#short_term_rentals

Modified ordinance amendments to appear as warrant articles at June Town Meeting
Whether to regulate Camden’s short-term rentals with new standards is now up to voters
Thu, 04/04/2024 - 10:00am

CAMDEN — More than three hours were dedicated Tuesday evening, April 2, to a hearing on proposed new regulations governing short-term rentals in Camden. In the end, the Select Board compromised on a modified package to place on the Town Meeting warrant that will appear before voters at the polls June 11. Most notably, the idea of capping the number of commercial short-term rentals across town was removed, as was an accompanying lottery system for getting a permit for a commercial STR. It was a...
Cite concerns of transparency
Rockport officials wait to appoint Zoning Board applicant
Wed, 05/12/2021 - 7:00pm

ROCKPORT — At a vote of 3 to 1, members of the Rockport Select Board chose not to appoint applicant Bob Hall to the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals for a term that would begin June 9. The decision came after some board members expressed concern over appointing Hall to the ZBA while his wife, Debra Hall, Chair of the Select Board, was still in office. Debra Hall’s four-year term on the Select Board will expire at the time of the June 8 elections; Town Manager Bill Post suggested June 9 as a...
June Town Meeting Warrant
Camden voters to consider mandatory un-hosted short-term rental registration rule
Thu, 04/08/2021 - 2:45pm

CAMDEN — The Town of Camden wants hard data — not industry estimates — of how many property owners are using their homes as short term rentals; therefore, a proposed ordinance is to appear on the June Town Meeting warrant asking voters to approve the requisite registration of un-hosted short term rental properties. “The point is to count them,” said board member Alison McKellar, in the wake of comments from residents skeptical of the need for the proposed language. See attached PDF for...
Select Board votes 3-2 to place article on June warrant
Rockport voters to be asked if they favor new regulation of short-term rentals
Mon, 03/22/2021 - 9:00pm

At the 2021 June Town Meeting, Rockport voters will be asked whether or not they favor the development of an ordinance which would regulate the operation of short-term rentals in the municipality. At a March 22 Select Board meeting, three of the five board members voted in favor of a motion which would place a non-binding warrant article to that effect on the municipal warrant. Select Board Chair Debra Hall and board members Denise Kennedy-Munger and Jeff Hamilton supported the motion; Mark...
Select Board Chair: ‘warrant article essentially a ‘survey’
Rockport officials reconsider excluding short-term rental regulations from June ballot
Tue, 03/09/2021 - 7:30am

Members of the Rockport Select Board met March 8 and remained undecided as to whether or not an ordinance regulating short-term rentals in the municipality would be placed as a warrant article on the Town Meeting ballot in June. Exactly one month prior, at a Feb. 8 meeting, the board voted 4 to 1 that the proposed ordinance would not not appear on the June ballot as originally intended, with board member Jeff Hamilton opposing. At that meeting, Select Board Chair Debra Hall and board member...
Letter to the editor: Group of Rockport business owners
Rockport Select Board got it right the first time, should stay the course
Sat, 03/06/2021 - 4:00pm
We were relieved when the Rockport Select Board wisely voted 4-1 on February 8 to table the draft “Ordinance to Regulate Short-Term Rental Property” and not place it on the June ballot. This ordinance would hurt our businesses and local economy which rely heavily on summer tourism. It will also hurt the vitality of the Village, where several of us not only operate our businesses, but also live. We understand that 34 residents recently filed a petition seeking to circumvent the Select Board’s...
Letter to the editor: Group of Rockport property owners
Rockport Select Board should should not allow non-qualifying petition to circumvent original vote
Fri, 03/05/2021 - 6:30pm
On February 8, the Rockport Select Board voted 4-1 to table the draft short term rental ordinance and not place it on the June 2021 ballot. Days later, 34 residents signed a petition seeking to reverse the Select Board's vote. It did not meet the requirements for a citizens’ petition. Then the Select Board member who opposed the original vote, proposed placing a nonbinding vote on STR regulation on the June ballot instead. The Select Board should vote against this proposal at its March 8...
UPDATE: Petition circulates in Rockport to get short term rental ordinance onto June municipal ballot
Sun, 02/21/2021 - 7:30pm

UPDATE — In talking with Rockport citizen Doug Cole this morning, Feb. 22. he said it wasn’t a secret that he is one of the original creators of a petition to get the short-term rental ordinance on Rockport’s June Town Meeting ballot. “I had the energy to get it started,” he said. “I have very strong feeling that town voters get an opportunity to vote this up or down, and to keep it off the ballot is a voter-supression type of thing,” he said. “I don’t have a strong feeling either way about the...
Select Board Chair cites ‘heated rhetoric’
Proposed short-term rental ordinance will not appear on Rockport’s June ballot
Tue, 02/09/2021 - 5:00pm

In a Feb. 8 vote, members of the Rockport Select Board decided that a proposed ordinance that would regulate short term rentals in the municipality will not not appear on the June Town Meeting ballot as originally intended. Select Board Chair Debra Hall, who worked to draft the proposed ordinance with Vice Chair Denise Kennedy-Munger, said that although she felt that the voices of the community could be best represented if the ordinance were put to a public vote, she felt that it best that the...
Rockport Select Board Chair comments on the tabling of a proposed short term rental ordinance for the town
Tue, 02/09/2021 - 8:45am
We started this process by scheduling the first resident workshop in September 2019. The workshop was scheduled because several Board members received repeated requests by residents to address the STR issue, an issue that has been or is being addressed by at least 19 other towns in Maine. The Rockport Select Board voted 4 to 1 Feb. 8 to table further consideration of a town short-term rental ordinance Resident statements at that workshop supported the need to address STRs and a...
Letter to the editor: Steve Bowen
Does the Rockport Select Board need to hear more? Yes.
Sat, 02/06/2021 - 8:00pm
On January 11, I submitted to the Rockport Select Board a long letter outlining my concerns with how they have handed the issue of short-term rentals. In particular, I expressed my deep concern with the Board chair’s use of a taxpayer funded newsletter—mailed to everyone in town at public expense—to advocate in favor of the dizzying set of regulations and restrictions on short-term rentals that a narrow majority of the Board seeks to impose. As I amply demonstrated through a thoroughly...
opinon
Put smart safety rules in place for short-term rentals
Wed, 01/27/2021 - 2:30pm

I’m offering my input into the new short-term rental ordinance in the town of Rockport based on my 15 years with the Rockport Fire Department as a volunteer and as a cofounder of the largest rental agency in town that helped grow short-term rentals in Rockport (with which I am no longer affiliated). I am now an international short-term rental safety expert and work with cities and towns all over the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Australia helping put smart safety rules in place for short-term...
Third draft of ordinance presented during meeting
Rockport Select Board divided over timeline, need for short-term rental ordinance
Mon, 01/25/2021 - 11:00pm

ROCKPORT – After hearing a presentation Jan. 25 on a third draft of a proposed short-term rental ordinance, some members of the Rockport Select Board expressed concerns over the proposed deadline of a public vote in June on the ordinance, as well as the very need for such regulations in the municipality. Select Board Chair Debra Hall and board member Denise Kennedy-Munger presented to remaining board members, Mark Kelley, Michelle Hannan and Jeff Hamilton the third and most recent draft of an...
‘This is entirely inappropriate and if it isn’t outright illegal, it is certainly legally suspect’’
Rockport Select Board hears citizen concern over short-term rental ordinance article published in town newsletter
Mon, 01/11/2021 - 8:15pm

ROCKPORT – At their Jan. 11 meeting, members of the Rockport Select Board were read a letter submitted by resident Stephen Bowen, who outlined concerns with how a proposed ordinance that would regulate the operation of short-term rentals was editorially presented in a municipal newsletter. That newsletter, funded by the town, was recently mailed to Rockport households. The board listened to the bulk of the letter, but no discussion about it ensued. “I think we will take that up at another...
Letter to the editor: John Viehman
In support of community, not short-term rentals
Sat, 12/26/2020 - 6:30pm
Let’s be clear about this. Short-Term Rentals (STRs) are businesses operating without regulation, usually within residential zones. That wouldn’t happen with other types of businesses, because they are regulated. And if they were operating in zones where they weren’t allowed by virtue of an ordinance, they would be illegal. That’s why we have a Land Use Ordinance (LOU), to give some sense of order if and when certain activities are allowed within the community. That’s simply how things work in...
Letter to the editor: Marsha Steinglass
Why does the Select Board set a course that will result in more hardships for residents?
Thu, 12/17/2020 - 4:15pm
On March 19, 2020, the Chairperson of the Select Board wrote the following to me regarding my opinions on the restrictions being considered for short term rentals: "There are people that you can imagine that feel very differently and frankly, thus far, we have heard more from that side of things." As the Board reviews the public input on this topic this evening, the above statement is far from accurate. Indeed, close to 34 citizens have expressed their negative position on this matter to the...
Short-term rental ordinance undergoes legal review
Select Board on proposed West Rockport fire station: ‘Delightful to have a very functional layout and a proposal’
Tue, 12/15/2020 - 10:30am

On Dec. 14 members of the Rockport Select Board heard a presentation by architects and engineers engaged in designing a new West Rockport Fire Station which would, upon voter approval, replace the existing facility at the intersection of Routes 17 and 90. A brief update was also given by Town Manager Bill Post regarding the draft of a short-term rental ordinance which was drafted by two members of the Select Board and received a great deal of public comment during a by the board and received...
Rockport Select Board to discuss new fire station plans, short term rental ordinance
Sun, 12/13/2020 - 5:30pm

ROCKPORT — The Select Board will convene Monday evening, at 5:30 p.m., via Zoom for a meeting that includes a legislative bill to eliminate excise tax for Rockport’s 29 volunteer firefighters (Read about that ordinance here.) The board will also discuss preliminary plans for a new West Rockport Fire Station, the short-term rental registration ordinance, the appointment of a Budget Committee member, and what the town wants its Ordinance Review Committee to address...
Tensions high during Select Board meeting
Rockport residents question need for short-term rental regulations; mull over draft ordinance
Tue, 11/10/2020 - 7:45am

ROCKPORT — More than 20 members of the public offered comments or concerns at a Nov. 9 meeting of the Rockport Select Board over a draft ordinance that, if approved by voters, would impose regulations on short-term rentals throughout the town. The overwhelming majority of citizens who spoke questioned the need for such a document, and in some instances expressed anger over the manner in which the draft was written and the very format of the meeting itself. Although originally the meeting was...
Outlines fees, registration process for homeowners
UPDATE, MEETING VIA ZOOM: Rockport’s proposed short-term rental ordinance ready for review, discussion
Thu, 11/05/2020 - 10:00pm

ROCKPORT — This evening’s Select Board meeting, which was to be held at the Rockport Opera House in person, has now been relegated to Zoom, online only. To participate in the short-term rental ordinance discussion, send an email to dhamilton@rockportmaine.gov and she will send you the link to the meeting. Otherwise you can email the Town Manager during the meeting at wpost@rockportmaine.gov with any questions, or directly on the town’s livestream link at https://livestream.com/rockportmaine/...
Concerns raised over public input, participation
Rockport officials get ready to introduce short-term rental ordinance
Sun, 11/01/2020 - 8:45pm

ROCKPORT — A draft of an ordinance that would regulate short-term rentals in Rockport will be presented at a Select Board meeting on Nov. 9. After a lengthy discussion on the topic at their Oct. 27 meeting, the board agreed that the meeting would be held in-person at the Rockport Opera House rather than remotely via Zoom. Select Board Chair Debra Hall and board member Denise Kennedy-Munger have been working to create a draft of an ordinance that could be adopted by the town to govern how short-...