Quote:
Originally Posted by golfing eagles
Great post and probably true for the most part. Now, for the key question: What of any significance does allowing Airbnbs in TV add to our community? Even if they affect only a small minority, why should they have to put up with a nightmare at all. And nobody can claim it doesn’t happen and nobody has good statistics on how often, which is why all we see is anecdotal
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The straightforward answer to the question is it adds nothing.
To me, the more important question is what harm could restricting Airbnbs do? The answer to that is twofold. First, it will be difficult to adequately write the restriction and second, it takes away more of our property rights.
Restricting Airbnbs sounds good but it leaves the door open for RentFromAVillager, VillagesHPM, ****, and any others. But that isn't what you meant, you meant restricting all rentals. Okay, but no rentals at all means not daily, weekly, monthly, annually, any. This would also eliminate the Lifestyle Previews but maybe there is an exception for those. And some would say that yearly rentals are okay so another exception for them. Or maybe the rule is 30 days or more except February has only 28 days. Or calendar month but that seems a bit restrictive too. And let's get back to that 3-day Lifestyle Preview... how is that different than a 3-day Airbnb again? Difficult to adequately define.
Then there is the property rights aspect. When I bought a home out in WA the deed came with the restriction that I didn't own anything below the topsoil; if I drilled for oil anything that came up would be the property of the railroad. I didn't like the restrictions but they didn't take away from my use and enjoyment of my home. When I bought a home here I signed a deed with a written set of restrictions. Some of these *did* take away from my use of the home but I knew going in what those restrictions were. Now the proposal is to restrict/eliminate rentals. I had considered renting the house while I still lived in MD. I decided against it but that was my choice. Eliminating rentals would take that choice away from me - would take away from me the right to use my property in that way. We all have given up enough property rights, we shouldn't be demanding to have more rights taken away.