Nantucket Together - Traditional Vacation Rentals

Welcome to Nantucket Together. We are a grassroots coalition originally formed in 2021 to oppose the restriction of rental property rights of all Nantucket property owners. We care about Nantucket’s fragile environment, the Nantucket community and we strongly support affordable housing. Most of us have owned our homes for decades and rent to families who return year after year. We have created and published a good neighbor policy and we believe strongly that every home should follow these rules.

Our group hosts and stays at vacation rentals which support the Nantucket economy and contribute visitor-paid tax revenue that funds Nantucket infrastructure and priority town projects. We share a common goal to preserve Nantucket's way of life, traditional vacation rentals and its economy by finding positive ways to support critical island issues.

In 2021, we, along with other groups, were successful in defeating Article 90 by a 2-1 margin at Annual Town Meeting but billionaire-backed interests continue to bankroll challenges and lawsuits against the Zoning Board, the town and our neighbors. A Land Court decision in March 2024 ruled against the town and some of our neighbors who rent their homes to vacationers. The Zoning Board of Appeals has now been tasked with further detailing the rationale for their conclusion that Nantucket zoning permits short term rentals in all zones on the island and the town is considering an appeal of the ruling.

In a rapid succession of annual and special town meetings since 2021, a town-appointed Short Term Rental Workgroup attempted to build a compromise set of bylaws which were defeated along with more restrictive bylaws in 2022 but all have been defeated by the voters.

At the 2024 Annual Town Meeting, confusion and misinformation abounded as a record voter turnout and strong local support was unable to pass the compromise made between the town bodies and several of its respected citizens....specific zoning inclusion for all types of residential rentals (Article 59). The ban on corporate STR operators in Article 60 did pass.

So, on to yet another Special Town Meeting in the fall (September 17) to address initiatives the town could not get on the warrant in time for ATM and whatever town or citizen-sponsored articles are properly submitted by the end of May. We will support simple and reasonable STR articles that do the most good with the least harm to the vacation rental community and the town.

In the meantime we are pursuing other good neighbor initiatives such as our recently launched Stranded Traveler and Emergency Lodging Support offered by our followers.

Our GoFundMe account is an opportunity for concerned Nantucket taxpayers and visitors to contribute to the administrative costs associated with our media campaign to get the word out. We are thankful for any donation you can give, including volunteering your time and skills,

When our work is done, any remaining funds will be donated to Nantucket non-profits, along with a full financial accounting. Note that we are an IRS-approved Section 501(c)(4) designation as a tax-exempt social welfare organization but donations under that designation are not tax deductible.