Bar Harbor grapples with short-term rentals
Bar Harbor residents are grappling with the benefits and consequences of short-term rentals in their town.
At its March 19 meeting, the Bar Harbor Town Council opened the floor to a standing-room-only crowd.
“As there are concerns with the displacement of year-round residents and the erosion of neighborhoods, the council seeks to gain a better understanding of both the issues and the benefits associated with vacation rentals and short-term rentals,” the meeting notice said.
The conversation was held to help the council prepare a policy to guide the planning board when the latter develops proposed amendments to the land use ordinance, addressing vacation rentals and short-term rentals, according to the notice. Among the considerations, proposed amendments are expected to consider the definition of a minimum stay, which is currently five nights.
Those who favored lowering the minimum said it would accommodate renters seeking to stay less than five days.
“In the last six weeks, I’ve turned down 22 inquiries for four-night stays,” which means she will lose that income, said Bar Harbor resident Vicki Fernald, who said she rents short-term units in two houses. “Unless it’s a bother for neighbors that people are bringing their luggage in and out, what’s the difference?”
Others said their renters are respectable people who don’t disturb the neighborhood and who also support the local economy.
But one speaker favored the five-day minimum.
“We only rent for 10 weeks of the year. We’re not out to make money,” he said. “We’re both retired and it’s to supplement our income a little bit. But I think that looking at short-term rentals of less than five days means too much turnover in neighborhoods.”
Bigger picture
Others spoke to the bigger picture, saying short-term rentals are pricing out would-be homebuyers and seasonal-employee renters.
“I grew up in Bar Harbor. I can’t find a house to buy,” said Mary Ropp of Hulls Cove, which is an outlying village of Bar Harbor. Ropp said that, instead, she rents a room from her mother.
“It’s very frustrating. It’s hard to see people from out-of-state buying up properties. We’re creating an investment opportunity for people from out-of-state. I want to live here, badly.”
Another speaker, though, said her family also wanted to live in Bar Harbor, and found the only way to do so was to buy a home with an unoccupied unit they could rent out. They first tried advertising it as a year-round rental.
“We had a hard time finding a high-quality year-round tenant,” she said. “It was either sell the house or do something quick, because we couldn’t afford our mortgage. We put it on Airbnb and it’s been the best thing that we could have possibly done.”
Short-term rentals are also “self-correcting,” she said.
“These guests know they’re going to get reviewed,” she said. “The employee housing around us, there’s trash, people are loud, they’re disrespectful all hours of the night. The vacation renters coming in and out of neighborhoods aren’t causing a problem. We’ve seen hundreds of awesome people who spend money on business all year round. This is how we’re able to afford to live in downtown Bar Harbor.”
Lorraine Donnelly of Town Hill, another Bar Harbor village, said she was concerned about turning housing stock into money-makers.
“Bar Harbor is a nice, walkable town,” she said. “It would be lovely if we had employees able to live in town and walk to work and didn’t have their cars downtown. People are concerned about climate change. Now, our workforce is driving long distances and using lots of gasoline. We also have an aging population that eventually won’t be able to drive, and there should be opportunities for them to live in town.”
Josh Hurst, who owns a construction firm in Bar Harbor, said he’s increasingly asked to build homes that include short-term rental units.
“Yeah, I can make some money, but it’s killing our town,” he said. “Weekly rentals have fractured our community and taken housing out of circulation. An employee wanting to rent for the summer can’t do it anymore. Housing is being overpriced. A lot of investors are buying houses up, so locals can’t live here. My employees can’t live here.”
The issue of short-term rentals has sparked debate across the state. In February, the Legislature’s Committee on State and Local Government held a hearing on LD 209, "An Act to Prohibit Municipalities from Prohibiting Short-term Rentals,” sponsored by state Rep. Scott Strom, R-Pittsfield.
Among those against the bill were Portland and South Portland’s mayors, who jointly submitted written testimony that said, in part, “Both communities held dozens of public hearings over a period of more than one year to arrive at their respective decisions to regulate.”
Among those in support was Adam Crepeau, policy analyst for The Maine Heritage Policy Center, who said in his written testimony: "Municipal bans on short-term rentals chip away at the private property rights of individuals.”
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