Residents of Nantucket have voted against a proposal to limit their ability to rent out their homes at the tourist destination.
At Saturday's annual town meeting, island residents voted 558-378 against Article 60, which would have prohibited short-term rentals in residential zones unless the owner either lives in the home for at least six months per year or uses long-term rentals more than short-term rentals.
The article's sponsor, Emmy Kilvert, told NBC10 Boston ahead of the vote that the proposal would have given property owners options to rent as long as they fulfilled one of the criteria.
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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," she argued.
But others said that's not doable.
Alison Taylor said she would 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.
