We have just completed another successful Daffodil Festival Weekend... the first in two years! Although marginally curtailed, a great time was had by all. As many of you know, Daffodil Weekend is the kick-off to the summer season: we don't care that the weather can be iffy, that after this weekend things slow down again except for people charged with opening summer homes. They are very busy, the island buzzes.
The next big event for those who live on Nantucket is the Annual Town Meeting scheduled for Monday, May 2nd. Town Meeting is one of the oldest forms of town government, all voting citizens get to review warrants on various topics (zoning, by-laws, and financial expenditures), get to speak their mind, and vote the warrant article up or down. Once again, this year, there are contentious warrants. The most discussed articles relate to short-term rentals (STR). To summarize:
Town Planning Department Article 39: Creates a registry for all STRs that will enable the Town through the Health Department to regulate STRs. If people are concerned with nuisances, such as commercial entities purchasing homes to convert to STRs. This article would curb the anecdotal debates and gather facts and data as well as create regulations.
Town Planning Department Article 42: Protects property rights, your right to rent, now or in the future. It preserves the island economy, whose major driver is tourism, it protects jobs, and it protects the almost $8 million of STR tax revenue to the town. Article 42 codifies what we have had on Nantucket for over 100 years - rentals and tourism.
Citizens Article 43 proposed by Tobias Glidden and ACK-Now: Requires a special permit for most STRs, issued through the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), including a public hearing, which may take years, be expensive, and possibly result in lawsuits against homeowners and the town's zoning board (defense paid by taxpayers). This article has the potential to erode the property value of homes, erode the tax revenue collected on STRs, take a very long time for owners to get permits, and still would allow for lawsuits.
As you can see, you know by now what side I favor. Not because I am a real estate agent, but because I truly love Nantucket and our community. We need to preserve our rights and our economy. So, if you don't vote on island, encourage your friends and tradespeople to go to Town Meeting and vote for their future.
NANTUCKET BITS & PIECES
We are Nantucket's newest laundry service. Although Washed is a new business, we aren't new to laundry! We have been doing our clients' laundry for years through our sister company, Pioneer Cleaning.
Just to be clear: we are not your typical laundromat. In fact, we are not a laundromat at all! We pick up your laundry and linens and bring them to our brand-new facility. We then deliver them washed, folded, or pressed - right back to you! And, best of all, pickup and delivery are FREE! Just go to our website, schedule a pickup, and we will take it from there.
If you are renting your home, be sure to check out our Turnover Linens page. We will pick up and deliver those, too. We have been handling our clients' turnover linens through Pioneer for years as well. We have learned a thing or two about how to process and package linens, to make the cleaners' jobs easier, the turnover smoother, and the overall presentation spectacular. This will also save your cleaners valuable time waiting in line on the turnover day. Please email us for more information, and sign up for this seasonal service.
Your time is precious, don't waste it doing laundry! Let Washed take a load off of you!