Select Board Decides Not To Hold A Fall Special Town Meeting For Short-Term Rental Zoning

Nantucket probably won’t hold a Special Town Meeting in November to address short-term rentals after fears of a citizens’ group calling one against the town’s wishes faded in recent weeks.

“Nobody has indicated to me that they have a present intention of filing a petition for a Special Town Meeting,” Town Counsel John Giorgio said at the Select Board meeting on Wednesday. “That's not to say that they haven't gathered signatures or might be filing, but nobody has indicated to me that that's imminent.”

Under Massachusetts law, 200 or more citizens may call a Special Town Meeting regardless of any objections from the Select Board. If they choose to do so, the meeting must be held within 45 days, despite the often enormously challenging logistics.

Two weeks ago, multiple Select Board members suggested that several stakeholder groups already have the necessary signatures, or have nearly crossed the requisite threshold, leading the Board to vote for November 5th as a tentative Special Town Meeting date to hedge against the possibility of a group of citizens forcing their hand. But a number of Select Board members expressed reluctance at the time, and the Board elected not to pursue a Special Town Meeting this Wednesday.

“I don't think that an article, with how far everyone is apart right now, trying to get to two-thirds is possible for Special Town Meeting, for November 4th,” Select Board member Tom Dixon said, referring to the two-thirds majority needed to pass most zoning bylaw amendments at Town Meeting. “I think it puts serious strain on Town admin[istration], the [Planning and Land Use Services] department, the clerk's office, the schools, [the Finance Committee], Planning Board.”

One of the reasons some stakeholders have pushed for a fall Special Town Meeting to address short-term rentals is the ongoing litigation in Silver Street resident Cathy Ward’s lawsuit against her neighbors and the Nantucket Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). If Ward emerges victorious from the lawsuit, it could endanger nearly all non-owner-occupied STRs on-island, and some petitioners worry about the implications on contracts inked for next summer.

Massachusetts Land Court Judge Michael Vhay has ruled in favor of Ward twice, but the Town is appealing his ruling. While it’s difficult to know how long the appeal will take, Pucci believes it won’t be resolved until after the regularly scheduled Annual Town Meeting next spring, giving parties more time to come together on a compromise proposal to regulate STRs on Nantucket.

“While it's very, very difficult to assess how long that [appeal] might take, I have had consultations with [Town Counsel George] Pucci, and he and I are in agreement that it is more than likely that that appeal will not be finally resolved through a decision before the May 4th Annual Town Meeting,” Giorgio said. “Now, we could be proven wrong, but appeals take quite a while.”

The immediate pressure on the ZBA to enforce the ruling was relieved last month after Ward’s neighbors agreed not to STR their property while the Town’s appeal of Vhay’s ruling remains pending.

The Select Board initially considered closed-door mediation in an attempt to finally resolve the STR stalemate that has played out over the past five years on the floor of Town Meeting, but after key stakeholders expressed their opposition to mediation, the board backed away and opted to allow more informal negotiations.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Giorgio said that Planning and Land Use Services will be discussing the possibility of having the Planning Board propose a compromise article. Dixon also said that he and Planning Board chair Dave Iverson have been speaking to stakeholders and searching for a solution.

“I am really encouraged by all of the dialogue that's happening. The tone and tenor of the dialogue, the multitude of conversations that are happening,” Select Board member Brooke Mohr said. “I'm more hopeful now than I was…I appeal to the community not to force a Special Town Meeting on us.”

Wednesday’s discussion also involved some preliminary conversations between Select Board members and Giorgio about some of the issues that have drawn the most controversy in past STR-related bylaw proposals, including how much preference, if any, can be given to local STR operators without violating the dormant commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution, which prevents states from discriminating against interstate commerce.

Of course, a citizen’s group could still choose to call a Special Town Meeting this fall. That’s a risk the Select Board has decided to take.