Town of Wrightsville Beach tables discussion on short-term rental restrictions

WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, NC (WWAY) — The Town of Wrightsville Beach is holding off on making any changes to short-term rental regulations.

On Thursday, the Board of Aldermen was set to have a discussion about short-term rentals on Harbor Island after residents raised concerns.

“It’s a very ticklish issue because you’ve got neighborhood quality of life issues, you’ve got private property ownership issues,” said Mayor Darryl Mills. “It brings into play certain ordinances we have in place such as nuisance, noise, that type of thing.”

The town’s attorney advised the board not to make any changes, due to legislation potentially coming at the state level that could limit the town’s ability to implement restrictions.

Neighbors say they don’t feel Harbor Island should be treated the same way as the beach island, because it is home to more year-round families than vacation homes.

However, homeowner Michael Kupferman says he feels he should be able to rent his home to supplement the cost.

“I feel that if I buy a $900,000 house in Wrightsville Beach and furnish it with $30,000 of my own capital I should be able to rent the house out how I feel fit until I give the neighbors or the town of Wrightsville Beach a reason to tell me that I cannot do so anymore,” Kupferman said.

Kupferman is glad the town isn’t planning to make any changes at this time, but says he’ll be prepared to defend his case.

“I looked up the zoning of Wrightsville Beach, and Jasmine Place on Harbor Island is R1, and the majority of Wrightsville Beach is R1 as well,” Kupferman said. “And I do feel if they were to rule out short-term rentals in zone R1 in Wrightsville Beach, it would be a major hit to the economy.”

Mills says the discussion will likely resume once action is taken in the general assembly.

“Hopefully it’ll tell us what we can and can’t do,” Mills said. “We don’t want to misstep, we don’t want to jeopardize anybody’s rights, we’re not looking to impair anybody’s quality of life. We want to do the right thing.”