Save Highlands' Short-term Rentals

Hi, I'm Jennifer and I'm part of a small committee spearheading the effort to raise money to fund the legal representation and PR we will need to fight back against the Mayor and Town Council who worked very quickly to ban our Short-term rentals, effective January 3, 2022. The committee is made up of David Bee, Kristy Jones-Favalli and me.

The legal team being amassed is impressive, but in order to fight for the rights of ALL residential short-term rental owners, it will take a lot of funding. For the time being, only those located in R-1 are affected, but R-2 and R-3 zones are sure to follow. UPDATE AS OF 30 AUG 2021: ALL RESIDENTIAL AREAS ARE NOW AFFECTED. THIS INCLUDES R-1, R-2 AND R-3.

We are organizing a lawsuit against the Town of Highlands, NC challenging the Town’s attempted prohibition of Short Term Rental properties. The Plaintiffs have retained the Asheville, NC law firm of Allen Stahl + Kilbourne, with attorney Derek Allen acting as lead counsel. The GoFundMe account will be used to pay the PR costs, retainer and legal fees of the law firm incurred in the prosecution of the litigation. All funds will be managed and disbursed by Highlands Area Vacation Rental Owners/Manager, LLC, established to manage the litigation. The Treasurer of the LLC will be authorized to disburse payment of the GoFundMe funds to the law and PR firms upon receipt of invoices for legal and PR services rendered in the litigation. 

During the town council meetings, there was no mention whatsoever about the economic impact to Highlands with this hasty decision. There was no mention of the numerous people who will be adversely affected. It is about the people who will lose jobs. It is about property managers who will lose companies. It is about businesses who will lose customers and year-round business, a means to survive. It is about those who spent their savings, it is about the owners whose retirement plans counted on this revenue, it is also about the older owners whose only income is their rental income. Think of our guests, friends and families who love Highlands just as much as we do, and would be disappointed to learn of this. Finally, the foreclosures, decline in property values, and tax revenue that will go away will be devastating.

We relied on Highlands' well known and long-standing position with regard to STRs, and with no notice, they blindsided home owners, business owners, real estate agencies, cleaning crews, handymen and a host of others who will feel this effect.

Please support our efforts to raise as much money as we can to fight back against this injustice that affects so many. For STR owners, a suggested donation amount of $1,000 is requested. For businesses, and all other supporters, as much as you can give will be needed and much appreciated.

In the event we don't use all of the money, we will plan on keeping any balance of funds in the account that will be set up for our LLC, in case this happens again. Then after a period of time, we will donate the funds to a local nonprofit organization in Highlands.