BUCKLAND — Residents will vote whether to approve bylaws regulating short-term rentals, such as Airbnb or Vrbo properties, in the commercial and residential districts at this year’s Annual Town Meeting on May 4.

If passed, the bylaws would establish a licensing system for those who wish to rent their homes, along with clear rules for renters aimed at mitigating neighborhood nuisances, such as large crowds or loud guests. It also would create a system for enforcing these rules, and prohibit non-residents from operating short-term rental properties in town.

The Planning Board presented the proposed bylaws at a public hearing Tuesday night, listing affordable temporary housing amid rising housing prices, an aging population and a significant pre-existing short-term rental housing stock as reasons for the proposed regulations.

“There are a lot of businesses in town that can’t find enough workers that can afford to live in town,” Planning Board member Mariel Olcoz said. “They’re taking jobs in other towns that they live closer to. We really want to find a nice balance and not penalize people that have been doing this legally and adding to the tax pool and benefiting the town.”

As of 2022, Olcoz said, there are 20 short-term rental properties in Buckland registered with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, 18 of which are not owner-occupied, and only two of which are owner-occupied. The proposed bylaws would prohibit the registration of future non-owner-occupied rentals, or properties that do not house their owners for nine months per year or longer, while grandfathering in pre-existing ones. Olcoz added that in 2023, the town’s short-term rental market brought in $17,463 in local tax revenue.

When resident Amy Love asked the Planning Board members why they defined an owner-occupied rental property as one that is occupied at least nine months each year, as opposed to the entire year, Planning Board Co-Chair Michael Hoberman said the board did not wish to create a law that would “imprison someone in the town” if they wished to take a vacation.

The new regulations would prohibit short-term rental property owners from leasing their properties for corporate purposes, or large events and weddings. It also limits the number of adults allowed to stay in each room to two, limits the number of units allowed per rental property to two, prohibits loud music and requires owners to accommodate their guests with parking spaces, unless they obtain a special permit from the Planning Board.

The Board of Health would act as the bylaw’s main enforcing body. If the bylaw passes, rental property owners must be reachable in the event of a complaint, and must make a “good faith effort” to arrange for a Board of Health inspection within 24 hours of that complaint, Hoberman said. All currently operating short-term rentals must come into compliance with the bylaw within six months of its passage.

Resident Phoebe Walker, who said she owns and rents out 12 apartments, commended the Planning Board on the proposed bylaw, adding that she believes it balances the community’s needs with the promotion of tourism and residential growth in Buckland.

“This town is a great place to live, and I understand why people who don’t live here want to come here … and that’s great,” Walker commented, “but I feel like we’re at a tipping point where the people who bake the food, cook the food, teach the kids, can’t afford to live here anymore, so I’m really grateful for what you’re doing there.”

Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.