Committee narrows draft short‑term rental rules; key questions on caps, grandfathering and inspections remain

Town workshop members on Oct. 5 discussed a draft ordinance to regulate short‑term rentals, concentrating on licensing, life‑safety requirements and enforcement rather than an outright ban. The group generally agreed that rentals offered to the public for less than six months should be treated as short‑term rentals and subject to a town registration and licensing process.

The matter matters because members said the town faces two separate policy goals: protecting life safety for occupants of rented units and limiting commercial conversion of year‑round housing stock. Workshop discussion tied licensing and inspection requirements to life‑safety standards and separate land‑use rules drafted by the planning board (referred to in the meeting as chapter 1 45).

Members directed staff to draft ordinance language that treats licensing and land use as separate regulatory tracks: land‑use rules determine where STRs are permitted;…