Short term rentals (STRs) can destroy the very fabric of our communities. As STRs take over we lose the long term rental and homeownership housing that house the families that go to our schools, the volunteers that support our fire departments, churches, PTAs, nonprofits that support the community, provide neighborly support for the elderly in need, vote, run for office, and pay income taxes. And these citizens of Talbot County care about the future of the community rather than parachuting in and out. The argument is made that STRs provide economic benefits, yet non-STR residents provide every bit as much and more economic activity and support for the County. Lawns are cut, gardens tended, houses repaired and cleaned, restaurants, stores and museums patronized, cars repaired, tax services hired, and on and on. I doubt short term visitors support the marine industry to the extent that long term residents do.
Yet, we are rushing to encourage the conversion of long term resident housing to short term resident housing. I live on a street that has had one STR for years that has not caused noise and disturbance problems, just parking congestion from the overflowing cars. This year there are now two STRs. As houses are selling like hotcakes, they are being purchased by investors explicitly as STRs. Ask the real estate agents. Before next season within 1000 feet I will have 4 STRs, with the new purchases being made by non-resident investors.
Yes, STR values push up prices, so I can sell my house as an STR for more than I can sell it to an ordinary person. At the same time it won’t be long before housing will no longer be affordable for long term residents who send their children to our schools and support our community. This is not healthy for our communities.
Let’s not wipe out long term resident housing to the extent that we can no longer support resident serving retail/services/organizations/facilities such as drug stores, dry cleaners, grocery stores, schools, and libraries.
What is the drive to replace long term resident housing with short term visitor housing? Why do we want to become a county of short term visitors? It is all well and good to generate visitor business. Fill our hotels, inns and B&Bs. Allow/build more if needed. Allow some measure of extra capacity in STRs. Maybe limit them to primary residence homeowners needing to augment their income. A few here and there are okay and can be managed with good enforcement.
But don’t replace our neighborhoods of long term resident housing with short term visitor housing. Concentration of STRs – soon to be 4 out of 13 houses in a row and more to come — will wipe out neighborhoods. I won’t want to live next to a STR. I want to live next to a neighbor. If the house next door became an STR, it would cause me to move and sell my house as an STR too. Once you pass the tipping point it becomes a downward spiral that is hard if not impossible to reverse.
What price should we pay to enrich investors and real estate agents and diminish the communities of our County? We have added some good enforcement mechanisms, but we need to do more. Don’t allow investor owned STRs. Don’t allow concentrations of STRs. We need to be measured in our embrace of STRs to save our neighborhoods and our County.
Leslie Steen
Tilghman
Charles Barranco says
Ms Steen,
You just listed All the reasons STRs should be limited, restricted and Not in a residential community.
When you drive out the people who are the backbone of a community, you no longer have a neighborhood.
Recently I attended a STR Board hearing for approval an STR application.The attorney for the LLC/Owner, stated, “we have 40 properties on the Eastern Shore, in other states too, and we are looking for more to buy”. They don’t care about communities, people, whether Christmas in St Michaels has volunteers, whether the children have a parade or Shop and Wrap, whether there is even a Christmas in St Michaels let alone donations to help people derived from this event.
The oblivious greed is for the LLCs, absentee landlords and Real Estate Rental Companies.
Can the County Council see this or don’t the care either?
Are the influenced by the greed too!
Connie Lauffer says
Leslie touches on all the reasons to stop the expansion of STRs.
If the County wants to encourage more tourism create legislation that allows for more small inns and B and Bs.
They don’t belong in existing, established neighborhoods.
Thank you Leslie for a wonderful, detailed letter.
DANNA MURDEN says
It makes no sense to me that they are not allowed in the towns but we have to put up with them in our communities in the county. Now where is the fairness in that. I don’t think they should be allowed period! Build more hotels, motels and B&Bs but please leave our neighborhoods for full time families!
Robert Haase says
That may be because the County Council all live in Easton and are protected. Only Lesser and Price care about the Counties and try to bring fairness in the neighborhoods, the rest dance to the special interest.
Allie Kingery says
My family purchased a home in Talbot County in 2007 that had been in the vacation rental program for a number of years. We rented the home out primarily during the summer, then enjoyed it as a weekend home for the remainder of the year. We often invited other family members as well as friends over for group holidays.
Having grown to love Talbot, my family decided, a few years ago, to sell their home in Baltimore and move to Talbot permanently. A few years later, my grandparents did the same. Then my mother’s best friend moved here. Then two other couples in our friends’ circle did the same. Now my aunt and uncle are officially shopping for a house… as their permanent retirement home. One rental home has directly resulted in five permanent family moves to Talbot… and that number may soon be six! All of these families support the entire community and all of the services provided, including beauty saloons, lawyers, restaurants, shops, accountants, veterinary practices, and public libraries. And they all vote. My belief: the vacation rental homes provide an opportunity for families to come and experience all the wonderful activities and charm that our beautiful Chesapeake region has to offer… and I am sure as a direct result, many will make this their final stop, just as with my family.
Allie K
St. Michaels