get the word out to come vote YES at special town meeting

Special interest groups have been proposing severe short-term rental restrictions on Nantucket property owners under the guise of supporting the Affordable Housing Initiatives (2021) and 'Protecting Property Rights' (2022).  Neither article passed and neither was based on facts - there is no published study or data to support the premises of either.  With potential STR 'nuisance' issues already addressed with the passage of Article 39 (which Nantucket Together supported), the STRWG focused on other existing and potential future concerns. For example:

• 'neighborhood churn' with more frequent rental turnovers was evidenced by the data, with shorter summer season stays than had been traditional. A cap of 9 leases per STR in July/August should encourage longer stays and/or more owner use.  
• Although commercially owned STRs turned out to be less than 3% of the total, the desire to prevent any growth in that sector resulted in a requirement for new STRs to be owned and operated by 'natural persons'.
• Other policies to discourage future STR-only investments resulted in a cap of 4 leases in July in August for newly purchased or built homes for the first 5 years and a limit of 1 STR per property.
• The desire to preserve local housing places restrictions on multi-family homes, deed-restricted properties and multi-family homes
• Existing STR owners and their families who inherit or take over a property, will be permitted to continue to operate as they do now as long as they remain registered with the town.  The only change for them will be that they are subject to the 9 lease July/August cap which applies to all.

The trade-off for these regulations is defining STRs as legal in all zones where buildings are permitted, AS LONG AS AND OFNLY IF THEY ARE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THESE GENERAL BYLAWS.

Many new Nantucket property owners will not be able to afford their dream primary or secondary home without the rental support that will now be restricted in the first 5 years of ownership. 

Will families who planned to  acquire an additional STR property to generate income to support their retirement or put their kids through college, be able to do so or will they have to pivot to a new strategy?

Will affordable/attainable year round new homeowners be unduly restricted in their path with STR rental restrictions?

One of the many paths to permanent residency is a familiar story.  Vacationers come to the island and fall in love with it.  After years of saving, they need to rent to afford the mortgage and ongoing maintenance.  Will this force vacation homeownership to wealthier families who do not need to rent?

Will fewer STRs result in a reduced need for cleaning and landscaping services; less shopping and eating at local businesses?

Now the 3rd largest single source of town revenue, will there be reduction in STR tax revenue and if so, how will it be made up?     

Can passage of the optional Community Impact Fee of 3% on operators of more than 2 non-primary residence STRs fill this potential revenue gap?

Will property values decline as properties are sold with restricted rental rights?

Let's get these questions answered.  Let's see how the registration process goes in its first year, what data it provides and be more sure about the next steps.  But let us also directly deal with any new threats to neighborhoods and the community.

Since STRs have been an island tradition for over a century, and provide approximately 90% of the tourist lodging on the island, we considered the intended and unintended effects of these and other potential restrictions on the Nantucket economy.  

The STRWG tried to take no action without a fact-based understanding of the potential consequences however there were data gaps.   The data to assess the actual impacts needs to be defined and collected by the town's STR registry, analyzed and regulations tuned by some town-sponsored entity.  

1. SIGN UP TO STAY CONNECTED.
2. JOIN OUR COMMUNITY AND SHARE THE FACTS WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS, FRIENDS AND PROFESSIONALS.
3. SUPPORT STR REGISTRY DATA COLLECTION, ANALYSIS AND ONGOING STR GENERAL BYLAW REVIEW/REVISIONS
4. PARTICIPATE IN THE TOWN-SPONSORED PUBLIC HEARINGS THIS SUMMER AND FALL

Protect Nantucket’s Character, Neighborhoods & Way of Life