NAHANT — At a Board of Selectmen meeting Wednesday evening, town residents expressed concerns about short-term rentals, with some pressing officials about the legality of the rentals.
Town Manager Antonio Barletta said that the town was in the process of putting a committee together to come up with rules and regulations for short-term rentals like Airbnbs as they continue to gain traction in the town. Barletta also acknowledged that the board was looking into the legality of short-term rentals and could not provide a definitive answer as to whether or not they were going to remain in effect. The Zoning Board of Appeals will make a determination on the legality question, he said.
“We are still looking into the state law and our local law, local zoning laws and bylaws, to determine whether we would have solid ground to in your request say that they are allowed,” said Barletta. “We don’t know if we have solid ground to enforce it in that manner at this time.”
But, he said, state law is clear that the town has the authority to regulate the rentals.
One resident, Terry Clark, said that she did not understand why the town would not put a moratorium on the short-term rentals until it is clarified whether they are legal in Nahant. She said that some people in the town had eight or nine short-term rentals.
“It’s a commercial business,” she said.
Clark said that it seemed to her that the town took a position that “because they are silent, we are going to let them have them.” She said that she was living on a street where 50 percent of the houses were Airbnbs, and their owners did not even live in town.
“I would like to know right now or as soon as possible whether they are legal or not,” said Clark.
She said that she did not want to live another year living with strangers “coming and going” on her street. Clark said she lived in a residential zone bordering conservation land, and she was not aware that she would have to live in the condition of a commercially used property zone.
“Why are they allowed to do that if we don’t even know whether they are legal or not,” said Clark.
Barletta said that the town zoning laws, and its general bylaws were dictated by the people at the town meeting, and the selectmen had to follow those, “and it’s possible that our local zoning and bylaws can be interpreted that they are allowed,” he said.
The selectmen present at the meeting expressed that it was their intention too to regulate the short-term rentals in the town, but they felt it should be done in accordance with the legal procedures.
“We are not going to make a decision on enforcement until we feel we have a solid ground to stand on,” said Barletta.
Oksana Kotkina can be reached at [email protected].
