SCITUATE – A proposal to ban short-term rentals in Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) sparked debate at the Scituate Select Board meeting on March 4. As the town works to comply with the state’s Affordable Homes Act, officials weighed whether restricting ADUs to long-term rentals best serves Scituate’s housing needs.
The Affordable Homes Act, signed by Governor Maura Healey, requires Massachusetts towns to allow ADUs to expand housing access. However, local officials have some discretion, including whether to prohibit ADUs from being rented for fewer than 31 days. The Scituate Planning Board, which developed the bylaw, included the restriction, citing concerns about preserving residential neighborhoods and ensuring ADUs serve their intended purpose as permanent housing.
"The state is requesting that we have permanent housing. So a short-term rental or a weekend or a week, that's not state intent. So it's not going to be our intent," said Rebecca Lewis, Vice Chair of the Scituate Planning Board.
Some Select Board members questioned whether the restriction was necessary, arguing that homeowners should retain flexibility in how they use their properties.
"Why would you restrict short-term rental?" asked Select Board Member James Gilmore. "If somebody wants to have somebody spend two weeks at an ADU, a family member coming in perhaps for a wedding or whatever, and the inn that we have is full, we can't do that under your restriction."
However, others pointed to concerns over short-term rentals changing the character of Scituate’s neighborhoods.
"The worst case scenario is I could have 80 homes with 80 ADUs in there and nobody living there year-round, nobody," Lewis said.
Residents also weighed in, expressing concerns about ADUs being used as seasonal rentals rather than contributing to Scituate’s long-term housing stock.
"The intent of this law that was passed at the state level… was to provide for long-term housing, aging in place, for your parents or for adult grown children who can't afford to live in this community," said Lynda Ferguson, co-owner of The Inn at Scituate Harbor.
Officials also noted the town’s limited ability to enforce short-term rental regulations. While the state requires short-term rental owners to register and pay taxes, compliance remains an issue.
"The town does not have the manpower to enforce the registration of Airbnbs as it is," Lewis said. "To allow them to add more, I mean the town will reap the benefit of an Airbnb interest tax payment if it is registered, but we don't have the ability or the manpower to track that down."
Scituate is not alone in debating the role of short-term rentals in housing policy. Similar concerns have been raised in other coastal communities, including Nantucket and Provincetown, where local officials have sought to limit the impact of vacation rentals on year-round housing availability.
While some Select Board members favored a wait-and-see approach, others emphasized the need to proactively shape Scituate’s housing landscape. The board ultimately decided to move forward with the bylaw as written, with the possibility of revisiting the short-term rental provision in the future.
"If we find that we can't live that way, like we said earlier, another year from now, perhaps then that change could occur," Gilmore said.
The ADU bylaw will now proceed to Scituate’s Town Meeting for a final vote.
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