WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Planning Board on Tuesday discussed ways to reach out to residents who use their homes for short-term rentals as the body prepares to bring a bylaw regulating the practice to May's annual town meeting.

 

Short-term rentals – referred to as Airbnbs in the vernacular — have been a topic of conversation for the board for years. At one point, it was close to finalizing a bylaw proposal a couple of years ago but instead asked the Select Board to take up the project, as any such regulation would not be specific to a given zoning district but applicable to the town as a whole.

 

The Select Board effectively took no action after studying the question, leaving the planners to take it up again at the start of their 2024-25 cycle.

 

The board has a draft bylaw that would restrict short-term rentals of a primary dwelling unit to 90 days in a calendar year in the residential districts if approved by two-thirds of town meeting members. The rule, as drafted, would carve out exceptions: allowing unlimited rentals of a primary dwelling if the owner lives on the property in an accessory dwelling unit; allowing unlimited rentals of an individual bedroom in a home where the owner is residing; and allowing unlimited short-term rentals of ADUs if the owner lives in the primary residence.

 

What the board members want is feedback from residents who already rent their homes on services like Airbnb or Vrbo.

 

"Do people feel like the feedback we've gotten has been representative of different points of view," Chair Peter Beck asked his colleagues at Tuesday's meeting.

 

"In the current cycle, we haven't gotten any feedback," Kenneth Kuttner said.