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New Shoreham planning board debates limits on pop-up tents, storage containers
Summary
The Planning Board reviewed a Town Council referral on a proposed ordinance to regulate tents and storage containers islandwide, debated definitions, size, nightly removal, color standards and Historic District review, and asked staff to return with refined language and HDC input.
The New Shoreham Planning Board on Oct. 9 reviewed a Town Council referral asking the board to advise on a proposed ordinance regulating tents, pop‑up canopies and storage containers across the island.
Board members focused on definitions and enforceable limits after staff said the draft would allow the town to “specifically address the use of tents in the zoning ordinance and provide parameters about which when when they can actually be used.” Michelle, planning staff, explained the zoning change responds to a recent zoning‑board interpretation that left tent use broad under current rules.
Members urged clear exemptions for longstanding community uses such as the farmers market, festivals and farm stands; one member asked that farmers‑market tents be explicitly listed so those events remain permitted. The group debated whether event permits already capture many uses, with several members noting special‑event permits commonly require tents to be specified.
The Board focused on how to treat pop‑up tents used as daily retail or rental stalls downtown. Several members urged a working definition of a pop‑up tent as a collapsible, temporary structure that must be taken down nightly. Suggestions included a standard maximum size (the group discussed 10-by-10 as a common 10x10 pop‑up), limits on how many tents a business may place on a lot or a percentage‑of‑lot coverage rule, and neutral or context‑matching color requirements to protect historic viewsheds. One planning member said HDC (Historic District Commission) input should be built into the draft for downtown areas to assess viewshed impacts.
On storage containers, members proposed allowing temporary permits renewable (for example, every six months) when used for construction or short‑term needs and noted some existing containers on properties may require separate handling.
The Board did not take a formal vote on the draft ordinance. Members asked staff to refine definitions (pop‑up tent, awning, canopy, umbrella), propose concrete size and time‑in‑place limits, and circulate the revised language — including consultation with HDC — for the Board to review at a subsequent meeting.
