Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
Nantucket short-term rental debate continues after voters reject latest proposals
“It is time for us as a community to put the short-term rental debate to rest."
Nantucket residents again rejected proposals to regulate short-term rentals on the island during a special town meeting Tuesday night.
Voters have been grappling with the controversial issue for four years, and nearly 900 voters took part in the latest meeting at Nantucket High School.
Voters defeated Article 1, called a compromise proposal by the Select Board, that would have allowed one rental property per person, limited short-term rentals to eight rental contracts in July and August, had no limit on rental contracts in the offseason, and restricted owners of new rentals to three contracts in July and August for the first five years (excluding properties obtained through inheritance or divorce). What’s more, owners of multiple rental properties would be limited to a single rental property after eight years. The article required a two-thirds majority to pass, and residents voted 416 for and 472 against it.
Advertisement:
The biggest issue around short term rentals is the investor-only properties, said John Kitchener, a member of the Planning Board, who said Article 1 addressed that issue. The people who own investor-only properties never visit Nantucket and aren’t invested in the community because it’s just another asset for them, he said.
About Article 1, he said, “For sure it does not give anyone all of what they want. But it’s a start. And it gives most people some of what they ask for.”
Some voters disagreed with owners of multiple properties having to drop down to a single property after eight years and others felt the proposal didn’t do enough to regulate short-term rentals.
Advertisement:
Article 2, put forth by the group Put Nantucket Neighborhoods First, would have required a 30-day residential requirement for short-term rental operators, and allowed the short-term rental to be rented for one day less than the time used by the owner. Though Article 2 received the majority vote after 478 residents for and 394 against it, it did not receive the required two-thirds majority to pass.
Some voters opposed the residency requirement of Article 2 and said it would be unenforceable.
Voters also rejected Article 4, a proposal that would have put no regulations on existing short term rental property owners and limited new property owners to one short term rental and three contracts in July and August. It was defeated, with 147 voting for it and 607 voting against it.
Residents did approve Article 5, with 544 voting for and 143 voting against it, which will increase regulations that prohibit corporate-owned short-term rentals.
Some residents expressed frustration that islanders haven’t voted for a solution to short term rental regulations thus far.
“It is time for us as a community to put the short term rental debate to rest,” said David Iverson, chair of the Planning Board.
The debate will continue at the next town meeting in May.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com