After months of discussion and a temporary moratorium on new licenses, the Georgetown Board of Selectmen has updated its short-term rental program to improve enforcement and reduce density, particularly in Ward I.
The board passed the ordinance at its Dec. 22 meeting.
Major changes include limiting rentals to one per block town-wide, reducing Ward I’s number of licenses to 13, officially limiting occupancy to two adults per bedroom, and requiring a two-year wait period between home purchase and license application.
The selectmen said these changes were necessary to protect the neighborhoods’ integrity and keep them from feeling overrun by rentals.
Although the reduced density and number of Ward I licenses will need to be achieved by attrition, the ordinance language has already gone into effect.
The only exception is bookings that exceed the now-official occupancy limits. The board has allowed such bookings through March 31 to remain, but any after that will have to be modified or canceled.
According to Police Judge Lynette Kelsey, the town’s STR program has been in place for four years without any major changes until now. These revisions were a way to address its recent problems with STRs, including parking, noise and occupancy issues.
“There are quite a few clustered together, and that gives the feeling that it’s not really a neighborhood anymore,” she said of reducing the density.
During the public hearing, sentiments about these revisions were mixed. Some rental owners felt it only further restricted them at a time when the town should be eager to host more visitors, while others agreed with reducing the density.
One rental owner spoke out against the occupancy limits, saying she felt they were too low.
Kelsey responded, “Homes are not hotels. … It’s better for the neighborhoods to have them feel more like a home.”
Town Clerk Jennifer Yobski pointed out that town staff has told applicants and licensees from the beginning of the program that the occupancy limit was two adults per bedroom. Regardless of the grace period through March 31, Yobski was confused as to why some bookings are over that limit at all.
“We haven’t changed anything; it’s only that we’ve put it in writing,” she said.
The selectmen said having a grace period seemed appropriate given that it wasn’t in writing before. There was some discussion as to whether it should last through the summer, but Kelsey and others agreed that allowing such bookings through the end of March was already lenient.