Town staff will gather input from the public, stakeholders, subject matter experts, other communities, and the Town attorney. Results will be shared with the Town Council, Cyan said.

A recording of Thursday’s meeting, the presentation made by staff, and the proposed ordinance are available on the Town’s website at hiltonheadislandsc.gov/short-termrentals. The public may submit feedback about short-term rentals through a link on the website.

For more information about short-term rentals, contact Anne Cyran at AnneC@hiltonheadislandsc.gov or 843-341-4697.