A Nantucket zoning change proposal could slash the number of short-term rentals on the island by 95%, according to a recent analysis from the UMass Donahue Institute.
Next month, Nantucket residents at Town Meeting will be voting on Article 60, which would place restrictions on short-term rentals in residential districts. The amount of short-term rentals on Airbnb and Vrbo have been spiking across the island in recent years.
The UMass Donahue Institute looked at the immediate impacts of Article 60, and the number of short-term rentals that would be affected by new zoning conditions. Of the 2,293 short-term rentals on Nantucket, it appears that only 114 short-term rentals would be eligible to rent — a 95% cut overnight.
“Our interpretation of Article 60 suggests that a lot of short-term rentals would have a hard time complying with the zoning change,” Rod Motamedi from the Institute told the Herald.
“That’s not to say that in a few years the owners couldn’t come into compliance,” he added. “But a large number would not be compliant immediately.”
The new zoning regulation would reduce the number of short-term rentals offered on the island, and with it, the amount of taxes to the town and visitor revenue to the island’s businesses, according to the Institute.
Nantucket receives about $7 million a year from short-term rental taxes. The town’s budget has averaged about $107 million in recent years.
Under the proposed zoning change, short-term rentals would be allowed in residential areas on properties that are owner occupied for at least 6 months a year.
Also, for non-owner occupied properties in residential districts, a short-term rental would be allowed if all dwellings on the property are primarily for long-term residential use — and if the short-term rental is registered with the town.
All other short-term rentals in residential districts would be prohibited.
“… The primary effect of this regulation is to force owners of STRs to choose between renting their home to someone for most of the year, moving to Nantucket themselves, selling the home, renting under the table, or renting for 32 days to a group that shares time in the property over the course of a month,” the Institute wrote in its report.
The Institute was recently hired to conduct this study by The Alliance to Protect Nantucket’s Economy, a leading opponent of Article 60.
“The result would be devastating to the tourism industry and Nantucket’s economy,” The Alliance wrote on its website about the proposed zoning change.
Nantucket resident Emmy Kilvert brought forward Article 60 as a citizen petition, and the article is backed by ACK-Now.
“Article 60 offers protection to homeowners and neighborhoods to maintain Nantucket’s traditional vacation rentals which are being replaced by unrestricted for-profit commercial interests,” the Homeowners for Article 60 wrote on its website. “Homeowners who STR to offset expenses are competing against and being replaced by unrestricted for-profit commercial interests. This is not Nantucket’s tradition.”
