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Select Board debates short‑term rental limits for proposed Campus World development
Summary
Board members debated which statutory definition should guide short‑term rental restrictions in the Camper's World LOI: state law variously defines short‑term rental as fewer than 185 days or fewer than 30 days; members pressed to limit single‑family affordable homes to six months or less to preserve long‑term affordability.
As part of the Camper's World Letter of Intent discussion, Select Board members debated how to define and limit short‑term rentals for different housing types in the proposed development.
Board members noted that New Hampshire statutes offer different definitions (one reference to 185 consecutive days and another to 30 days), and several members proposed distinguishing between apartments and single‑family homes. One member said they favored allowing longer stays for employer‑provided units but restricting single‑family homes intended for families so they would not be used as short‑term rentals. "It's the single family homes that are so needed in the town for families to come and move in," a board member said, urging restrictions to keep those homes affordable.
The board discussed a potential six‑month restriction for single‑family units where legally permitted and agreed to ask for revised LOI language on rental limits before final approval and attorney review. Members and staff also noted that rentals for workforce housing and employer units pose different policy tradeoffs than market‑rate or visitor‑oriented short‑term rentals.
