Nantucket Land & Water Council Endorses Article 2 Short-Term Rental Proposal

To the editor: The Nantucket Land and Water Council (NLWC) has preserved the health of Nantucket’s environment and community by protecting our land and water resources since 1974. We are pleased to publish this letter of support for Article 2, as submitted by Dave Iverson, for the upcoming November 4th Special Town Meeting.

The recent rise of the commercial short-term rental (STR) industry results in and incentivizes intense development and redevelopment of properties on Nantucket to deliver the highest rate of return for investors. We collectively pay a steep price for this commercial-scale use of our residential neighborhoods. It decreases open space and habitat, escalates the intensity of use, and puts increasing pressure on the island’s limited natural resources, jeopardizing the health of our drinking water, ponds and harbors, and our shared infrastructure, stormwater, water, and sewer systems.

NLWC supports Article 2, which will address these fundamental concerns by allowing accessory STRs as-of-right, subject to certain limitations. Article 2’s limit of 70 short-term rental days per year, and maximum of 49 rental days during the peak summer period of June 15 - August 31 (Peak Period) will result in reduced environmental and infrastructure impacts from STRs on Nantucket. The Peak Period defined in Article 2 coincides with the season when resource use of water and electricity is at its peak demand, and when our Island resources and infrastructure are experiencing the greatest pressure. Limiting the number of rental days during this period would spread out the environmental impact into the shoulder seasons and off-season when resource demand is less extreme, preserving the health and sustainability of our community.

Article 2’s limit on the number of short-term rental days also substantially reduces the financial incentive for investors to purchase properties solely for the use of operating a short-term rental as a business. By limiting this incentive, fewer properties are likely to be taken out of the year-round market or redeveloped for STR use.

Given our support for Article 2, the NLWC is strongly opposed to Article 1, which is yet another attempt to legalize unlimited commercial STRs as a primary use for houses in all of our residential districts across the Island. Town Meeting has denied this approach six times and should do so again. Full unrestricted STRs would give away short-term financial gains for some, but ignores the gravity of the long-term impacts to our island resources and infrastructure for us all.

The commercial short-term rental industry, if unchecked, threatens to irreparably harm our Island’s environment and, therefore, our community’s vitality, health and quality of life. This is an outcome we should all want to prevent. If maintaining a healthy environment, community and quality of life on Nantucket is important to you, please attend Special Town Meeting on November 4th, and vote NO on Article 1, and YES on Article 2 to memorialize STRs as an allowed accessory use with reasonable restrictions for all of our Island residents.

Sincerely,

Emily Molden - Executive Director
Lucy Leske, William Willet, Matthew Liddle, Lucy Dillon, and David Troast - Board of Directors
On behalf of the Nantucket Land & Water Council