[Massplanners] STR (Short Term Rentals)

[Daniel Fortier]

Richard, in Dennis the Board of Health regulates rental units, short and
long term rentals.  This has been on the books for a few decades.

Below is my last memo on this issue before I retired.  Pardon the
formatting. Cut and paste on cell phone is not too good.

Daniel FORTIER AICP
Retired Town Planner

RE: Short Term Rentals
This is an update to a memo I prepared back in January, now serving a very
different
purpose. Tomorrow night the Zoning By-law Study Committee will be
entertaining a
request to bring forward a zoning proposal to prohibit Short Term Rentals
in Dennis.
This analysis was first proposed to consider the impact of the Styller
decision that related
to Short Term Rentals in Lynnfield in particular, but established a test
for all
communities to consider as to whether Short Term Rentals need specific
zoning to be
considered allowed. I am leaving my initial analysis as to short term
rentals as originally
written in January, but will add to the end issues that need to be
considered related to any
potential zoning amendment prohibiting such use of homes/
Below is a map prepared by Alicia illustrating the dispersion of licensed
Short Term
Rentals in Dennis. The map illustrates that, outside of perhaps the Quivet
Neck/Crowe’s
Pasture Resource Protection Area and Industrial Zones which do not appear
to have any
short term rentals (STR), STRs are fairly common throughout town. The R-60
Zoning
District, located around Sesuit Neck Road, Sesuit Harbor and Chase Garden
Creek/Black
Flats area, might be the least concentrated zoning district with at least
some STRs.
However, since there are fewer housing units in this district,
concentration may be low,
but percentage may not be much different than other, more concentrated
Zoning Districts.
In the 2020 Census the town was reported to have 15,799 housing units, of
which 7,436
are year round occupancy and 8,363 units are seasonal.
The Board of Health has licensed, in 2021, 1,598 STRs. Essentially, 10.1%
of all housing
in Dennis is used as a STR, and 19.1% of all seasonal units are used for
STR purposes.
In footnote 16 of the Styller Decision
(https://www.massdirtlaw.com/wp�content/uploads/2021/06/Styller-v.-Zoning-Board-of-Appeals-of-Lynnfield.pdf
) the
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court noted that “He did not, for example,
show that short term rental use was customary in the zoning district,”. The
Court did not define
what percentage of the housing stock being used for STRs would illustrate
such a use as
being customary in the zoning district or community.
We have discussed in the past, since the Styller decision came out, having
the Building
Commissioner/Board of Appeals make a determination that STR’s are a
customary use of
housing units in the Town of Dennis. I believe that the numbers, on a town
wide basis
would support this. As the SJC suggested it might be a decision that is
needed on a
Zoning
Issues to be considered
1. Residential Rentals are regulated under General By-law Chapter 113
Housing
Space and Use. The zoning by-law defines dwelling unit, but is silent on
whether
dwelling units are renter or owner occupied.
2. The Haven Center court case on recreational marijuana reinforced that if
a town
regulates a use in its Zoning By-law, in general, it cannot also regulate
it in its
General By-law. Stepping into zoning with rental regulation will create
conflicts
with Chapter 113 and existing Health Regulations.
3. With over 10% of the town’s housing already subject to some level of
short term
rental permit, identifying vested rights will be a difficult challenge.
4. In FY 2021, from the Town Report, Dennis took in $2,182,042 in short
term
rental taxation. While a portion of this is from traditional motel rooms,
the rents
on homes used for Short Term Rentals, and the sheer number of homes in this
use, suggest this figure would be heavily impacted by a prohibition. The
town has
dedicated a portion of this tax to Waste Water, which will be direly
impacted by a
prohibition.
My immediate reaction is that, at a minimum, the Board of Health and the
Waste Water
Committee both need to be made aware of this and actively participate in
the ZBSC
discussions. Finance Committee and Select Board probably also have a strong
interest in
what gets proposed. Town Counsel may also want to opine on the risks of
bringing into
zoning something that has traditionally been regulated through the General
By-law.

On Wed, Dec 20, 2023, 11:34 AM Richard Clark via MassPlanners <
massplanners at masscptc.org> wrote:

> Hello,
>
> Looking for information on how communities have dealt with STR's. Any
> by-laws or proposed by-laws pertaining to these rentals would be much
> appreciated. Big question raised locally is will any return in  taxes and
> /or fees offset cost administration and enforcement.
>
> Thank you,
> Richard Clark, Planning Board
> Town of Dudley, MA
> --
> MassPlanners mailing list
> MassPlanners at masscptc.org
> http://masscptc.org/mailman/listinfo/massplanners_masscptc.org
>
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