NAHANT — Seven speakers presented their perspectives on the fraught short-term rental situation in town at a meeting of the Planning Board Tuesday night.
The seven speakers, who were chosen based on written statements they submitted to the board, ranged from short-term rental owners to neighbors of current rental properties. They read their statements in front of the board to help enhance its understanding of the effects — positive and negative — of short-term rentals.
A resident and short-term rental owner named Christian said that his family began renting the house next door after wanting to acquire the property to eventually take care of elderly family members.
He noted that 75 to 80 percent of their rentals since 2016 have been families and that “after six years, we have never had a disruptive guest.” Christian added that should unruly renters occupy a property, a short-term rental would be preferable to a long-term rental.
Rental owner Rebecca Flacke stated that rental properties are less than two percent of units in the town and provide accommodations on the island not only for tourists but also visiting family members without building hotels.
On the other side of the issue, a speaker named Susan detailed repeated disturbances that have come from the short-term rental she lives next to. The first renters, she said, threw a large, noisy party and parked ten to 15 cars along the street. Other renters, who hosted a wedding, violated the occupancy limit on the rental listing, parked a food truck in the neighborhood, and had a guest urinate outside in another neighbor’s yard.
In addition to the guests in the rental property, Susan said that she has been blocked by the property owners and can no longer contact them with complaints. “We brace ourselves with each new renter and hope to not have to call the police,” she said.
Additional concerns included renters straining the town’s limited resources like police and the constant turnover of people detracting from the small town charm of Nahant.
The Planning Board will use the information from this forum to write preliminary recommendations for the Short-Term Rental Committee. The town hopes to have by-laws and a regulatory scheme to put before the next Town Meeting.
Emma Fringuelli can be reached at [email protected].
