Mayor on Duty
Tonight is the September Highlands Board of Commissioners meeting. It will begin at 7 pm at the Highlands Community Center next to the ball field. Public comment is the first item on the agenda. The […]
STR
Packed house at STR public hearing segues to worksession
People lined the walls at a Public Hearing on Aug. 25 to voice their opinion on the proposed short-term rental policy amendments. Proposed Town amendments: Option 1: One proposal disallows STRs in R1 and R2 […]
Save Highlands deposes Town Board
Aug. 31 marked one year the Town of Highlands has been navigating its short-term rental ordinance and the fallout from its Aug. 24, 2021 decision to prohibit STRs in the R1 zoning districts effective Jan. […]
Highlands prepares to finalize STR issue
Proposed ordinances for Short-term Rentals as well as legal ramifications of pursuing those proposals were briefly discussed at last Thursday’s Town Board meeting. Amendments to the Planning Board’s original STR ordinance, which was the subject […]
Mayor on Duty
At the board meeting last week, I did a rather long mayor’s report concerning initiatives I want the board address in future meetings. Let me briefly review several of these items. First, the master sidewalk […]
Highlands Planning Board finalizes STR ordinance
At Tuesday night’s special Planning Board meeting, the board put the finishing touches on the proposed ordinance it hammered out on Aug. 2 with a vote of 4-1. Member Wendall Willard again dissented. The gist: […]
Planning Board rejects town’s ordinances last week
In a surprise move last Tuesday, the 5-member Planning Board voted unanimously to not recommend the two proposed STR-related ordinances presented by the Town Board. Instead, in a 4-1 vote, members agreed to tweak their […]
Mayor on Duty
I have complied with the Save Highlands attorney’s public document request. All my emails concerning STRs have been sent to Derek Allen. There may be a few I have overlooked or missed, but I have made […]
Highlands Planning Board is at an STR crossroads
The community building was packed Monday night to hear the Planning Board’s recommendation on the town’s two short-term rental ordinance amendments. But it looks like that could be a long time coming – board members […]
Highlands PB to consider two STR ordinances at tonight’s meeting
Two versions of the amended Unified Development Ordinance as it pertains to Short-term Rentals were briefly discussed at the Special Meeting Thursday, July 14, prior to them being submitted to the Planning Board. The Planning […]
Mayor on Duty
My call for stakeholders to propose compromises concerning STRs underscores the community stalemate on this combative issue. I asked stakeholders to publicly put forth any proposed compromise. I wanted the community to see if there […]
The multi-faceted Highlands STR issue continues
In a special meeting June 30, the Highlands Town Board passed the Highlands Comprehensive Community Plan in a 4 to 1 vote. Under state mandate municipalities with zoning had to approve a Comp Plan by […]
Mayor on Duty
Tonight, is a Special Meeting of the Highlands Board of Commissioners. It will be held at the Highlands Community Center next to the ball field at 6pm. The meeting can be accessed at the town […]
Highlands’ STR story is far from over
The status of the short term rental issue in Highlands is still not clear. Since the Town Board voted 4-1 to pass the amended STR Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) language at its May Town Board […]
Mayor on Duty
My heart almost stopped when Josh Ward told me that the public hearing concerning STR amendments had not been properly advertised as a legal notice in the Highlander. That oversight invalidated the subsequent actions of […]