Letter: It’s time to consider resident interests

In observing certain Hilton Head Island Town Council actions over the past few years, I note that they have either lost their way or are charting their own independent path. A recent proposal to increase timeshare and lockout units reinforced this conclusion, but there have been other similar actions with little to no quantitative justification in which resident interests seemed to take a back seat.

I also note that several groups have made a conscious effort to lobby Town Hall. Also, large sums of money and election consultants are now involved in winning Town Council seats. It only takes four such seats to control the direction of council. At least two of those seats are now held by developers and are well placed to sway others.

Over the years, we have been fortunate to reap the benefits of a balance between residential, tourism and business interests. But we could be losing that. I believe that it’s time for formation of a residents’ association to match the lobbying power of the other interests. Such a group might insist that town plans and decisions adequately answer questions such as:

Does it enhance the stature of the town and residential real estate values?

Are there documented economic, traffic, environmental, benefit/cost and tax impact studies to support it?

Have those studies been vetted by the public and impartial bodies?

Does it give fair balance to resident considerations and not just other interests?

Is it fair?

This story was originally published March 28, 2017 at 2:15 PM with the headline "Letter: It’s time to consider resident interests."