Non-owner-occupied short-term rentals are now prohibited in Nahant’s residential zones, as Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office accepted Town Meeting’s vote.
In May, Town Meeting engaged in a lively debate on Article 24 — a bylaw amendment that limits the number of annual short-term rental licenses to 4% of the total number of legal dwellings in Nahant.
The bylaw also limits usage of non-owner-occupied short-term rentals — such as those rented through online booking companies such as Airbnb and Vrbo — to non-commercial uses, and allows the Board of Selectmen to create, regulate, and enforce regulations to mitigate noise and parking concerns.
“We approve Article 24 because it does not conflict with state law,” Campbell’s office wrote in a statement sent to the Town of Nahant. “We emphasize that our decision in no way implies any agreement or disagreement with the policy views that may have led to the bylaw amendments.”
Town Meeting voted 158-28 in favor of Article 24. The second portion of the warrant article, which amends the town’s zoning bylaws to require non-owner-occupied short-term rentals to obtain special permits from the Zoning Board of Appeals, passed after Lennox Road resident George Mihovan motioned to amend the bylaw to ban non-owner-occupied short-term rentals in residential zones.
Although Town Meeting approved Mihovan’s amended motion by a 122-51 vote, a number of Nahant residents filed complaints to the attorney general’s office, arguing that the last-minute motion did not allow the public proper notice nor pass through a public hearing prior to Town Meeting.
Planning Board Chair Rob Steinberg announced the decision of the attorney general’s office at a Tuesday night board meeting. He said although the decision activated the town’s bylaw, those in opposition could still file an appeal to reverse it.
“What we don’t know is whether or not the citizens may file some kind of objection to the attorney general’s findings,” Steinberg said.
In an interview Wednesday, Steinberg explained that he does not know “what the future holds” for short-term rentals in Nahant, noting that those in opposition to the short-term-rental restrictions were “vigorous” in their objection.
Planning Board member Sheila Hambleton said she was pleased with the attorney general’s office’s decision.
“I thought their response was quite thorough in answering all the questions that they apparently received from various taxpayers in town,” Hambleton said.
