All of the Airbnb owners in our area are full time Vermont residents. In some cases it’s even their primary source of income. These owners use a host of local tradespeople to manage their properties. Their visitors come and spend liberally at locally owned and staffed stores and restaurants. Banning airbnbs, or jacking up taxes so as to make it prohibitive, would kick a lot of your neighbors in the ass. This is not always an outsider issue.

If we are in the midst of a housing crisis in Vermont then the state should be battling for its people. Start by offering massive incentives for builders to increase the supply of affordable places to live. Affordable, transitional, subsidized, the state should cast a wide net. It is absolutely possible to balance very real environmental concerns and there is plenty of space.