Nantucket

Nantucket residents vote down a controversial short-term rental proposal

Islanders voted 782-713 against the proposal.

Nantucket is known for its idyllic waterfront, and its pricey real estate. Stan Grossfeld / Globe Staff

May 8, 2024

2 minutes to read

Nantucket residents voted down a proposal on Tuesday night that would have permitted short-term rentals in residential zoning districts islandwide.

During Nantucket’s Annual Town Meeting, attended by nearly 1,500 people, residents debated how to handle short-term rentals on the island for the fourth year in a row. There are more than 9,000 homes used as vacation rentals on Nantucket.

Article 59, a zoning bylaw amendment sponsored by attorney Steven Cohen, proposed permitting short-term rentals in all residential districts on the island. It required a two-thirds majority to pass and residents voted 713 for and 782 against it.

Residents on the tony island and popular vacation destination remain divided over the issue of short-term rentals, with some saying unregulated short-term rentals stress the island’s resources and limit affordable housing, and others saying the rentals are essential for the island’s economy which depends on tourism dollars.

In a Massachusetts Land Court ruling in March, Judge Michael D. Vhay determined that using a home primarily as a short-term rental in residential areas violated Nantucket zoning rules in the neighborhood, but indicated that short-term rentals may be utilized as an accessory use, or secondary use, of a dwelling. If Article 59 had passed, it would have essentially nullified that ruling.

Now, instead, Nantucket’s Zoning Board of Appeals will be tasked with writing new short-term rental rules and the conversation will continue at a special town meeting in the fall.

Cohen said by banning short-term rentals, Nantucket will become a gated community for the wealthy. What’s more, short-term rentals have provided jobs and economic benefits for the past 50 years, he said.

“The people who want to ban short-term rentals want to see less summer people and less of us to service them,” said Cohen to a packed auditorium at Nantucket High School before the vote. “And that’s what they say in writing. That’s not my opinion.”

Former select board member Michael Kopko was against Article 59.

“We are not under the gun to get this done tonight,” Kopko said. “We need a zoning article that addresses short-term rentals. It’s just, unfortunately, this is not the one. We need an article that has definitions about it that are precise, about what accessory uses and principal uses are. I happen to feel very strongly that local Nantucket property owners and seasonal property owners should have the right to continue to rent their properties the way they traditionally have for years, and I believe there’s a way to do that, but this zoning article is not that way.”

Island resident Charity Benz, spokesperson for the group Put Nantucket Neighborhoods First, was also against it.

“Article 59 strips away over 50 years of zoning protection,” Benz said. “If article 59 passes, those realtors who will be cruising slowly along the roads of your residential neighborhoods with investors and contractors in the back seat aren’t sightseeing. They’re planning to change your neighborhood forever.”

Resident Galen Gardner was for Article 59, saying, “I am an advocate of article 59 because it is a timely approach to STR regulations. We have now been waiting four years for resolution. This proposed zoning bylaw can prevent legal conflicts and preserve our community’s character, which includes over 100 years of STR.”

As for the impact on this summer’s short term rentals, John Giorgio, town counsel, said “I would assume that most everyone who is renting their property probably have contracts in place for this summer. There is nothing in Judge Vhey’s decision at this point that would require anyone to cancel an existing rental contract.”

Kristi Palma

Travel writer

Kristi Palma is the travel writer for Boston.com, focusing on the six New England states. She covers airlines, hotels, and things to do across Boston and New England. She is the author of the award-winning Scenic Six, a weekly travel newsletter.