Take A Look At Short-Term Rental Regulations That Are Already In Effect

To the editor: After all the hoopla, it’s no wonder people are confused about the vacation rental regulations that have already been passed over five Annual and Special Town meetings. Here’s a summary:

Annual Town Meeting, May 2, 2022:

Passed Article 39 – requires a local registry for short-term rentals on Nantucket in addition to the state’s 2019 Registry. This allows the Island to accurately count active vacation rentals. The town’s local registry went online in November 2024. As the 2025 season begins, 800 houses are registered as possible vacation rentals.

Select Board 11/21/2022:

Chapter 338, adopted by the Board of Health and approved by the Select Board on November, 21, 2022, was created following the town’s decision to accept tax revenue from Nantucket vacation rentals as part of its heritage tourism resort economy. Nantucket vacation rentals have added 6-7.5 percent to town revenue - an average of $7.8 million annually for the past four calendar years. Vacation rentals provide more than 80 percent of accommodations supporting our tourist economy.

Annual Town Meeting, May 7th, 2024:

Passed Article 60 - Banned corporate-owned STRs, like hotel chains, from having any presence in Nantucket.

Special Town Meeting, September 17, 2024:

Passed Article 5 - Tightened the definition of corporate-owned STR to include investment REITs, preventing them from participating in Nantucket vacation rentals.

This is solid legislation chosen by Nantucket voters. However, none of it stops the lawsuits filed against Nantucket homeowners by the well-funded and remaining anti-STR/NVR advocates. This is because the lawsuits require clarification of zoning permitted uses, something a general bylaw cannot address. Recently another neighbor versus neighbor lawsuit was filed, totaling four so far. These lawsuits are harassment by litigation which has divided this island, causing much grief for those stuck in never-ending litigation and appeals, not to mention general fear about who could be next. And did you know that none of these lawsuits found any noise or nuisance violations? Voting for Article 66 is the only way to stop lawsuits pitting neighbor against neighbor. It reflects the customs our island has practiced for all the decades my husband and I have been here. Vacation rentals have been a way of life for both the island’s full-time resident community and seasonal residents. What harm are they causing now that we have put these regulations and restrictions into place? I hope the voters realize that Articles 67, 68, and 69 add duplicative, unenforceable and worse, unnecessary restrictions that keep the stage set for more lawsuits.

Let’s move on to MUCH more important Nantucket challenges. Enough time and money wasted on the subject of vacation rentals. The water is rising.

Virginia Vidoni