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Town council discusses numbering rental cars to enforce 1987 zoning limits
Summary
Councilors discussed a potential voluntary or ordinance-based numbering system for rental vehicles to help enforce zoning-authorized caps dating to 1987. Town staff raised legal concerns about municipal authority versus state licensing; council asked staff to research state records and legal options.
The New Shoreham Town Council discussed implementing a numbering system for rental cars as a tool to enforce vehicle limits embedded in decades‑old zoning special-use decisions.
The presiding officer introduced the item noting that the 1987 special-use permits that authorized car-rental operations for specific lots imposed numerical caps and that a simple numbering system could “enhance our ability to enforce our zoning decisions.” The council asked whether a local requirement would be legally enforceable given state licensing of rental businesses.
Town staff expressed caution. Staff member Nick Silitro said the state governs licensing of rental businesses and that, without specific municipal authority, a mandatory numbering ordinance could be subject to legal challenge. He recommended pursuing voluntary participation while researching legal authority and potential enforcement mechanisms.
Councilors and participants reviewed the known documentary background. Meeting remarks identified three 1987 special‑use decisions that authorize nonconforming car‑rental uses on particular lots with limits (commonly cited figures were 10, 15 and 20 vehicles). Participants also stated that a town zoning ordinance (section 1.11, passed in 1991) now generally prohibits new car-rental uses, making the existing operations nonconforming and tied to the 1987 approvals.
Property owner Judy Clark told the council that property owners are typically responsible for activities on their lots and noted some operators have removed four-wheel-drive capability from vehicles to conform to an older restriction she recalled; she said, “the owner of the property is responsible for what goes on on their property.”
Council questions focused on three follow-up items for staff: (1) ask state licensing authorities (DMV or Department of Business Regulation) whether license records list vehicles per licensee and whether the state would object to a local numbering scheme; (2) confirm whether the town can lawfully require numbering or whether only voluntary participation is currently feasible; and (3) clarify whether low-speed electric vehicles or other modern categories (golf carts, mopeds, slow-moving vehicles) count toward an operator’s numerical cap under the 1987 decisions or constitute a separate classification.
Staff said they would contact state agencies and the town’s land-use attorney for legal guidance and report back with options and parameters for either a voluntary program or an ordinance consistent with state law and zoning precedent.
