Southport Planning Board Chair Skip Simonds has cancelled the pending public hearing on a proposal to amend the Southport Land Use Ordinance to require the registration of short term rentals. The meeting was originally going to take place on Tuesday the 19th, and no alternative date as been announced.

According to Simonds, "We’ve been actively working on this amendment for some time and, as expected, there has been a significant public response, almost entirely supportive, to the idea of doing something about short term rentals.  The planning board has attempted to develop a proposal that incorporates the public input, is consistent with the existing Land Use Ordinance, and deals with the anticipated evolution of short term rentals. Unfortunately, what we initially thought was a fairly straight forward process has become more complex over time."

Simonds felt that the best course of action was to "pump the breaks" and convene a more measured process for developing the amendment.  He anticipates the creation of a working group consisting of board members whose deliberations will be open to the public.

When asked what the timetable for this process would be, Simonds responded, "It is clear there will not be anything ready for the annual town meeting in March. New laws have to be developed by the town … in this case the planning board … presented to the public in a series of public meetings, reviewed by the town attorney, and vetted by the state before they can be included in the town warrant. That being said, we want to move expeditiously, but reasonably. It is possible the town could hold a special town meeting later in 2024 to vote on the resulting proposal, or it could be included in the 2025 town warrant. That’s really up to the select board."