Owners of Short Term Rentals (STRs) could face cease and desist letters from the town following last week’s rejection of a warrant article that would have made them legal in Westport.

The proposed zoning changes defeated at the annual Town Meeting would have given the town the authority to license, inspect and otherwise regulate rentals, which currently do not comply with zoning regulations here as they are not specifically mentioned as being allowed in the town’s zoning use tables. Under bylaws, “any use not specifically or generally listed ... or otherwise permitted in a district shall be deemed to be prohibited.”

Following last Tuesday’s vote, Westport Town Planner Michael Burris noted that with the town’s rejection of the warrant article, “STRs in operation in Westport are in violation of the town zoning bylaws and will be subject to enforcement like any other zoning violation.”

Adding that town officials chose not to enforce the prohibition while the STR regulations were being considered, Burris said that the morning after Town Meeting, the building department was preparing a form cease and desist letter to be sent to Short Term Rental owners, of which there are close to 200 in Westport.

Though it has always technically been illegal, the practice of renting out rooms and entire homes for short stays has long been entrenched in Westport. As town planners worked last year and earlier this year to come up with regulations to govern them, some residents complained that the drafts proposed by the town were onerous and would hurt the financial bottom line of residents who need the funds they bring to help keep their homes.

The planning board’s move to officially allow and regulate the practice came in the midst of a controversy over an STR on Spinnaker Way last summer.

That home, purchased by the owners in late 2022, was never occupied by its owners and instead was advertised as a Short Term Rental. Neighbors in the quiet neighborhood complained about problems with the home — parking issues, excessive numbers of people staying there, drunks and rowdy renters — and the town spent much of the summer of 2023 battling with the owners, who appealed a cease and desist order issued by the town but were ultimately unsuccessful.

The town issued that cease and desist order because since that use is not specifically allowed in the town’s zoning use tables, it is technically illegal.