Easthampton’s City Council is poised to review an ordinance legalizing and regulating short-term rentals in the city. (e.g. Airbnbs) The current draft allows up to 50 properties for this use, including whole houses, apartments, parts of houses, and accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Before the current moratorium on cease-and-desist orders was declared to address this issue, there was no provision in Easthampton’s building code that allowed short-term rentals. So, any entity renting to visitors for fewer than 29 days, other than licensed Bed and Breakfast establishments, were operating illegally.

Arguably, each time a bedroom, apartment, house or ADU is used for short-term — rather than long-term — rental, housing stock diminishes for people who want to live here. That’s why many cities and towns have enacted highly restrictive regulations while others have outright prohibited short-term rentals.

I am focusing this letter on just one aspect of the proposed ordinance: ADUs. Both the commonwealth and Easthampton’s councilors have explicitly defined and promoted ADUs as a small, earnest effort to increase rental housing and/or allow aging residents to keep their homes — not to create housing for itinerant tourists. For the June 16, 2021 City Council meeting about ADUs, go to the city’s website. I believe it is disingenuous for Easthampton’s first law permitting short-term rentals to include ADUs. Let’s work toward an ordinance that better balances the privileges of property ownership with everyone’s need for housing. Other towns, including South Hadley, have already done this.

Laurel Gardner

Easthampton