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Planning Board presses end to STR grace period; Selectmen to notify unpermitted operators
Summary
The Planning Board urged Selectmen to require owners to finish short‑term rental permitting and recommended letters to noncompliant operators; one operator, Rowley, has a court consent decree and remains restricted to 30‑day rentals until permits and site plan review are complete.
Members of the Planning Board and zoning staff reported to the Selectmen that multiple short‑term rental (STR) applications remain pending and that the grace period for operating without permits should end. The zoning report listed five pending STR matters (Stone, Rowley, Saggese, Li & Liu, Prime) with various outstanding site‑plan, fire‑safety, water testing and life‑safety checklist items.
The minutes note that Tyler Rowley received a Notice of Violation on June 18, 2024 and entered a Consent Decree at Newport District Court; his site plan review remains continued pending a Fire & Safety report, an exterior lighting plan, parking and a pet policy. The Planning Board recommended that letters be sent to owners who have not completed the permitting process; Tamara will send follow‑up correspondence to Mr. Saggese and to newly discovered unpermitted rental properties.
Planning Board members signaled a desire to end informal tolerance of unpermitted STR operations and require owners to begin the formal permitting process; the minutes state this enforcement follow up has already led to court action in some cases. The Board also discussed possible abbreviated site‑plan processes for STRs and will address that at upcoming Planning Board meetings.
