As Nantucket ramps up for its busiest time of the year, there is uncertainty about where everyone who visits will stay.
Residents of the Massachusetts island voted at the annual town meeting Tuesday to oppose a measure that, according to The Boston Globe, would have broadly legalized short-term rentals.
The failure of Article 59 means the debate will continue over the legality of rentals from companies like Airbnb and Vrbo.
"There is just a lot of uncertainty and fear, and I think the local population is divided on this," said Kathy Baird, who supports short-term rentals on Nantucket. "There is really no other place for people to stay when they visit Nantucket. It is a tourist destination, there are between 800 and 900 hotel rooms."
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Residents voted last May against a proposal that would have prohibited short-term rentals in residential zones unless the owner either lives in the home for at least six months per year or uses long-term rentals more than short-term rentals.
In March, a court ruled Nantucket's zoning laws, as they stood, did not allow short-term rentals as the main purpose of the property.
"I feel that if this passes, it is a gun to my head, because I live in a residential neighborhood and I don't want and I don't want it to become filled with commercial short-term rentals," one person said at Tuesday's meeting.
Politics
Town officials told the crowd Tuesday that the results of the vote should not impact summer rentals. Still, there remains uncertainty.
"People are canceling their reservations for the summer because they don't know if it is an illegal operation or not," said Baird. "Who knows what is going to happen? Nobody does."
Another measure, Article 60, passed Tuesday night. It mostly bans corporate ownership of short-term rentals.
Another town meeting is set for mid-September.
