Board of Health Considering Regulating Gatherings At Short-Term Rentals

When the Nantucket Board of Health meets this Thursday, it will take up a curious agenda item: "Large Events at Private Homes."

The public hearing follows an uproar on South Shore Road, where a private home was rented for a large wedding, and comes amid the island's ongoing debate over whether and how to restrict short-term rentals on Nantucket.

In an attempt to bring greater control and oversight of such events, the Board of Health will be considering a draft bylaw amendment that would regulate gatherings at registered short-term rentals by requiring a "gathering permit" and give the board wide latitude to set conditions such as limiting the size, hours, parking, and the service of alcohol at such events.

The bylaw amendment would define a gathering that requires a permit as " any number of people in a short-term rental that are in addition to the approved capacity shown on the registration or who are not intended to be overnight guests."

The town's local registry for short-term rentals is still just getting off the ground over the past year and so far has just over 800 short-term rentals registered.

"This came up six months ago when there were complaints about Jamie Feeley, citizens were upset about it, and there were rumblings that other people were going to start doing it," said Nantucket Board of Health chair Malcolm MacNab, who also sits on the Select Board, referencing the wedding at Feeley's home last September. "We thought it was in the interest of the citizens to look at this as a possibility. What we didn’t want to do - if your daughter is getting married and having a reception in your backyard, we didn’t want to get into that. But short-term rentals are meant for people to stay, not have parties."

As a bylaw amendment to Chap. 338 of the town code - which governs the town's existing short-term rental registry - the gathering permit proposal would require approval by the Board of Health and the Select Board but would not need to go to Town Meeting.

As written, it would allow the Board of Health to issue gathering permits at short-term rentals with the following conditions: 

• Limiting the number of guests
• Limiting the hours of the gathering
• Limiting or restricting the use of outdoor speakers
• Prohibiting the service of alcohol or requiring that alcohol only be served by a licensed caterer
• Limiting the number of vehicles that can be parked on-site or on adjacent streets, and/or requiring an off-site parking location with shuttle service
• Requiring a police detail
• Requiring the use of portable toilets and/or a trash collection service

The draft bylaw amendment was based on a similar regulation currently in place in Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard, which the board included in the meeting packet for Thursday's hearing.

The Board of Health could potentially deny a gathering permit application for a variety of reasons, including failure to pay the required fee, if there have been prior violations, if there have been complaints about prior gatherings at the same address or at another short-term rental owned by the same owner or used by the same occupants, "or if the Board determines that the Gathering cannot be held without creating or causing a nuisance to the surrounding neighborhood due to unreasonable noise, the
creation of public health and safety issues associated with traffic and parking congestion, or any other nuisance conditions."

"I want to hear all the arguments," MacNab said. "A lot of people have called me and are saying people are renting the house next to me, and there’s 50 people in there having a party. That’s not right." 

Thursday's Board of Health meeting begins at 4 p.m. You can participate on Zoom by clicking here or watch live on YouTube at this link.