NAHANT — The discussion of restrictions on short-term housing was so heated that one of the board members muttered “I am just disappointed,” as he walked out of the Nahant planning board meeting Tuesday night.
Short-term housing is always strictly regulated in Nahant, because of its culture and history, according to Rob Steinberg, Chairman of the Planning Board Committee of Nahant. However, the state says that towns cannot ban Airbnb, which causes a conflict.
“We’ve had a history of very tight laws around allowing people to rent rooms,” Steinberg said. “The viewpoint I expressed is if they’re so restrictive that they’re in effect what I call the de facto ban, they’ll (the town of Nahant) be struck down by the court.”
Worried about facing high legal fees and charges, the Nahant short-term housing committee and the planning board committee are working together to make adjustments on restrictions.
The first item the planning Board Committee made clear was what their role was in the short-term housing issue, the planning board was only making recommendations to the short-term housing committee. Any decision made at the planning board meeting can be rejected by the short-term housing committee, so it is not a final law.
The following discussion focused on the definition of residential use. Some people believe that short-term rental, most commonly rented as Airbnb nowadays, is a form of commercial use, according to Steinberg. It is important for the planning board to define short-term housing as residential or commercial for zoning purposes.
“So, can you run a business in a residential area? And the answer is no, but the state has said this is permissible. That’s when they implicitly say that it’s residential use.” said Steinberg.
If the board is making adjustments on restrictions, the only thing they are deciding is how much they are adjusting. There is a balance between the satisfaction of the owners of the houses, and the nearby neighbors. Before the series of the meetings began, there were complaints about short-term housing tenants moving in and out.
The public is complaining about the currents of the second family in the housing, and there is no updated restriction on Airbnb for law enforcement to act, with all of this leading to the board meeting Tuesday.
Some residents who attended this meeting virtually also expressed their thoughts on the guest’s capacity. “It (guest’s capacity) should be based on rooms, not how many cars can be crammed on a property,” said Dan Dolce.
“By parking cars anywhere, will emergency vehicles still have access to the home?” Joseph Mellen expressed worries on parking, “imagine the logistics of attempting to shuffle all these vehicles around if one wants to leave?”
There is no conclusion on the capacity restriction of parking, guests, and visitors for now, because it needs further discussion with the short-term housing committee. The capacity restriction will be discussed further on Oct. 25 and Nov. 1.
Sylvia Chen can be reached at [email protected]
