The passage of regulations for short-term rentals (STRs) is a success story for 2021. It was the combination of neighborhood and business interests coming together around common interests and creating an atmosphere where a meaningful change in Town policy became feasible.
In 2019 the Chamber of Commerce approached CHALT and asked if CHALT would be interested in working together to create a town-wide framework for regulating short-term rental, meaning residences that were rented for fewer than 30 days at a time via web-based platforms like AirBNB. While the number of STRs was growing rapidly, they technically were an impermissible land use in most all parts of town, meaning that STRs essentially were functioning as unregulated businesses. The hotels were feeling the pinch because of lost revenue to unregulated competitors, while the Town was losing out on tax revenues that otherwise would be due. After learning more about the growing number of investor owned units, which are otherwise residential units that are rented exclusively via STR platforms, CHALT reps agreed that short-term rentals were having negative effects on neighborhoods and the larger housing market.
Our advocacy group was composed of representatives from the Chamber of Commerce, the hotel industry, and three representatives from CHALT. We petitioned the Town Council in 2019 and the council formed a task force to study the issue. Our group continued to meet during this period to monitor the task force’s progress, write letters, and present information to the Town Council and staff as as the Town moved toward finding a fair solution.
The short-term rental issue is a complicated one that involves strong feelings. The task force struggled to come to a conclusion and issued a statement of findings to guide the Council.
In June 2021, the Town Council adopted a comprehensive regulatory framework. Under that framework, investor-owned STRs are not allowed in any residential zoning district. Primary residence STRs, which are units in which someone resides for at least half the year, now are allowable, subject to permitting and operational requirements. Existing operators have until December 2022 to comply with the new ordinance.
The adoption of this ordinance is important in several respects. First, it created a framework that will enable a new form of business activity to operate in a responsible way that is fair to existing businesses. Second, it creates a process to ensure that the town receives all of the tax revenues to which it is entitled. Third, the regulations provide a way of ensuring that STR operators don’t impose burdens on their neighbors. Finally, the prohibition on investor-owned properties prevents units that otherwise would be available for long-term rent from being removed from the local housing market. To learn more about CHALT’s efforts, see https://www.chalt.org/short-term-rentals/