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Board continues hearing on short-term rental gathering rules; squares footage vs. bedrooms left open
Summary
The Board of Health continued a public hearing on proposed rules to require permits for gatherings at short-term rentals. Cultural and tourism staff joined the discussion; the board asked for further work on occupancy metrics (bedrooms versus square footage) and agreed to return the draft to the Select Board after more department coordination.
The Nantucket Board of Health continued a public hearing March 20 on proposed amendments that would require permits for certain large gatherings at short-term rental properties.
Shontal Boyce Murphy, director of Culture and Tourism, and Dina Weatherly, cultural affairs and special events coordinator, told the board Culture and Tourism routinely processes special event permits and could administer a short-term-rental gathering permit if the board and Select Board want that approach. They noted permitting private-property events raises questions about what additional department reviews would be triggered (fire, police, public-assembly inspections) and who would be responsible for enforcement.
The draft rule in the packet defined a "gathering" as an assembly that exceeds twice the dwelling’s approved occupancy (the board’s current occupancy metric ties to bedrooms). Several board members and Culture and Tourism staff said the metric needs work because two identical-bedroom homes can have very different square footage and egress characteristics.
"If the size of the space limits how many people could be there, we should consider square footage," said a board member. Another member favored the bedrooms metric as a simpler and administrable rule but asked staff to research how the building and fire codes set occupancy limits for commercial and tented assemblies.
Town counsel and the board agreed the next step is additional interdepartmental work: the board will refine the draft, consult with the Select Board and administration on enforcement capacity, and return the amendments for another hearing. The chairman also instructed staff to check building- and fire-code occupancy calculations so the board can choose a clear and enforceable metric.
The hearing was continued to the board's next meeting; staff said they will consult with the Select Board, Culture and Tourism and the building and fire departments and will bring a revised draft and recommended occupancy metric back for a final vote.
No permit was adopted at this meeting; the board left open whether the metric will use bedrooms, square footage, or a hybrid formula tied to building/fire-department occupancy calculations.
