Finance Committee backs zoning amendment to create ‘Nantucket Vacation Rentals,’ rejects two citizen bylaws and is split on temporary cap

The Nantucket Finance Committee on Feb. 18, 2025, voted to support the Planning Board’s positive recommendation for Article 66 — a zoning amendment that would create a permitted category for what the sponsor calls “Nantucket Vacation Rentals” (NVRs) — but opposed or recommended no action on several related citizen articles. Committee members also deadlocked on Article 69, a citizen-petition general bylaw that would impose a temporary cap on short‑term rental certificates.

The committee’s action clears a key gate in the town’s process: Article 66 would amend the zoning use table to list a short‑term Nantucket Vacation Rental (NVR) as an allowed use in most districts, contingent on a valid Board of Health certificate of registration and compliance with general bylaws. Planning Board members had recommended adoption; the Finance Committee motion to support that recommendation passed by roll call.

Why it matters: the four citizen articles (Nos. 66–69) propose different ways to regulate short‑term rentals (STRs) — from making a use allowed in zoning (Article 66), to accessory‑use limits and minimum owner occupancy (Article 67), to a general‑bylaw approach (Article 68), and to a three‑year temporary cap plus a 70‑day annual limit (Article 69). Committee members, town counsel and town staff repeatedly said enforcement capacity, legal risk and available data (especially from the new STR registration) should guide the town’s choices.

Caroline Baltzer, the sponsor of Article 66, framed her proposal as a local, long‑running approach. “I have attempted to reclaim Nantucket STRs as NVRs or Nantucket Vacation Rentals in article 66,” she said, arguing the measure would combine zoning and bylaw protections and help the town resist future lawsuits. Baltzer also noted a pending land‑court case she called a “legal bullying” risk to neighbors and the town.

Town legal…