LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Short-term rentals have been a hot topic in town recently following inconsistency surrounding whether they are permitted; the Planning Board is working to fix that. 

 

At the June 2024 town meeting, voters approved new taxes and fees on short-term rentals, which are stays of less than 30 days. These include:

 

• A local excise tax of up to 6 percent on total rent for each stay at bed and breakfasts, hotel lodging houses, short-term rentals, or motels

• A 3 percent impact fee on "professionally managed" short-term rentals

• A 3 percent impact fee on short-term rentals in two- or three-family dwellings

 

Although the need for regulations was mentioned during some meetings, none were promulgated, and voters were presented with options for taxing short-term rentals but not for regulating them.

 

Some residents have short-term rentals, flying under the radar, despite the town not having approved zoning regulations to ensure safety and preserve the character of the town, board members said at its meeting on Tuesday. 

 

"I don't want to see people not be able to do short-term rentals, but I don't think we can just open it up and let it be a free for all, because that's what it's been and in some areas of town, it's becoming a bit of a nightmare for the people that live there,” board member Leanne Yinger said. 

 

The absence of a regulation has caused a rift between the town and some residents, which was displayed during a heated Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, where it was asserted that short-term rentals are not permitted in town. 

 

Although the town has bylaws surrounding taxing and parking regulations for short-term rentals, there isn't a way to register them at the town level. 

 

It was explained that, when a short-term rental owner or third-party booking service pays the state tax, the state sends checks to the towns. However, there is no property address information connected to the owner for voluntary property registration.

 

Many people operate short-term rentals discreetly until someone brings it to the authorities' attention, at which point a cease-and-desist is issued. 

 

The board agreed to include in the bylaw the adoption of a registration program in town, requiring the owner to show a certificate of inspection to the town clerk at the time of registration showing they are in compliance with state building code.

 

The State Building Code mandates a certificate of inspection for short-term rentals. If the property is owner-occupied, inspections occur every five years; otherwise, inspections are required annually, Building Commissioner Brian Duval said. 

 

Another concern the board wants the bylaw to address is preventing companies or individuals, who do not live in town, from buying a number of real estate in town and renting it out. 

 

Duval cautioned that people can just create a new LLC to try and bypass the limitation. 

 

"If you wanted to have it limited to residents, and you wanted to allow LLCs, you can have it so that the trustees must be residents, not somebody living in New York City,” Duval said. 

 

If the bylaw were to require that, it would complicate situations where a resident, who has a home in another state, such as Florida, as their primary residence, the Lanesborough property could not be rented, board member Joe Trybus said. 

 

This is a case where someone could request a special permit, Yinger said. 

 

"I get what you're saying, but you're leaving it up to a board of five instead of the townspeople,” Trybus said. The Zoning Board of Appeals is actually made up of three members and one alternate. 

 

The board agreed that there needs to be a cap on how many short-term rental properties an individual or LLC can own. 

 

Trybus also recommended the number of short-term rental properties an LLC or individual can own be limited to four.

 

Yinger pitched there being a cap of an entity owning 2 properties in residential areas to ensure neighborhood homes are not being bought out. 

 

Outside of residential, Yinger does not care if there is a cap because that is where she believes short-term rentals should be happening. 

 

"So, if a farmer has a barn, they want to convert it into this lovely [short-term rental] go for it, man, so you can keep your farm. I am totally in support of it,”

 

"I don't care what that looks like, so much because they have a large parcel of property. And to [Trybus] point, I'm not looking to tell people what they can and can't do,” Yinger said. 

 

"I'm looking to have housing stock in our community for people who want to come and live here year round and raise their families or retire or what have you.” 

 

Board member Renee Dodds agreed with a cap of 2 properties in residential areas and 4 outside residential. She also pitched including community impact fee of 3 percent for professionally managed units.

 

The draft bylaw proposes that short-term rentals be permitted in residential and agricultural districts for only 90 cumulative days in a calendar year, however there are exemptions to this limitation. 

 

The exemptions include: 

In all other districts, short-term rentals are allowed without limitation on the number of days in a calendar year where dwelling units are allowed, such as above the first story of a nonresidential use, the draft bylaw says. 

 

Trybus argued in favor of opening it up to 360 times a year, not wanting to tell the owner what they can and cannot do with their property. 

 

Allowing short-term rentals for a full year could disrupt the neighborhood's small-town feel and be unfair to existing residents who moved to the area because of that atmosphere, said Tara Mullett, board member. 

 

She did suggest a compromise of more than 90 days but less than a year, such as 150 or 200 days. 

 

Dodds expressed her belief that 90 days is a short period and could be challenging for some. She also noted that if the bylaw allowed rentals for 365 days a year, the unit might not necessarily be rented out the entire time.

 

"We are in a very tourism based area, and having people come here and stay and spend their money here is very important as well,”she said. 

 

"I think maybe having some kind of cap on how many homes that people can have in the community that they're renting might help but I feel like a longer time. I am not opposed to 365.”

 

Board member Leanne Yinger said she would agree with half of 365 and if owners want to rent the unit longer than that to generate income there are other ways.

 

"Just throwing out an idea, then you just rent long term or you rent to traveling nurses, or you rent to the theater group for the summer,” she said. 

 

"There are a lot of opportunities to make money on your property that are not short term rentals. And short term rentals are really quite a headache.”

 

Board chair Courtney Dondi said they can consider gathering resident feedback via a survey to gauge community tolerance for caps, registration, and other controls.

 

Another option, the bylaw could require a special permit for cases that would exceed the limitation, Dondi said. 

 

Yinger liked the idea of special permitting, adding the need for capping the number of short-tern rental units someone can own. 

 

The board will continue discussing the bylaw at future meetings.