Approval of the short term vacation rental item on the City Council agenda for Tuesday will be the next step toward commercializing our residential properties and communities to benefit those more interested in making money than preserving an old, well-established, rich community of like-minded families.
Anything requiring a business license is a commercial entity. I object to any such business in my residential area of single-family dwellings. I have registered my objection to my Council representative in the past.
Thank you, Lookout Mountain, for refusing to accept such businesses in your area. Chattanooga's city fathers (such as they may be) are attempting to turn the Scenic City into a haven for tourists and I am sick of it.
Charlotte Parton
Lookout Valley
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Ms. Parton,
If you were unaware, the average Hamilton County homeowner saves $500+ per year in property taxes alone due to revenue left behind by tourists.
We benefit from services rendered to tourists that we wouldn't have otherwise. It's hotel/motel tax that helped us create the beautiful waterfront, it's revenue from the Incline which keeps the electric shuttle running (year round).
By being a tourist haven, it's allowed us as citizens to have our own piece of heaven. No arguments here.
Justin Strickland