Hilton Head council quietly kills moratorium following heated public debate
Without making a public motion, the Hilton Head town council quietly killed the idea of a moratorium on short term rentals, timeshares, and subdivisions after a regular meeting Tuesday evening.
After the meeting, the town council directed the town manager to “remove short-term rental, major subdivision, and timeshare moratoriums as options for managing growth on the island,” according to an update posted to the town website on Thursday.
Instead, town staff has been asked to focus on drafting updated regulations related to short-term rentals, major subdivisions, and timeshares, the update says.
“The intent of this directive is to address the most urgent safety and quality of life concerns prior to the upcoming short-term rental permit renewal period at the end of 2025,” according to the update.
At the Tuesday meeting, the town council listened to over two hours of public comments regarding the potential moratorium.
Local real estate agents and vacation rental owners voiced strong opposition to any moratorium. Some longtime residents supported a temporary moratorium on new short-term rentals, arguing it would help give the community time to focus on updating regulations and assessing short-term rentals’ impacts on neighborhood livability, quality of life, and infrastructure use. An online petition asking for a moratorium on short-term rentals has received over 800 signatures.
The proposed moratorium would only applied to new permits, and likely not have affected existing short-term rentals. However, realtors argued the discussion had a chilling effect on investment and property values, turning prospective buyers away out of fear they will have to wait six months to apply for a short-term rental permit.
At a Community Services and Public Safety Committee meeting Monday evening, town leaders held a discussion about amending to the town’s short-term rental ordinance. That discussion follows a February meeting in which town council reviewed proposed amendments that included minimum parking requirements, maximum occupancy requirements, and fire safety requirements, but failed to move them forward to a second reading, according to a staff report.
This story was originally published September 19, 2025 at 2:54 PM.
