Bangor Planning Board recommends allowing short-term rentals in tiny-home and manufactured-home parks with operator caps

The Bangor Planning Board on Feb. 3 voted to recommend a change to the city’s land development code to allow short-term rentals in tiny-home parks and to add the same allowance and cap to manufactured-home parks.

Planning staff summarized the change as correcting a discrepancy: the city previously allowed short-term rentals in manufactured-home parks but not in tiny-home parks. The amendment would permit short-term rentals in tiny-home parks but cap operator-controlled short-term rental units at 30% of the park or five homes, whichever is less. Planning staff told the board an individually owned tiny-home unit would be treated like a condominium for the purposes of the cap, and the cap would therefore apply to an operator rather than to each separate owner.

An unidentified board member moved that the board recommend the code amendment to the City Council and add a cap to the short-term rental licensing code (Section 2-54-4). Chair Jonathan Boucher seconded the motion. The board approved the recommendation by roll call vote; members recorded “yes” and the board’s recommendation will be forwarded to council for final action.

Why it matters: the change aligns the city’s rules across different types of park developments and sets an operator-level limit intended to preserve the character and long-term occupancy of parks while allowing short-term rental activity under a defined cap.

Next steps: The Planning Board’s action is advisory; the City Council will consider the draft amendment and the licensing change in a future meeting before any rule becomes law.