Protect Your Property Rights: Vote "YES" On Article 66

To the editor:  Short-term vacation rentals have been blamed for everything on Nantucket including traffic, overcrowding, a shortage of affordable housing, and even challenges in securing dinner reservations. Nantucket's economy, since the 1870’s, has relied heavily on tourism, with a long-standing tradition of vacationers visiting the island, particularly during the summer months.

With no large-scale hotels or resorts, over 90 percent of visitors stay in private homes. According to the Town Assessor, Nantucket has 12,700 residential units; however, since the initiation of the local short-term rental registry, only 1,050 properties have registered, representing only 8.27 percent of the total housing stock on the island. This indicates that over 91 percent of all houses on Nantucket are either owner-occupied, rented for longer than 32 days, or vacant. It is important to remember that the use of a private home is the same whether it is rented for less than 32 days or for longer. It is a residential use – people cook, sleep, and spend time with their family and friends there.

There have been six Town Meetings with contentious articles aimed at regulating and reducing the number of vacation rentals on the island. To date, we have enacted by-laws that prohibit the short-term rental of properties owned by corporations and REITs, and we have established a local short-term rental registry with regulations designed to address nuisance properties. This registry includes a 24-hour hotline (1-508-315-6372) for reporting misconduct, which will be promptly addressed by the owner. Last summer, the hotline received only one complaint about a short-term rental. How is it possible for the Town and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to regulate and tax this usage if it is not legal?

Our Annual Town Meeting is set for Saturday, May 3, 2025, and once again, several citizen articles concerning short-term rentals are on the warrant. I wholeheartedly support Article 66, which aligns with the decision made by the Nantucket Zoning Board of Appeals last fall. Article 66 formalizes the rental of one’s private property on a short-term basis within our existing zoning by-law subject to local regulations. Article 66 is the sole measure that will stop the lawsuits that have pitted neighbors against one another. It is a fundamental property ownership right to rent your home responsibly and to safeguard that right for future generations. Our Town Meeting serves as the legislative body for Nantucket, and we, the island voters, hold the power to decide. If someone disagrees with the actions of the Town Meeting, they cannot sue it. It is time to redirect our energy towards the many other pressing challenges facing Nantucket.

Please vote yes on Article 66.

Penny Dey