Residents of Nantucket will vote Saturday on an issue that has divided the island: Restrictions on short-term rentals.
Homeowners at the vacation destination rent out their homes each summer to thousands of tourists, but a new proposal could restrict how long they can be rented.
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"If you live in a residential neighborhood and would like to short-term rent your home, you're absolutely able to, but the home needs to be used more as a residence than as a short-term rental," said Emmy Kilvert, a sponsor of Article 60.
The proposal would prohibit short-term rentals in residential zones unless the owner lives in the home for six months or more every year, or if long-term rentals are used more than short-term.
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"Even the commercial interest could change their business model, and you know, have a winter rental to fulfill that and continue doing the short-term in the summer," Kilvert argued.
But some say that's not doable.
Alison Taylor says she'll first lose her tenants, and then her non-winterized cottage, which she shares with her siblings in the summer.
"We couldn't command enough rent to pay all the expenses and the taxes," Taylor said. "Nobody on our street is an investor, we're all families, just like us, trying to hold onto our houses."
According to a study by the UMass Donahue Institute, only 5% of short-term rentals, as they exist now, could operate without any changes.
"If you agree that Article 60 means a property needs to be occupied by an owner or a tenant for six months or more of the year, then very few existing short-term rentals on Nantucket are compliant," said Rod Motamedi, assistant director of economic policy and research at the Donahue Institute.
With nearly two thirds of all houses being second or vacation homes, the impacts could vary greatly.
"I understand why this is a difficult question for the people of Nantucket," Motamedi said.
"I hope that they look around the room and see their neighbors and their friends, and realize that they could be pulling the land right out from under their feet," Taylor said.
A short-term rental workgroup has formed to study the situation and is set to present findings this fall. Some town officials want the vote to wait until that data is in, but the vote is scheduled for Saturday.
