"It's Nuts" - Board Of Health Backs Away From Proposal To Regulate Gatherings At Short-Term Rentals

Citing the challenges of enforcement, the Nantucket Board of Health appears to be backing away from a proposed bylaw to regulate gatherings at short-term rentals on the island.

"The regulations we proposed - to limit the parties by the number of approved spaces - but how are we going to enforce that and who's going to count?" asked Board of Health member Malcolm MacNab. "(Health Department director) Rocky (Miramontes) is going to go into places and count heads? His staff is going to spend months taking applications? He's going to go out and tow cars? I mean, it's nuts. Sorry."

The Board of Health has been considering the draft bylaw since February, but on Thursday, it closed the public hearing and took no action on the proposal. Instead, its members will meet with the Select Board next month during a joint meeting to discuss the enforcement of existing short-term rental regulations.

Back in February, the bylaw proposal surfaced as a curious agenda item: "Large Events at Private Homes." The public hearing that month followed an uproar on South Shore Road, where a private home was rented for a large wedding, and came 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 draft bylaw amendment would have regulated 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 complexities of enforcing such a bylaw, however, raised concerns not just from MacNab but Miramontes, the island's public health director, as well.

"I've expressed previously that this would be a very difficult, if not impossible, regulation to enforce," Miramontes said. "That's the way that I see it. At the same time, I want to make sure the board has their opportunity to express their views to the Select Board."

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

"I was enthusiastically for this in the beginning," MacNab said. "It's just, the island is getting crazy with regulations we can't enforce. We've changed our whole approach to regulations for summer camps, and I was at a meeting recently where some of the non-profits are upset because for them to have their events is getting more complicated and more regulations. We can't enforce what we have, and we create work for staff, and the staff complains. It's something we have to address."

The draft bylaw amendment was based on a similar regulation currently in place in Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard. Under the proposal, 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."

But MacNab was adamant that the bylaw was too unwieldy, and questioned whether the Health Department should be involved with short-term rental oversight at all. 

"I'm sorry, we don't have the capacity in the Health Department to do it," MacNab said, referring to the gathering bylaw. "It's detracting from what they should be doing, in my opinion. I'm going to go there (the Select Board) and for the 100th time, suggest we start the process to change the regulation that it's the Health Department. That would have to go to Town Meeting, and I would like the Select Board to support that. If the select board doesn't support it, I would put in my own citizen warrant to do it."