Newburyport City Council delays action on short-term rental regulations

Aug. 30—NEWBURYPORT — The proposed regulation of short-term rental units will have to wait after the City Council voted 6-4 on Monday night to continue discussion of the matter Sept. 12.

Ward 5 Councilor Jim McCauley and council President Heather Shand co-sponsored zoning amendments to regulate the city's roughly 200 short-term rental units in specific districts.

Owners of short-term rentals would need to live in their units for at least 183 days a year under the proposed amendments, which also require that the primary use be as single-family, two-family or multifamily homes.

Guests would be allowed to stay for up to 31 days in a short-term rental and each unit must be registered with the state and city. Units on Plum Island would be exempt.

Councilor at large Connie Preston recently proposed eliminating parking requirements from the zoning amendments while also offering amnesty to investor-owned properties operating in the city as of May 31.

McCauley's and Preston's plans came before the City Council on Monday night. Councilors found themselves divided over Preston's proposed amendment to offer amnesty to investor-owned properties.

"It comes down to, either this amendment gets in or this ordinance doesn't," Preston said. "Let's face the music and get it done tonight."

Councilor at large Ed Cameron countered by saying, "If this amendment gets in, I'm willing to let it die."

An attorney for KP Law told the council that granting amnesty is unusual for zoning. Grandfathering is often preferred.

Ward 1 Councilor Sharif Zeid proposed continuing discussion of the matter at the council's next meeting Sept. 12 at 7 p.m.

McCauley, Zeid, Cameron, Shand, Ward 2 Councilor Jennie Donahue and Ward 6 Councilor Byron Lane voted to continue the issue until Sept. 12, while Preston and Councilors at large Mark Wright, Bruce Vogel and Afroz Khan voted against the continuance.

Ward 4 Councilor Christine Wallace was not present for the meeting. More than two dozen residents spoke on the issue during the meeting's public comment session.

Robert Glendon of Garden Street said short-term rentals bring "a vibrant business to the community" and are needed because there are few hotels in the area.

"It brings in a lot of revenue, there are a lot of taxes that come out of short-term rentals and help the city's budget and, for some people, it is their livelihood," he added.

Suzi Moore of Olive Street spoke in favor of regulations for short-term rentals.

"Short-term rental units could be appropriate but they have to have good regulations, otherwise they become like an invasive species. With no regulation, they are damaging our community and our neighborhoods," she said.

Boardman Street resident Joel Brown spoke in favor of strong regulations, especially when it comes to on-street parking.

"The people who come to the Airbnb on my block are having bachelor parties, bachelorette parties, family weddings, family reunions. There is never only one car, there is hardly ever only two cars," he said.

Brown argued that an Airbnb is a business in a residential neighborhood.

"I'm not against business but businesses should be regulated," he said.

Jacob Cross of Merrimac Street said the proposed regulations are essentially a ban on short-term rentals and argued that the city should at least grandfather the roughly 80 state-registered units.

"Why would you want to ban them? There aren't many of them. There is a need for them," he said. "The guests pump more money into the local economy, they eat out, they are not taking over the city."

Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Newburyport for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.