West Stockbridge — The town just moved closer to adopting regulations governing its short-term rental (STRs) properties, an issue that has recently come before governing bodies of neighboring communities such as Great Barrington and Stockbridge. On October 7, the town’s Select Board approved a draft bylaw presented by the Planning Board covering STRs, with the Planning Board now expected to set a public hearing for residents to provide input on the measure.
That draft bylaw can be found here.
As defined by the West Stockbridge proposal, an STR is a unit within a home or on a property that is rented for 30 consecutive days or less.
Currently, West Stockbridge doesn’t have regulations allowing STRs within the town’s borders. The Planning Board attempted to tackle a proposed draft governing the units in conjunction with regulating accessory dwelling units (ADUs), or rentable living spaces attached or detached to a single-family-home lot, before the Commonwealth unveiled its Affordable Housing Act (AHA). That new state legislation includes a section pertaining to ADUs and goes into effect on February 2. The Planning Board is waiting to finalize its local ADU proposal until Commonwealth guidelines are posted to provide a better explanation of the AHA provisions.
Specifically, the major West Stockbridge STR draft bylaw approved by the Select Board to be sent back to the Planning Board for public hearing includes:
- Limiting the rental to 30 consecutive days or 40 days annually, with an option to extend the latter by another 40 days through a special permit;
- Requiring STRs be registered with the town administrator;
- Requiring STRs be owner-adjacent units only;
- Requiring a local manager be on site or able to respond to an emergency within two hours or 30 minutes; and
- Disallowing any signage or events on the site.
According to Select Board Chair Andrew Potter, a proposed town zoning bylaw change can be initiated by petition or Planning Board or Select Board vote. “In all three cases, the Select Board refers that to the Planning Board for a public hearing,” he said.
Following the public hearing, the matter can incorporate input-based changes before being sent back to the Select Board, with those members having the authority to set the issue for a special Town Meeting vote. However, if the public hearing input isn’t taken into consideration “to the satisfaction of [the Select] Board,” the Select Board can weigh in again on the proposal, Potter said. If the Planning Board makes “substantial” changes to the document before the public hearing, the proposal goes back to the Select Board for review, he said.
During its September 23 session, Potter led a round-table discussion with representatives of the town’s Planning Board and Affordable Housing Trust, as well as Berkshire Regional Planning Commission officials, about the AHA and options available for affordable housing on the local and state level, tabling a decision on moving the STR bylaw forward. At the meeting, Select Board member Kathleen Keresey said she heard from constituents who were concerned about the 40-day rental limitation, with that cap restraining local residents who already typically provide STR units for at least two months in the summer. That issue was raised by attendees at the Planning Board’s August 26 meeting, with the group opining whether a special exception to the STR proposal is warranted for full-time residents who rent their units.
At the meeting, the Select Board also approved Cam Sibley as part-time officer in the West Stockbridge Police Department.
