To the Editor;
As proposed, the draft Short-Term Rental (STR) bylaw is contrary to the Marion Master Plan goals of Village Style residential areas and expansion of affordable housing for families and empty nesters. It ignores the Marion Housing Production Plan goals: (1) promote housing options for those with moderate and fixed incomes, (2) produce housing options to support safe and accessible housing for all ages.
Zoning is the use of ordinance to partition the Town into sections reserved for different purposes (residence, business, industry). Residence is defined as the act of dwelling in a place for some time, the place where one actually lives; as distinguished from a place of temporary sojourn (a STR). The draft STR bylaw ignores these established concepts.
Previously I raised important questions with respect to the STR bylaw: (1) what is the justification for proposing by-right, non-residential use in all residential zones, (2) what is the justification for no cap on the number of STRs in Marion, and (3) what is the justification for having no limit on the number of STRs owned by a single entity? These questions remain unanswered.
As written, the proposed bylaw will result in the disruption of family residential neighborhoods. Who will be your neighbor tomorrow? It will result in the loss of any reasonably affordable housing in Marion. It is not in the best interest of Marion residents.
Norman Hills, Marion
The views expressed in the “Letters to the Editor” column are not necessarily those of The Wanderer, its staff or advertisers. The Wanderer will gladly accept any and all correspondence relating to timely and pertinent issues in the great Marion, Mattapoisett and Rochester area, provided they include the author’s name, address and phone number for verification. We cannot publish anonymous, unsigned or unconfirmed submissions. The Wanderer reserves the right to edit, condense and otherwise alter submissions for purposes of clarity and/or spacing considerations. The Wanderer may choose to not run letters that thank businesses, and The Wanderer has the right to edit letters to omit business names. The Wanderer also reserves the right to deny publication of any submitted correspondence. All letters must be typed and submitted directly to: news@wanderer.com.