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The explosive growth of short term rentals such as those offered by AirBnB has reached the quiet neighborhoods of Westford — but not to everyone’s liking. At 44 Vose Hill Road, the comings and goings of house guests with license plates from around the country have been noticed by surrounding neighbors and they want it to stop.
“We noticed the activity at the house and that there were lots of different cars from lots of different states and it concerns us…” said Maribeth Cherry at the Oct. 15 selectmen’s meeting.
“My concern,” Cherry continued, “not just for the neighborhood but for the town, is this a business opportunity that people are going to look at?…so I think it’s in the town’s best interest to protect ourselves.”
Neighbor Stepan Piligian claimed that his neighbor at 44 Vose Hill Road, a quiet residential street of singular houses, is charging less than $50 for an overnight stay as compared to much higher nightly fees at nearby hotels.
“You’re looking at a very transient population,” Piligian said. “And who knows what’s going on. I don’t know…and it’s not our business to know what’s going on in their home, but for the safety and security of our neighborhood, it is our business.”
Piligian asked selectmen to temporarily put a stay on the short-term rental practice. The homeowner, Rafael de Oliveira, could not immediately be reached for comment. But on Sept. 23, Building Commissioner Matthew Hakala sent him a letter.
Hakala said in order for de Oliveira to use his finished basement space as a separate living unit, he must apply for a special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals. Hakala issued a cease and desist order for the use of the basement studio as an accessory dwelling unit.
“The use of the space with a bedroom that does not have proper emergency egress from the immediate bedroom area is a violation of the state building code,” Hakala stated. “The addition of a bedroom to a house requires all smoke/co/heat detectors to be brought up to current building code.”
“In addition, using this unit as a commercial short term rental unit, is not permitted under the table of permitted uses of the zoning bylaw and therefore constitutes a separate violation,” Hakala said.
In his letter Hakala mentioned Vera Dias as de Oliveira’s realtor and interpreter. When reached by phone, a woman who responded to the name, Vera Dias, declined comment saying she didn’t “represent them.” Hakala said he was only able to communicate with de Oliveira through an interpreter.
The short term rental market has grown significantly since Air Bed and Breakfast (AirBnB) launched in August 2008. According to iPropertyManagement, there were 27.5 million users in 2017. That number has steadily risen to 31.9 million in 2019, and is expected to grow to 38.4 million by 2023. Despite the growing numbers, Westford’s policies have been vague .
Town Manager Jodi Ross said she will check with town counsel, KP Law, regarding policy for short term rentals. A KP online newsletter said the following: “Local Regulation of Short-Term Rentals. General Laws c.64G, §14 states that municipalities may enact ordinances and bylaws to regulate registered operators, including the imposition of civil penalties for violations.
The statute provides that such bylaws or ordinances may include local registration and licensing, limitations on the number of local licenses or permits issued, limitations on the number of days per year a property may be rented, compliance with applicable codes, and health and safety inspections at a frequency determined by the municipality.
Municipalities may also publish a ‘public registry’ of all short-term rentals within their limits, and include such information as they may determine, including where such accommodations are located. Municipalities may also set municipal fees to reimburse them for costs associated with necessary local administration of the short-term rental program.”
Board Chairman Elizabeth Almeida said the board will take up the matter again when it meets on Oct. 29
If something more immediate is needed, she said, the board will call a meeting to address the short-term rental issue.
UPDATE: Minor grammatical changes were made to the first paragraph to improve the language. The title of “Select Board” was changed to Board of Selectman, as town voters have not officially agreed to a gender neutral title.
