WILLIAMSBURG – Voters on Monday unanimously approved an $8,073,131 budget for the fiscal year 2020 and passed two modifications to the town’s bylaws for the regulation of short-term rentals such as bed-and-breakfast and Airbnb establishments.
Of the town’s 1,927 registered voters, 127 attended the two-hour annual Town Meeting at Anne T. Dunphy School, where 26 of the 29 warrant articles passed unanimously, leaving most of the discussion to the end of the evening where several voters questioned the two proposed bylaw modifications before the articles passed by majority.
In a presentation to voters, Finance Committee Co-Chairman Paul Wetzel said that the fiscal year 2020 budget represents a 7.1 percent increase over fiscal year 2019 of $7,538,809. This, Wetzel said, was primarily due to an increase in education funding, which is up 9.5 percent from last year, totaling $4,277,631.
The town’s zoning bylaws were revised to allow short-term rentals within primary residences and requiring owners to obtain a special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals to operate a bed-and-breakfast or rent on Airbnb.
Bob Barker, chairman of the Planning Board, said that there are roughly 25 to 30 short-term rentals currently operating in town and that the planning board was concerned about a large number of complaints regarding “unregulated rentals.”
Barker said that the revisions to the bylaw would specifically make short-term rentals allowable in town, while clarifying conditions under which they could operate,which would minimize public safety risks and ensure safe and orderly provisions for lodgers.
The bylaw stipulates that no more than four bedrooms may be offered for rent, and that no more than 10 lodgers will be allowed at any one time.
A sticking point for some voters was that a short-term rental must be within the primary residence and would not be permitted in any detached structure.
Several people found this stipulation to be too narrow, noting that an allowance for rentals in detached structures would give homeowners more options to create short-term rentals on their property, which could particularly benefit retired residents and provide income for those who want to age in place.
Barker, however, said that the town’s current bylaws do not allow for apartments in any type of structure that is not part of a primary residence.
“Apartments in detached structures have never been legal in this town, so we felt we couldn’t approve rentals in anything but the primary residence,” Barker said.
Other regulations included the provision of one off-street parking spot per rented room, and that the operators of short-term rental properties ensure that renters refrain from excessive noise and other nuisances.
Voters also passed a modification to the town’s general bylaws requiring that short-term rentals be licensed by the Select Board and registered annually with the Town Clerk.
Properties with short-term rentals must now also pass annual health and safety inspections.
Voters also approved $10,209 to purchase and equip a brush truck for the fire department, which will be matched by a $204,181 Assistance Fire Grant; as well as $2,075 to purchase a filler station for self-contained breathing apparatus, or SCBA, that will be matched by a $41,505 Assistance Fire Grant.
“This truck will replace our 1992 Engine 3,” Fire Chief Jason Connell said. “The filling station will replace a 20-year-old unit that is having a hard time meeting the capacity of our air bottles.”