Task force signals design and scale fixes for Forest Beach; Jonesville result split in STR poll

The Land Management Ordinance Task Force on May 21 reviewed whether the town should use zoning (the LMO) to address concentrations and redevelopment linked to short‑term rentals (STRs) and asked staff to draft code changes focused on mass, scale and neighborhood compatibility.

Town Manager Mark Orlando and planning staff separated operational rules — currently enforced through Title 10, Chapter 2 of the municipal code (permits, business license, noise, inspections and a 24/7 hotline) — from land‑use questions that the LMO can address. Orlando said the town has about 7,300 active STR permits and that staff will use current data to refine recommendations: "We have 7,300 active permits," he said, and asked the task force for direction on location‑based responses.

Staff recommended treating the Forest Beach overlay area (the landward side of North and South Forest Beach, in the RSF‑5 zoning district) and Jonesville Road (in the RM‑4 district) as separate policy problems. For Forest Beach, staff highlighted high local concentrations and redevelopment pressure and recommended defining STRs as a use in the LMO so the town could add location‑specific limits on density, parking and floor‑area calculations. For Jonesville, staff noted only three permitted STRs among roughly 184 housing units and framed that area as a different context where covenants, existing development patterns and traffic constraints matter.

Task force pollers favored additional design and development standards for Forest Beach: 13 of 17 respondents (≈94%) selected that option rather than elimination or a numerical cap. On Jonesville Road the panel was split: a slim majority supported additional design standards, about 40% favored eliminating STRs there, and roughly 7% favored a cap.

The task force gave staff direction to draft the first tranche of LMO changes—staff identified wetlands, trees, Jonesville and subdivision/large‑tract regulations as priorities—and to return with a code package and an executive summary in roughly 60 days for further review by the task force, Planning Commission and Town Council (ordinance consideration requires two readings). Chair Steve DeSimone closed the meeting by thanking staff and the public and noting the next full discussion would likely be in late July or August.

What this means: The meeting did not adopt a ban or a specific numeric cap; it signaled the task force prefers targeted land‑use tools (design standards, FAR/height/parking rules, overlay adjustments) to manage neighborhood impacts from STRs while leaving operational enforcement and business licensing in place.