This year’s Annual Town Meeting is the fifth year in a row that includes articles pertaining to the regulation of short term rentals. STRs have long been a part of the island’s economic and cultural history, but with increased year round population growth coupled with the real estate boom during the pandemic, STRs have been under the microscope. Some believe they should go on unrestricted and the staunchest opponents would like to ban them altogether. Over the past five years, some regulations have come into play in an effort to promote the safety and well being of both renters and neighbors, such as mandatory rental registration with the health department including acknowledgement and enforcement of building and sanitary codes. This local registration system has also helped gather data on the number of STRs in place in our community.

There are four STR-related articles that will be addressed at the May 3 Town Meeting: 66, 67, 68, & 69. The first two are zoning bylaw amendments which require a 2/3 vote to pass, and the second two are general bylaw amendments which require a simple majority to pass. Article 66 seeks to recognize our newly minted Seasonal Community designation from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts which is designed to recognize Massachusetts communities that experience substantial variation in seasonal employment and to create distinctive tools to address their unique housing needs. This article seeks to establish new, more local terminology called Nantucket Vacation Rental (which follows the same 31-days-or-fewer time frame as a “Short Term Rental”) and establish approval in the zoning use chart in all districts except in the Commercial Industrial zone. Articles 67 & 68 are more strict and seek to create residency requirements for the property owners of STRs, impose minimum stay requirements to curb long weekend style rentals, and limit the number of dwellings a property owner is allowed to rent. Article 69 is the most strict and includes more rigid facets of articles 67 & 68 and then some, including a limit to the amount of local certificates issued.

One is left wondering, where do we go from here? If you are able, we encourage you to attend Town Meeting on May 3rd and exercise your right to vote. Following multiple ongoing neighbor versus neighbor lawsuits, a Massachusetts Land Court judge has urged us to enact zoning legislation at a local level, or we are at risk of the state taking over and losing the autonomy of our unique and historic community.