Chapel Hill STR Hosts' Defense Fund

Hello, I am Biao Zhou, a STR host in Chapel Hill, and a committee member of the Chapel Hill STR Hosts' Defense Fund, responsible for fundraising to meet legal expenses to litigate the cases filed by two Chapel Hill STR hosts viz. Joe Valentine and Eric Plow, against the Chapel Hill Short Term Rental Ordinance.

As you are aware property owners hold a bundle of property rights which includes the right to restrict access to their properties and earn rental income. By seeking to restrict homeowner’s rights to operate short-term rentals arbitrarily and capriciously, the Chapel Hill Town’s STR ordinance violates such rights granted under North Carolina law. In a recent case brought by Wilmington Town before the North Carolina Court of Appeals, the court held that local governments do not have the power to register or issue permits for STRs since these powers are preempted by the state under NC statutory law. Wilmington Town has accepted this order and has not appealed while withdrawing their ordinance's registration and permit requirements. They are refunding over half a million dollars collected from STR hosts as permit fees and are on the hook for plaintiffs’ attorney's fees. Despite the NC Court of Appeals verdict removing any ambiguity in this matter, the Town of Chapel Hill still has not withdrawn or amended its STR ordinance.

As a group who will be illegally and adversely impacted by this illegal ordinance, we need to think ahead collectively. Do we sit idle watching just two hosts fight our legal battles solely at their costs and risks, hoping they will win and we will get a free ride? This approach takes enormous risks. The two litigant hosts have already spent tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees from their pockets. They are fighting an unequal battle against a Town who is using taxpayer dollars to fund their defense. If the two individual hosts cannot sustain this legal battle and give up, then we have to deal with the town individually on our own with substantial legal costs or loss of entire STR earnings down the road. Our weakness is an invitation for future unfavorable regulations and enforcement. We have seen how the town went ahead with the ordinance under pressure from hotels against the recommendation from its planning board, ignoring the mountain of evidence presented demonstrating our contribution to this community in all public hearings,

Please support our efforts to raise as much money as possible to fight this injustice that affects more than one hundred STR hosts in Chapel Hill town. A suggested donation of at least 5% of your annual STR revenue is requested for STR owners and property managers. For businesses and all other supporters, please consider donating as much as you can to help us in this fight. Your contributions are badly needed and will be very much appreciated.

In the event we don't need to use all of the money raised, we plan to donate the remaining fund to one or more charities in Chapel Hill per Gofundme policy.