The Tiverton Town Council agreed Monday to postpone approval of proposed changes to the zoning ordinance intended to regulate short-term rentals (STRs) after hearing from nearly two dozen audience members who voiced strong objections to the proposal in its current form.   

The public comments, combined with a recent critical memo from the planning board on the proposal as well as a large volume of negative e-mails, texts, and letters from community members, prompted councilors to take no immediate action other than to authorize continuation of a public hearing on the issue to Dec. 12.

The draft amendment, if ultimately approved, would impact both new and existing STRs, including properties advertised on online sites such as Airbnb and VRBO. These types of properties are currently not regulated in Tiverton. The council, which has been working on the draft since the summer of 2021, has periodically presented updated versions to the planning board and to the community with requests for feedback.

Assuming it is approved, the proposal as currently written would require STR owners to apply for a special use permit before offering their units for rent. It requires owners to occupy the dwelling, or reside on the same lot as the structure, for a minimum of 180 calendar days per year, or be a resident of Tiverton who resides within a three-mile radius of the STR and has owned the STR property for at least three years.

The amendment spells out regulations for maximum occupancy, parking, and inspections. It calls for an annual local registration fee of $1,000 per dwelling unit, in addition to the initial special use permit application fee, which is not yet specified.

Also required is the designation of a “local representative,” which is an individual who lives, or a property management company that operates, within 25 miles of the STR.

The proposed regulations reflect in part the council’s desire to address complaints from residents whose neighborhoods have been disrupted by large gatherings and constant comings and goings of individuals and groups who use STRs. Councilors are also seeking to curtail the activities of investors with no connection to Tiverton who deplete the housing stock by buying up properties solely with the intention of creating STRs.

Residents not happy

Some common themes emerged during Monday’s public hearing. Several property owners said they have operated their STRs in a responsible manner, in some cases for many decades, and neighbors have never complained. It is unfair, they said, for the town to penalize them for the behavior of an undesirable few. Others described how the rentals help cover property taxes and maintenance expenses, besides having a significant positive impact on Tiverton’s business climate.

“STRs don’t demand schooling or law enforcement and are a generator of jobs and taxes. So there is huge value there,” one speaker told the council.

Another speaker recommended that the council undertake an economic impact study prior to approval of the proposed amendment “so officials and citizens can fully understand the benefits, costs, and risks posed by such an initiative to the community.”

Joel Greenberg of Point View Drive, a disabled veteran, said he has rented space in his home off and on for 37 years. The rental money helps with property taxes, which he said have more than tripled since 1985.

Greenberg noted that none of his neighbors have ever complained about his rental activities and he feels he is being unfairly penalized for the complaints that the town has gotten about irresponsible STR owners. 

“Why don’t you deal with the homes that are causing the issue, not people like myself who love Tiverton and are trying to make ends meet?”

Others suggested that the town abandon the plan to require a special use permit and follow the example of other Rhode Island communities that license STRs. Advocates of this plan said it is preferable because once a special use permit is issued, the property will have a permanent commercial designation that cannot be revoked even if the STR owner sells the property.

John Moran of Riverside Drive said the proposed ordinance needs to be reworked because it does not accurately define the two distinct groups that operate STRs. One group, he said, has rented seasonally in Tiverton for decades – for example, when they go south for the winter. Others, he said, who rent their properties nightly, should be treated as businesses.

“These are two different concepts, and they should be dealt with differently in the ordinance,” he told the council. “You’ve got a balancing act here. It’s not a very easy one, but I really think you need to rework this in a lot of different ways.”

As she has done on previous occasions, deMedeiros emphasized a final decision on the proposed amendment will not come any time soon. The council intends, she said, to come back with another draft ordinance after the Dec. 12 public hearing.

“Quite frankly,” she added, “I don’t think this ordinance will be passed until after the New Year.”