Isle of Palms council flags rise in short-term rentals, asks staff for detailed mapping and occupancy data

Council members on July 14 told staff they want a clearer picture of short-term rental (STR) activity on Isle of Palms after a dashboard in the council packet showed a year‑over‑year increase.

A council member said the dashboard shows STRs are up "107 year over year" and that "the growth is in the conversion of existing homes, not in any new development," and urged the council to "periodically review where these current trends are going" in relation to the city’s comp plan goal of being "family friendly, primarily residential." The council member made the remarks while reviewing the short‑term rental dashboard included in the packet.

Staff told the council the packet includes licensing counts and that licensing categories have shifted in recent years (one 119‑license reclassification was noted), making straight year‑to‑year comparisons difficult without explanatory asterisks. One council member asked for geographic detail — by zone or neighborhood — and for a distinction between licenses that are held but inactive and licenses that produce revenue. Staff confirmed it can pull historical licensing and revenue data and add explanatory notes where categories changed.

The council requested that staff return with a more detailed, map‑based breakdown showing where STRs are concentrated, how many licensed units are actively producing revenue, and how much churn there has been year over year. Members suggested using third‑party occupancy services or past planning‑commission data to help validate counts and to present the results to the council or committee in the coming month.

The discussion concluded with direction for staff to assemble the requested data and a note that any policy changes would follow a separate review process.