The Pinehurst Hot Mess: And the vote is Nooooooo ….

 

On Tuesday evening, a ray of common sense happened to shine on Pinehurst village government.  The Planning and Zoning Board voted to swat down John Strickland & The Friday Group’s deranged plan to ban ALL vacation rentals in Pinehurst. 

Unlike the village council, the planning board actually had a thoughtful discussion about the pros and cons of the proposed ban. Planning board member and Strickland-worshipping Yankee snob Jack Farrell was not pleased with how things went.

At one point, a board member lamented about how some proposed regulation might add an inordinate amount of extra cost to owning a vacation rental.  In response, Farrell quipped,”Good. Maybe they’ll become unaffordable and go away.”

Methinks Farrell revealed the real reason behind this nonsensical attack on airbnbs and vrbos. *Isn’t it comforting that we have a local government leader lusting for the collapse of a perfectly legal business?*

Farrell repeatedly referred to the vacation rentals as a “problem.”  Just like a guy named Goebbels, he skillfully utilized The Big Lie.  Say something over and over enough that people start to believe it.

The only people actually calling the rentals a problem are the people following Pat Pizzella and John Strickland around.

This certainly isn’t over.  The Strickland cabal is likely already calling for a purge of YES-voting planning board members.  Strickland can also bring the ban back up at a council meeting and ram it through with the aid of his playmates Pizzella and Hogeman.  Never mind the raucous opposition at the recent public hearing or the planning board’s vote. The Yankee Snobs, who do so much to pee on Pinehurst’s public image, will not be denied.

Strickland is reportedly not running for reelection. So, we will have no way to hold him accountable for his mischief or the expensive litigation he has saddled us with.