ACCESSORY USE STR PROPOSALS HURT FAMILIES & Businesses
Read and Listen to some of their stories below
Help Us Protect Nantucket's Economy
“The majority of rental income we generate gets plowed straight into the ACK economy both for property upkeep and to finance our time on the island, including summer camps for our kids. We plan to retire on Nantucket about 15 years from now and contribute more directly to island life.” J.Z.
"My great grandfather moved to Nantucket shortly before 1890. My father grew up on island. We spent many a summer out in Madaket running like gypsies while Dad helped his father build houses. I was fortunate enough to buy a home here, and the only way I can pay the mortgage is to rent the house …I am NOT making money on the house....trust me.... but it allows me to be a part of a place I've loved since childhood for at least two months every year." C.L.W.
"I am writing to express my utter horror with the proposed ACK-Now bylaw. While I am supportive of affordable housing for year round residents, their approach will cause more economic harm to Nantucket. It will be devastating to people who rely on rentals to afford their homes, negatively impact tourism, restaurants, ferries, shops and more. I urge the Select Board to reject this proposal and consider other options for affordable housing. I believe there will be a ground swell of opposition. My family has been coming to Nantucket for 35 years, first as renters, and in 2004, as homeowners." W.C.S.
"I’ve been reading about the short term rental work group, and even though I’m not a Nantucket resident, I am a STR user. I’m sure there are many aspects about STRs of which I am unaware, and I do realize what the island looks like in the summer, but I just want to make some comments.
Who am I? My family on Nantucket goes back to Tristram Coffin and several of the other island founding families. My mother was born and raised on Nantucket, leaving when she married my dad and they moved to Minnesota. My grandpa died in 1989 and my grandma died in 2009. We sold grandma’s house at 27 Surfside Road in 2011 because of the challenges of long-distance ownership.
We used to visit the island every other year or so when my grandparents were still alive and stay with them/her, and my sister and I have grown up with a deep appreciation and love of Nantucket and it’s history. My children are also growing up with that unique connection and love to visit. We don’t feel like we are tourists, although I’m not sure how “real” islanders would look at it. We still have some family and friends who live on Nantucket and we love to see them when we can get there. Since selling grandma’s house in 2011, mom has only been able to visit Nantucket once due to age, my sister and I have visited three times, twice with my kids most recently in June of this year. We rented small houses for a week the last two times, mostly for the privacy, the space, and the kitchen facilities.
Part of the reason we can’t visit more often is the cost. The rent for a week has basically tripled between 2018 and 2022. We aren’t the richy-rich people who rent the 5+ bedroom places with pools and have large parties. We worry that restricting STRs too much will only price us out of being able to visit Nantucket at all. Because of what Nantucket has meant to us, it makes me sad to think of never seeing it again.
We worry that too many restrictions on STRs will have the effect of turning Nantucket more into the wealthy folks’ playground than it already is by pricing us regular folks (with real, long-standing connections to the island) right out." J.D.
"After ten years of vacationing on the Island we purchased our cottage in the Village of Sconset in 2004. As soon as we signed the paperwork the agent told us about a family that had been renting for years and would love to rent for a month. As new homeowners we were thrilled to do that for a couple of years, and then we started spending the entire summer on the Island. Now almost 20 years later, we have a year round home: perfect for our growing and extended family. We could not part with our little piece of history and realized that with some rental income we could preserve it for our children and their children. The rental income helps to cover the cost of the continual maintenance. That same family from 2004 came back and is renting for 6 weeks. In Sconset, much of the summer community are repeat renters. The same faces return year after year. Of course, the majority of homes in the village aren't winterized and would not be available for year round living.
ACK Now has not taken into account the unique neighborhoods and homes on the Island. It is dividing the full and part time residents even more, something that is a problem because part time residents contribute so much to the economy and fabric of the Island. The regulations they propose solve no affordable housing issues, nor do they give the communities any credit for being able to deal with local problems of parking, noise, etc, if they even exist. Most of the FACTs they present are not supportable with any true data, and they are pushing a private interest that can destroy the future survival of the Island. One size does not fit all and that is what they would like us to believe.
The Affordable Housing issue has existed on the Island for over 40 years, and ACK Now has not demonstrated how this will solve the problem. We would be better off getting behind the existing Affordable Housing Trust and Housing Nantucket and help them think out of the box in ways that make sense for our Island." P.S.
"A young Nantucket couple, born and raised on the Island (Whalers through and through) wanted to have their wedding and reception on the Island. They did not have a lot of money. They found our property on line and very humbly asked my wife if she would rent to them for a weekend so they could have their wedding in their home town. Their dream was to have the wedding on a nice property so their uncle could do the cooking and the entire family could gather. We do long weekend rentals in the off season, but have one week minimum stay if someone is having a small wedding, but my wife was so touched by their story she made an exception. They were incredibly grateful. She gave them a very good price too. Under the ACK-Now plan we would have broken the law. After the wedding they reached out to express their thanks. My wife (who manages the property) has countless stories of people who have made beautiful memories for the families during their stay at our vacation home. She also carefully vets renters to “weed out” party people.
We love Nantucket and hope to spend our retirement years here. We are “wash-a-shorers” who have been coming to the Island for 25+ years.
Thank you for fighting the accessory use proposals. It will truly hurt many single family homeowners and part time residents. More importantly, this regressive proposal will not help "year round housing supply". T.D.
OUR HEARTS ARE HERE ALTHOUGH WE CANNOT ALWAYS BE
"After growing up at east coast beaches and visiting the island with friends starting in 1985, we bought our vacation home in Tom Nevers in 1993 and have been the sole owners. Our kids grew up riding their bikes around the island. One is now a year round islander.
In 2015, my husband and I retired on a fixed income and to help pay for all the things that need replacing in a nearly 30-year-old home, we started renting short term when we are not on the island. We visit the island year round and rent it year round and most of our renters are families and young couples who could not afford to visit Nantucket for an entire week so they come for long weekends and they also do not bring a vehicle because that is too expensive.
We do not rent to partiers and carefully vet those we do share our home with because we really live there – all our ‘stuff’ is there, our clothes in the closets and family memories scattered about. We also have rented to off-island workers who perform critical specialty work not available on the island, bands who play at the Chicken Box and wedding attendees. We have rented to our neighbors when they have family coming to visit and cannot or do not wish to accommodate everyone in their home. Forcing us to account for the days we are in our home to prove we are not a primary use STR is an invation of privacy and that of our guests. " K.J.
5TH GENERATION NATIVE ISLANDER'S STORY
"I am a 5th generation native islander, born of 4 generations of Nantucket carpenters. My grandfather, Elmore Taylor, had the foresight in the 60’s to purchase property in Madaket -including Madaket Millie’s- and build summer rental cottages to supplement his income.
Over time, the properties were sold, except for one on Hither Creek that my mother eventually put in a trust for me and my two siblings. My generation could not afford to live on Nantucket and dispersed for careers and lives far from the island. (I’ve been an attorney in Alaska for over 30 years.) But we each return for a few weeks every year and rent out our Hither Creek cottage the rest of the summer season to cover some of its expenses.
If we could not rent the cottage for more than 14 days, we could not afford to hold on to it. The ACK Now proposal seems shortsighted and detrimental to the island’s economy. Our rental cottage is not winterized and not contributing to the shortage of affordable housing on the island. Yet we pay property and short-term rental taxes, employ island caretakers, plumbers, carpenters, etc., plus all the money our tenants spend on gone island." R.S.T.
"We fell in love with Nantucket, in 1999, after renting a house in Sconset (Codfish park) for a week. In some ways, the island reminded us of the west coast of Ireland. We were able to purchase our tiny house that year. We worked hard to repair the damage the storms in 1999 had done to the house and the property. We cleared out long overgrown vines, my husband repaired the foundation, floors and fencing. We were so proud of our piece of heaven. In order to afford it, we rented it out. Our renters loved the location and lovely Sconset, as we did.
As our family grew, we sold our little sweet home and purchased a bigger home close to Squam farm. It had never been rented before. Again, we worked hard to repair the house and put in new HVAC systems. We rent out our home to extended families who meet in Nantucket from all parts of the US and come as far as Switzerland to be together here. They use our bedding, dishes, furniture - just as we have the house when we are here. They respect our home and love this island. We use local landscapers, local HVAC company (thank goodness), our talented caretaker, electricians, plumbers, housecleaners. We carefully weed out all of our renters. We choose only families and have had very good luck with our renters. They love this island as well. To go through all the trouble to get here, they must love this place. They go to restaurants, movies, shop, rent cars, rent baby equipment, go on tours, and spend their vacation money here on the island.
We had hoped to retire here. Life had different plans. We try to be here as much as we possibly can and treasure every minute we have here. Without rentals, we could not keep our home. We are worried about affordable housing also. ACT-Now does not have a solution to this problem. We can all come up with something better." V.N.B.
"I am a year round resident and I rent out part of my house in the summer for short or long term renters. It is my experience that almost all short term renters do not bring cars.
The longer terms: 7 days or more rentals seem to need a car. The idea that short term renters are filling the island with cars is a fallacy and very misleading. I know this from my experience and from many of my friends who also rent in the summer.
I am so curious about how many cars Mr. Maclusland brings to his family compound each summer.
My guests usually fly in or come by boat and hire Uber or Taxi’s to get here and there. But they ALWAYS rent bikes to get around the island on a daily basis. This is a vacation and great adventure for them to go out and explore Nantucket on bikes and on foot. These folks come to take part in all the events and festivals on island through the season, which, by the way, the Chamber of Commerce advertises all over the country and beyond!
Visitors support EVERTHING here on island! They eat out ALL THE TIME. They take fishing charters, rent sailboats. They rent jeeps here to go explore the middle Moors or Great Point. They take surfing lessons, shop around town, rent beach equipment ETC! They all have been lovely people and really enjoy their time here. And they are not interested in partying. My summer business supports cleaning companies, landscapers, and many other island businesses.
I stipulate on my rental site that this ‘There is NO PARTYING ‘on the property’. If they violate these rules the site I rent from will make sure they stop or they have to leave the premises. This is strictly enforced by the rental site. I rarely have had any problems or issues. In fact it has been my year round neighbors who have been partying loud and late who have chased away one or two of my guest!
I am a senior who has been here for nearly 40 years. I have worked very hard to keep my house over the years. I have rented year round for many years and I must tell you that it hardly covers the bills and expenses that we incur here on Nantucket. Mortgages are very high, utilities are OFF THE CHARTS! We have to pay insurance and all sorts of taxes and fees. Then there is the constant maintenance and upkeep on our properties. Renting seasonally is the only way many of us islanders can have ‘AFFORDABLE HOUSING ‘ for ourselves. I call out for ‘Affordable Home Ownership’ to be protected in some way and not blamed or responsible for the housing crisis on this island nor be crippled by this new plan to stop us from making a living or simply make ends meet." Anonymous
"A STORY ABOUT HOW ACK-NOW WOULD DESTROY NANTUCKET.
I wanted to share a story with this group that I have told many times. My first visit to Nantucket was in 1984 when I stayed with college friends that were working for Barrett's Taxi Service. We all shared a bunkhouse next to Barrett's junk yard. I then came back in September of 1994 with my then girlfriend and now wife. We visited in September because it was half the price of August and we were barely getting by at the time so September was all we could afford.
My wife and I fell in love with Nantucket, so in 2012, after we had two children, we rented a place in August because our children were in school and we could no longer come off-peak. We shared the place with relatives to keep it affordable and our children fell in love with Nantucket. We had so much fun that the following year we purchased a home, but could only afford to use it for 3 weeks as we needed the rental income from the rest of the season.
Now I am retired and we spend the whole summer on the island while our daughters hustle with summer jobs. We also purchased a rental property as I enjoy all of the pre and post-season labor that comes with keeping the place working and I have the time to manage it.
Between gardening, cleaning, rental brokers, caretaking, pool cleaning, interior design and trash collection, we keep lots of islanders employed - and we also keep Nantucket accessible to the off-peak renters in September and October that might not otherwise be able to afford July and August.
I have heard others tell similar stories and I think that what I am describing is the "life-cycle" of many people that slowly work their way up the ladder. However, if ACK NOW has their way, these off peak rentals would be destroyed and people like me might have never had the chance to come back.
I just don't think they realize how interdependent we all are on each other, and I support the free-market system that engenders that communal cooperation." B.H.
Help Us Protect Nantucket's Economy
"We dated here, married here, then our family has spent two to four weeks in our home on island each of the last 44 summers. Though we are spread from Johannesburg to Sacramento, our return to Quidnet is the annual highlight for all of us. Our home is expensive to run and maintain. 90% of the income goes to local tradesman, utilities, the mortgage, insurance and services. If the other 2,000 owners on the rental tax registry have a similar expense profile, that would estimate a $96 million contribution to local trades and services and a $20 million share of the town’s taxes and fees. That’s before the new 6% short-term rental tax. Each of our 15 family members are completely invested in Nantucket, in 2019 four moved to live here year round, giving further reasons to visit." Homeowner
"In 1987, my parents and I visited Nantucket for the first time and bought a house in Madaket in 1988. The only way they could afford it was to rent it weekly. They moved to the Island full time in ’97. The renters took cabs to town, went to restaurants, shopped, took tours and paid for services. My parents paid a local property manager cleaning services, plumbers, electricians, taxes. 5 years ago today, I bought my first house. I live and work here, as do my husband and kids. We hope to stay and pass our house to our kids. People like my parents could never have afforded to own here without renting to others " N.M.
" As a homeowner and part time resident on ACK since 2006, this would crush our family. We are not by any means the high end property owners on the island. However, during our seasonal use, my children and now grandchildren, as my husband & I do, know what to look forward to for some weeks in the shoulder & peak seasons as well as special island events. I think we would as a family would suffer & may need to sell if I could not count on the revenue during summer & shoulder weeks that we do not use as rental income to keep our home." L.C.
"I strongly oppose Ack-Now! After vacationing on Nantucket for 30 years we were fortunate enough to buy a beautiful property. We come to Nantucket from Pennsylvania a few times a year including a month in summer and a month in winter.
Nantucket is in our souls and we cherish every day we spend on the island, we care for it as much as our full time home. Our son now 23 is extremely well versed on Nantucket History, starting when he was 5 he spent many days at camp. He went to the mill and ground corn then walked to the oldest house and made cornbread.
We have countless memories of simple summer days on the beach and nights in town. In order to afford the mortgage and upkeep we rent our property to families who love the island as much as we do and without rental income we would not be able to keep our dream alive and pass it on to our son.
We contribute to the employment of a cleaning company, landscaper, handyman and many other trades. We shop local and pay our taxes. During COVID we refunded our guests 100% and used the down time to do all kinds of jobs on our property just to keep our support team working, we contributed to the food bank to help islanders.
If we sold our property at fair market value today it would not be considered affordable and if laws prevented the next owner to rent it who could buy it except a very wealthy person? Ack-Now is very bad for island business, I cannot understand how they can support lost revenue to every island business." C.P.
Help Protect Nantucket's Economy
"Mike summered in Sconset just once when he was 9 years old. He has been coming back ever since. We dated here, married, then came for a week, 46 years ago, and have been fortunate to have spent two to four weeks here each of the last 44 summers.
We bought land in 1981, worked to pay it off and built our home in Quidnet in 2000.
Each summer the fifteen members of our family gather annually for two weeks at our home in Quidnet. These summers in Quidnet are the annual highlight for all of us. We have been spread from Sacramento to Johannessburg, yet return to Quidnet each year.
Our home was expensive to build and is expensive to run and maintain. We rent it for all but two weeks of the season, and occasionally for the off season weekends. 90% of the rental income goes to expense. 10% in a good year goes to pay down our loans. Of the 90%: 17% pays the mortgage; 14% pays local utilities; 3% goes to transport; 10% goes to off island providers (Comcast, Insurance, etc) and the remaining 56% is paid out to tradesmen, cleaners, landscapers and local service providers which make up a large part of the island economy.
If the other 2000 owners in the Nantucket rental tax registry have a similar expense profile, our experience would estimate a 96 million dollar contribution to the local trade and service portion of Nantucket’s economy and a 20 million dollar annual share of the town’s taxes and fees. That estimate is before the recent 6% Nantucket short term rental tax.
From a nine year old’s summer experience in Sconset in 1956, each of the fifteen members of our now, three generations are completely invested in Nantucket. Four returned in 2019 to live year round, giving the others reason to visit for more holidays and birthdays in addition to the annual two week family gathering. Since building our home, we spend time in the saddle and winter seasons, increasing our year round appreciation of Nantucket and its challenges. We hope that when the next generation comes, Nantucket will continue to be a mainstay in their lives.
That brings me to ACK-Now... Our experience most likely has a lot in common with the majority of the 2000 tax-paying owners on the Nantucket Massachusetts rental registry, both financially and emotionally.
In common with the ACK-Now proponents, we are truly drawn to the concerns for the sustainability of Nantucket. We are here for the freedom, the rural and relaxed natural environment which is attuned to today’s ecological concerns and challenges. ...and don’t forget the Juice Bar!
We are also beholden to many segments of the community. Many of those mentioned above, who make our lives here not only enjoyable but possible, we have known for dozens of years. Like them, we are concerned with the sustainable questions of affordable housing, traffic, landfill, water quality and more... We watch while some of our family works hard to have their own home on the island.
That said, ACK-Now’s agenda threatens our Nantucket as we describe here. Please examine it carefully. Reject it. ...and come together to find unified solutions to our Community’s sustainability challenges." P&MH
Help Us Protect Nantucket's Economy
"My wife and I have owned our family home on Nantucket since 1998, and it's been in the family since the mid 1970's. We stay at the house each year, but don't live on the island. When we aren't at the property we rent it out. We have weekly summer rentals, and also rent it in the off-season.
We are very concerned about the financial challenges we would face in terms of keeping and maintaining our property if any part of the ACK Now proposals were to be enacted." R.N.J.
"I have lived on Nantucket since 1987. I lived at the Woodbox at 29 Fair Street for 13 years. I have owned my home since 1999. We have teenagers and no grandchildren (thank the universe) so far. Our work- and children's sports-have taken us off-Island. (ski-racing and national soccer team) and we are renting our house during the peak season to offset the cost of the mortgage(and their sports) so that as they grow older and transition to college we can move back to our original home on Nantucket." C.M.
"I came to the Island in 1944 with my Grandmother, Alice Amey, (whose only off-Island ancestor was her English father), and have always considered it my ancestral home. In those days gainful employment was practically non-existent on Nantucket and I had to seek my fortune elsewhere, but always had Island relatives to stay with in my frequent visits. When the last of them had passed and the real estate market collapsed I was finally able to get an Island home of my own some 30 years ago, and at the same I’ve became a seasonal landlord.
I have been an active volunteer in many Island activities including doing the whaleboat lecture at the old Historical Society (that was fun). Now it is my plan to resume Nantucket residency, at least part-Mme, and be of service wherever needed." R.W.
"My wife, our children and I have been coming to Nantucket for about 20-years. We now spend about half the year in Nantucket and we own a few short term rental cottages in town.
Unlike the graphic bad renter horror stories portrayed by ACK now, we are in our 7th year of hosting short term rentals and have never once experienced a negative guest.
If ACK Now honestly wants to address bad renters, they should work with the Nantucket police to address the bad apples. Perhaps we could even advocate that short term renters causing disturbances be subjected to the same immediate eviction laws that govern unruly hotel guests.
Our guests’ average stay is only 2.8-nights and we are open 9-months per year. These short term visits allow couples, families and individuals who cannot afford the time nor money for a 7-night vacation a way to experience Nantucket, but prefer a home over a hotel room.
The frequent turnover also provides economic benefits to our housekeepers, caretakers, other service providers and suppliers as we make most of our purchases locally. We average about 200-room nights per year per cottage.
Limiting us to 45-days and 7-nite minimums or any derivation thereof would destroy our economic model and frankly seems like an illegal seizure of our property. We not only pay the hotel/motel tax, our property tax rate per dollar of value is far higher than what hotels pay.
And why should individual homeowners be treated differently than the countless Bed & Breakfast Inns scattered throughout Nantucket’s single family homes? The B&B’s would all be out of business in a year under these restrictions." M.R.
"I am writing to express my utter horror with the proposed ACK-Now bylaw which restricts island residents from renting their homes more than 90 days a year and non-residents 45 days, and requires a one-week minimum stay. While I am supportive of their mission to find more affordable housing for year-round residents, their approach is misguided, short-sighted and will cause more economic harm to Nantucket than good.
It will decrease the value of all of our homes, be devastating to people who rely on rentals to afford their homes so they can enjoy Nantucket throughout the year, negatively impact tourism, profitability of restaurants, ferries, shops and beyond. It also raises serious legal issues regarding the discriminatory nature of the proposal as it relates to year-round v. seasonal residents.
As a town committee with authority to reject or accept ACK-Now’s proposal I urge you to consider other options to address the need for affordable housing on the island, which we all support. Should this article pass, the negative economic impact will far exceed any conceivable benefit as the article is currently drafted. I wonder what their true motivation is as it seems so preposterous and short-sighted.
As news of this mistaken and foolish proposal starts becoming more widely known by season and year-round residents, and tourists, all of whom love the island (and are committed to affordable housing), I predict there will be a ground swell of opposition, perhaps greater than any proposed article in Nantucket’s history.
Thank you for your consideration. My family has been coming to Nantucket for 35 years, first as renters, and in 2004, as homeowners." W.C.S.
"I am a 5th generation native islander, born of 4 generations of Nantucket carpenters. My grandfather, Elmore Taylor, had the foresight in the 60’s to purchase property in Madaket -including Madaket Millie’s- and build summer rental cottages to supplement his income. Over time, the properties were sold, except for one on Hither Creek that my mother eventually put in a trust for me and my two siblings.
My generation could not afford to live on Nantucket and dispersed for careers and lives far from the island. (I’ve been an attorney in Alaska for over 30 years.) But we each return for a few weeks every year and rent out our Hither Creek cottage the rest of the summer season to cover some of its expenses.
If we could not rent the cottage for more than 14 days, we could not afford to hold on to it. The ACK Now proposal seems shortsighted and detrimental to the island’s economy. Our rental cottage is not winterized and not contributing to the shortage of affordable housing on the island. Yet we pay property and short-term rental taxes, employ island caretakers, plumbers, carpenters, etc., plus all the money our tenants spend on gone island." RST
"...this proposal from ACK Now could devastate my family and any hopes of us keeping our island property. My brother’s and I are 5th generation Islanders. We grew up on the island and attended school there. My grandfather, Elmore Taylor, and father, Robert Taylor, built many homes on the island. Their fine reputation in the building trade is alive and well to this day. It’s not uncommon for people to approach me to let me know my grandfather (or perhaps great grandfather) built their home.
Over the years, with the passing of relatives and proper estate planning, we have acquired my grandfather’s 75 yr. old boathouse/cottage in Madaket as well as our childhood home on Upper Main.
Needless to say, we have all had to move off island due to the high cost of living there. I now live on the Cape and my brothers in Alaska and California respectively. We all are blessed with comfortable lives, but we are not As a homeowner in the Village of a historic older home that is not "winterized" I wonder how ACK-Now is thinking that restricting rentals would provide "affordable housing". I lived in this home for 18 summers and in the fall of 2018, purchased a "year round" home about a mile away that is better suited to our growing family right now. My love of the Village and desire to preserve our older home meant renting it to provide the income to continue to maintain it properly.
We all know the costs of trying to preserve these special parts of Islands history and charm. I am fortunate to have 2 5-week rentals this summer with return families who have summered in Sconset for years. However, I would hate to be restricted from renting any additional shorter terms if I could." A, RS, CT
"The Town has worked hard for the last twenty years to build off season visitor-ship which, in turn, helps ferry lines, restaurants, stores and helps keep people employed. A few of these events are the Daffodil Festival, Book Festival, Film Festival, and the Nantucket Wine Festival which I have been involved in for more than 10 years. (I'm sure I am missing several other events and happenings which are 2-4 days long).
As a vendor, I have brought wine producers and friends to the island to enjoy what we all know is a very special place. Except for the film festival, all of these events are less than a week. So where would people stay if they can only have two or three nights and the few island hotels are booked?
There is no way to turn off the island's popularity. That cat is out of the bag. We can only work to find reasonable solutions to address the year round housing problem.
This ACK-Now proposal is not reasonable. Note: I do not own rental property on the island, but I visit frequently and have for 20 plus years." D.H.
Share your story
"After growing up at east coast beaches and visiting the island with friends starting in 1985, we bought our vacation home in Tom Nevers in 1993 and have been the sole owners. It was affordable at the time due to a recession on the island and since our primary residence was in NH, we were able to spend weekends, school vacations and much of the summer there. Our two sons grew up riding their bikes around the island with year round friends, playing mini-golf, going to the beach and playing soccer and baseball. One is now a year round islander working in the hospitality industry.
When my husband and I parted ways after 32 years, this became my home and because of its highly increased value over the years, I had to take out a very large mortgage to keep it while also paying for my sons’ college and postgraduate education. Now happily remarried, we have 5 grown children who bring their families and grandkids to share our Nantucket home each summer although we live most of the year in Pittsburgh.
In 2015, we retired on a fixed income and to help pay for all the things that need replacing in a nearly 30 year old home, we started renting short term when we are not on the island. We visit the island year round and rent it year round and most of our renters are families and young couples who could not afford to visit Nantucket for an entire week so they come for long weekends and the also do not bring a vehicle because that is too expensive. They come to visit family on the island or attend a wedding and this year they came to just get away to a safe place. They ride the bikes we provide and take the NRTA/ WAVE or use taxis/LYFT/Uber to get around. They shop in the island businesses and eat in the restaurants as do we.
We are members of St. Paul’s and participate in several of their outreach ministries, are members of the Clean Team and as do so many of us who love Nantucket dearly, we donate generously to local charities and non-profits. We do not rent to partiers and carefully vet those we do share our home with because we really live there – all our ‘stuff’ is there, our clothes in the closets and family memories scattered about on the walls and side tables. We also rent to off-island specialty workers who have won competitive contracts with the town or Bartlett’s Farm (solar panel installation) who come in the off-season, usually with two work trucks (for 4 guys) and when they come in-season, they rent Monday – Friday. And finally, we rent to our neighbors when they have family coming to visit and cannot or do not wish to accommodate everyone in their home, as happened during the pandemic this past season.
However, there is not a single rental that we have had in the past 8 years that would be permitted under ACK Now's proposed bylaw. I fail to understand who we are harming with our current but necessary supplemental income stream nor who benefits by making it more difficult to keep our home and share it with those who bring revenue to the island. The connection to affordable housing initiative is tenuous at best and disingenuous at worst.
The ACK Now vision was created first and then statistics interpreted to support it, rather than the other way around. This bylaw has no impact on the most elite of island homeowners, who do not need to rent their homes to be able to afford them and it prevents the least wealthy from visiting since there are no options they can afford when you set the minimum rental to 7 days. Hotel/ B&B prices are too high for families/couples and lodging is very limited at those establishments since the vast majority of tourists rent private homes.
It is also blatantly discriminatory against non-year-round residents who pay the vast majority of the property taxes and all of the short term rental taxes that go to the town, and are the population that cannot vote on the island." K & JB
"Dear Island Neighbors,
We are writing to express our strong opposition to the proposed by-law limiting home rentals in Nantucket.
We have owned a second home on Nantucket for over 25 years. It’s a modest home, but we love it dearly and our family loves to spend many weeks there in the summer and fall. When we are not there, we, like many other homeowners, rent our house to other visitors to the island to help pay the normal expenses of owning a second home. And, just to be clear, our primary residence is on a barrier island in SC. We are very familiar with issues regarding tourism in predominantly residential communities.
A second home requires help from a number of local island residents to help maintain it. Caretakers, housekeepers, plumbers, painters, roofers, and lawn maintenance services are just a few of the individuals a homeowner employs to maintain a house year-round. These home rentals support employment of the full-time residents of the island. These residents may not own more than one home like we do, but they probably have more than one job to support themselves. Limiting rentals will have a snowball effect by limiting the employment opportunities of the hard-working men and women of Nantucket, reducing their income, and causing them to leave the island. Is that what we want for our island?
Guests who visit our island also spend money in the restaurants, grocery stores, retail shops, art galleries, museums, taxis, and marine services. All of these local businesses depend on the tourism industry to support and maintain their businesses and employ their full-time island residents. In turn, those businesses contribute to the island tax base that supports all public services and infrastructure projects on the island. After the pandemic and the economic and employment depression our country has gone through this past year, now is NOT the time to limit economic growth and prosperity that tourism brings to our island.
We often get requests for rentals for weekends such as Daffodil, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Stroll. It helps to have the flexibility to provide these weekends when we can, and those special weekends are integral part of the fabric of our community. Should we limit the number of visitors to our island on those weekends?
We love Nantucket and support well-planned growth on the island, but my question is…what is the motivation of the individuals who seek to limit the freedom of property owners to control their own property? What is their ultimate goal here? Do they seek to reduce traffic? If so, there are other ways to control that issue. Is it to increase housing opportunities for the locals? I don’t see how this law helps that. Is it to see fewer people in the restaurants, beaches, and grocery stores so they aren’t hassled by the crowds?
Again, after this past year of economic depression, the last thing our island needs is more economic limitations. Now is the time to embrace our tourism industry and allow it to bring prosperity back to the island.
We are responsible homeowners and take care of our property, our service providers, and the guests who visit our home and island. I am adamantly opposed to an elite group of do-gooders who seek to take away our rights as homeowners to make the best decisions for our homes and island that we love so dearly. I urge you to oppose the push to limit homeowner’s rights to provide rental opportunities for visitors to our beautiful island of Nantucket, and stand for the economic freedom and success of our island." VLG & RC
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