The STR debate has raged (And I mean raged) for several years on Nantucket. But there’s a good chance that we might be able to see town meeting agree on a new article that came out of an effort by two citizens (one of whom is our guest) and the Select Board to craft something …
Read more “2. Michael Kopko discusses his citizen’s article on short-term rentals.”
Food plays a more important role in the concept of community than many people know. With 20% of a largely affluent community like Nantucket struggling with food insecurity, the problem could not be more clear. In this episode, we talk to Chris Sleeper about how he got into the food business, what his organization is …
Read more “1. Chris Sleeper of Pip & Anchor and The Nantucket Culinary Center”
Welcome to the Nantucket Owner’s Manual Podcast. What’s it about? It’s about leaving the island better than we found it. And more. Give a listen.
One of the annoying byproducts of having more and more people on Nantucket is that the number of people who do not clean up after their dogs has grown as well. Some walking trails are so covered with dog poop it’s very likely that some of it will go home on someone else’s shoes. This …
Read more “As a dog owner, your number one job is to clean up your dog’s number two.”
A lot of communities around the country are struggling with affordable housing and have come up with some very interesting solutions, so far. But because we are an island, a lot of the solutions or changes that work elsewhere need to be modified to work on Nantucket. Adding more affordable and workforce housing is a …
Read more “Affordable housing, year-round housing, seasonal workforce housing, and vacation houses are mathematically linked. Let’s do the math.”
Ever wonder why the debate around short-term rentals has been so fierce on Nantucket? Because short-term rentals represent a lot of money changing hands. For some, the benefits of short-term rentals greatly outweigh the problems they cause. In fact, short-term rentals represent the economic engine that keeps many island businesses and individuals afloat. If they …
Read more “Ten benefits that STRs bring to Nantucket.”
It has taken decades for us to get to this point and it will surely take decades more to fix this problem. Here are a few ways to get that process going.
I’ve been an avid observer of the short-term rental work group’s progress (or lack thereof) for the past six months. The town was tasked with creating a work group and took several months to make it happen. As a result of this drawn-out process, the workgroup has very little chance of developing something of substance …
Read more “Ten problems that STRs cause.”
I posted an article on Facebook about a proposed measure in Washington DC to heavily tax oversized personal vehicles that take up too much room and have an outsized impact on roads, traffic, and emissions. Interesting and rather defensive responses from many people. One person said that the problem with too many people and too …
Read more “A discussion on Facebook this week”
I ran a little survey this past week. 60 people responded. The goal was not to find out what people’s opinions are on housing, but instead to understand how people feel about those who sell their homes and the choices they make. Here’s the rather purposefully round-a-bout hypothetical question: Let’s say you have an older …
Read more “Can peer pressure save Nantucket?”