Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Ordinance Priorities topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Select Board prioritizes short-term rentals, street standards and monumentation for ordinance work
Summary
The Select Board agreed to prioritize short-term rental regulation and flood ordinance work for an early June schedule, discussed private-road street standards and a proposal to require permanent monumentation within 25 feet of property lines; members flagged state law LD 427 compliance as mandatory.
Select Board members directed staff to prioritize a set of ordinance changes to meet an upcoming ballot timeline, with short-term rental rules and a flood-ordinance revision given top attention.
A planner told the board she had prepared a timeline working back from the clerk's deadline and that zoning implications mean short-term rental rules may need both licensing and zoning changes. "...you want to present town meeting, with respect to the zoning ones before you enact the other stuff," she said, recommending coordination between boards.
The board also discussed street standards and private roads: the planner recommended the staff review committee (fire, police, public works, code) review private-road approvals so future lot buyers know required upgrades to get building permits. The board identified minor subdivision definition tweaks and timber-harvesting ordinance updates to comply with state shoreline rules as work that could be scheduled.
Several members proposed requiring permanent monumentation (survey markers) on properties where construction occurs within 25 feet of property lines so owners and neighbors can locate boundaries. A board member cautioned monumentation on beachfront lots may be impractical when stakes end in water and recommended more study before placing the requirement on a ballot.
Members also flagged a recently passed state measure referred to in discussion as LD 427 that restricts what municipalities may require for parking in residential developments; the planner recommended consulting the town attorney to ensure ordinance language matches state law before finalizing ballot language.
The board did not adopt ordinance language at the meeting but agreed to pursue the items on a condensed timeline so those that must appear on the June ballot can be prepared.
