Compromise On Short-Term Rentals Within Reach

To the editor: We have had four years of acrimonious debate about short-term rentals with nearly all warrant article proposals failing to reach the required votes at Annual and Special Town Meetings. Right now, there is a Select Board-led dialog between the four groups who have proposed short-term rental-related warrant articles for the September Special Town Meeting.

These meetings are open to the public and available to watch on YouTube at your convenience. We encourage everyone to listen to these conversations. What you will hear is that the various proponents have expressed commonality on some if not all of the goals they hope to achieve and, as importantly, the things they love about Nantucket and wish to preserve. Achieving true compromise will result in everyone having given up something from their original position. We have hope that the process will succeed this time.

The flood of highly positioned letters to the editor and lawn signs that have led up to the past Town Meetings did not adequately reflect the nuances of the issue that are now being discussed in detail at these meetings. Please take the time to listen and keep an open mind, as the article proponents have done during the first several of the five scheduled meetings. This is a complex issue. We as a community need to follow the lead of the article proponents, set aside our preconceived biases, truly listen to each other, and work together for the common good of the island.

Respectfully submitted,

Matt Fee
Brooke Mohr