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Although many still await the 'definition of the STR problem', it was the consensus of the STR Work Group that unregulated vacation rentals and codification of the legality of them as they currently operate, was a non-starter.  As a group, we strove for a middle ground that would accomplish the most good for the community while doing the least harm to property owners, business owners and town finances.  That has always been the goal of Nantucket Together and I believe we have worked with our fellow STRWG members to put forward a set of integrated bylaws that:

• prevent the expansion of commercially operated vacation rentals
• protect the rights of existing vacation rental owners and their families 
• render moot the bases for current litigation against vacation rentals
• create dis-incentives for future STR-only vacation rental models
• slow or halt the trend toward shorter rentals during the peak season
• preserve the tourist-based economy and STR revenue generation for the town

We all benefited from the advice of Town Counsel and a Zoning Consultant as we learned how to best utilize the specific strengths and characteristics of zoning and general bylaws, joining them in a package that was intended to work in tandem.

For a variety of reasons, that did not happen and the will of the voters  left the status quo in place with a set of basic regulations and the legality of STRs left to a Land Court judge.  In March 2024 that Judge ruled that STRs are not a legal primary use of a home, remanding the definition of accessory use to the Zoning Board of Appeals who has begun that work through a series of public hearings.  The town has decided not to appeal the ruling so since no zoning decision was made at Annual Town Meeting, we now look to the 2024 Special Town Meeting.  And the lawsuits continue.

Let's not forget that the registry and fines/loss of license for nuisance violations for irresponsible STR operators is already law but the ability of the town to collect and then analyze Nantucket specific STR operational data has been hampered by the failure to launch the registry with at least a one year delay.  The new registry portal is live, but we will not know how may Nantucket STR operators there are and who owns them until a full year of operational data has been collected.  And as of now, the registry does not collect the operational data required by the current law.

So we wait and hope for the upgrade and success of the portal with intelligent collection and analysis of operational data.

And in the meantime, we turn our attention to the refinement and negotiations  town bodies tasked with the review and final recommendations for each of the 7 proposed STR articles to be voted on at the 2024 Special Town Meeting.