Council To Hold Public Hearing on New Short-Term Rental Ordinance

By Adam Swift

The town council is expected to hold a public hearing on a new short-term rental ordinance at its first meeting in July on Tuesday night.

The new ordinance, which would help the town regulate short-term rentals such as AirBnBs, has been in the works in the council’s rules and ordinances subcommittee for over a year.

At last week’s council meeting, subcommittee chair and council Vice President Hannah Belcher thanked the past and current council members who have worked on the ordinance, as well as town attorney Jim Cipoletta.

“This actually came to the council from the Charter Review Commission a few years ago,” said Belcher. “This was one of their recommendations, and it wasn’t exactly a charter update or an ordinance, so it sat with committee. I think we have come to a really good ordinance that does two things – it protects the character of the neighborhoods in town, and it also opens up an avenue for revenue generation for our residents.”

Currently, Belcher said the town’s regulations for short-term rentals are tied into the regulations for bed and breakfasts and hotels.

“This industry has boomed over the last 10 years, and our ordinances just weren’t up to par with that,” said Belcher.

One of the major changes in the proposed ordinance is that short-term rental licenses would come through the licensing board, rather than the appeals board. Belcher said she will be reaching out to the licensing board to make sure their guidelines are in line with the new ordinance for the rentals.

The licensing board would also handle the yearly renewal process for the licenses, she said.

The new ordinance would also require that short-term rental licenses are limited to owner-occupied homes to make sure no one is coming into town to buy up properties to convert them to AirBnBs, Belcher said.

The total number of short-term rental licenses in town would also be limited to 1.5 percent of Winthrop’s housing stock.

“Another huge addition is the need for an operator-agent,” said Belcher.

If a homeowner was not available, Belcher said they would need to have an agent in place that could handle any issues that come up through the town or tenants within an hour.

Precinct 5 Councilor Joseph Aiello said the new ordinance is a day and night difference from the current regulations in place. He added that he would be taking a closer look at the proposal prior to the public hearing, especially when it comes to enforcement issues.

The council would likely vote on the proposed short-term rental ordinance and any potential amendments at its second meeting in July, and it would then go into effect at some point in August.