GLOUCESTER — Proposed rules on short-term rentals are tentatively scheduled to go a public hearing on Aug. 27 after the City Council’s Ordinances and Administration Standing Committee voted 2-1 Monday to recommend them.
Ward 4 Councilor Frank Margiotta, who questioned some fine points of the proposed ordinance, was the lone “no” vote, saying there was a lot to digest before the subcommittee that night.
“So, I’m going to say ‘nay’ and wait until the public hearing,” he said.
Ordinances and Administration member and Ward 3 Councilor Marjorie Grace also had questions while subcommittee Chair Sean Nolan of Ward 5 also shared concerns.
The proposal is an attempt to strike a balance between the need to preserve the city’s long-term housing stock while providing short-term rentals for seasonal tourists in this seaside community, the proposal’s author and City Council President Tony Gross said.
“This has created conversations and we will have a public hearing that I request if everyone listens and everyone has their say and then we will have a discussion about the appropriateness of every single use of this ordinance and whether or not they should test it or not,” Gross said.
“This is a massive, massive ordinance,” Nolan said, noting how during that night’s meeting city Building Commissioner Robert Vicari delivered new information about coming changes to the state building code that would require inspections of short-term rentals.
“I had some reservations about maybe continuing this,” Nolan said. He noted there is time before the City Council’s next meeting Aug. 27 for the proposal to go to a public hearing.
“And I’m sure there is going to be a very vibrant meeting,” Nolan said, “because there is a lot of realistic concerns.”
Instead of having a long, drawn out discussion Monday night, Nolan said it was best “we do this where everybody is included, and get it right.”
The proposal is similar to one Gross proposed in spring 2023 which he withdrew amid concerns from residents and property owners about wanting more Gloucester-specific data on short-term rentals.
On Monday night, Gross spoke about the current housing crisis in Gloucester.
“To have a healthy community we all know you need adequate housing,” he said. Rules on short-term rentals are just one way to address the issue.
Short-term rentals, he said, already exist as commercial enterprises within the city’s residential neighborhoods, so the city needs regulations to safeguard both residents and renters.
Under the proposal, Gross said, property owners would be required to register three different types of short-term rentals, something that would give the Building Department insight into their different types.
“Something we do not have. We do not have any of this data. We don’t,” he said.
The goal of the rules, Gross said, is to ensure short-term rentals do not become a detriment to the character and livability of the surrounding neighborhoods and to ensure operators abide by health and safety rules.
“It does not ban short-term rentals,” he said, instead it would help maintain them.
The ordinance would create three types of units: shared residential units located in an operator’s primary residence or home, short-term rentals in a primary residence in which the operator lives for at least six months out of a 12-month period, and a non-primary residential unit in which the operator does not live for at least six months out of the year.
Under the proposal, short-term rentals within a primary residence may be rented 365 days a year.
Units in a primary residence may be rented up to six months of the year, the proposal states, while short-term rentals in non-primary residential units may be rented for a total of 120 days a year.
Short-term rental units that have a current Massachusetts Department of Revenue certificates of registration as of the date of the enactment of the rules would be grandfathered and not subject to the 120-day or 6-month restriction. The proposed date the new rules would go into effect if approved by the City Council would be Jan. 1, 2025.
All operators would have to register their short-term rentals annually with the city and pay a fee depending on unit type: $100 for shared residential units, $150 for primary residential units and $200 for non-primary residential units.
Ethan Forman may be contacted at 978-675-2714, or at eforman@northofboston.com.
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