Groton ― Mystic resident Bruce McDermott used to enjoy having a drink on his neighbor’s deck or meeting his neighbor when they were doing yard work.

Those are the kinds of interactions he said are becoming less common and that he misses, as more homes on his road become short-term rentals, hollowing out the neighborhood. He said he has about six short-term rentals within about 150 yards of his house, which means fewer long-term neighbors.

“As far as I’m concerned it’s all about relationships really, and when that’s taken away you take away a little meaning in life, I think,” said McDermott.

McDermott, who has lived in his home for 43 years, wants the town to ban short-term rentals, except those in which an owner occupies the residence.

But Pearl Street resident Joe Murli, who is retired, says he relies on income from his short-term rental to continue living in Mystic. Several years ago he restored a house, which was in poor condition, next door to him. He started renting it out first on a long-term basis and then as a short-term rental.

“I’m on a fixed income, and I depend on that income as part of being able to live in Mystic,” he said. “Mystic has become an expensive place to live. It wasn’t bad 15 years ago when I first moved here, but taxes have gone up, the cost of everything has gone up. It’s gone up around the whole country but especially in a resort area like Mystic.”

He wants the town to enforce existing laws to prevent disorderly conduct, rather than enact short-term rental regulations.

Short-term rentals have become a hot-button issue in Mystic and Groton, as well as in other local towns, with people frequently speaking about them at public meetings, as the town weighs how to handle vacation rentals, such as Airbnb and Vrbo.

Short-term rental owners mention their benefits, including sprucing up run-down properties, employing people, boosting tourism, and providing them with extra income to travel or to remain living in their homes.

Those opposed to the rentals have raised concerns such as the effects of noise and parties being held next to their homes, losing a sense of community, not having regular neighbors, and rising home prices.

Some residents say the short-term rentals are changing their neighborhoods and Mystic, while others argue that other issues, such as noise, are caused by Mystic’s rising popularity, not specifically short-term rentals.

Horsley Witten Group, a consultant hired by the town, submitted a report to the town after interviewing a small group of residents and found many of the same concerns.

The report said both sides “expressed concerns about out-of-town corporations buying up properties to convert to STRs and mismanagement of STRs.”

Town working on possible regulations

Horsley Witten Group is working with the Planning and Zoning Commission on crafting potential regulations for short-term rentals, with the next workshop scheduled for 6 p.m. Sept. 21 at the Town Hall Annex and via Zoom.

Deb Jones, the town’s assistant director of planning and development services, said the commission is still discussing the matter and there won’t be a public hearing until the commission is comfortable with its proposed regulations and submits an application for approval.

In November 2021, the Town Council held a public hearing on an ordinance, which would not apply to Groton City or Groton Long Point, to require the registration of short term rentals, but didn’t move forward with it at the the time. The Town Council then took an initial vote at a July Committee of the Whole meeting in favor of a draft ordinance to require the registration of short-term rentals. The town attorney determined the ordinance would need to go to a public hearing.

Attorney Edward Moukawsher, representing a number of residents including McDermott, wrote a letter to the council and raised concerns about the process of approving an ordinance and its language.

Town Mayor Juan Melendez, Jr. said he is reaching out to the chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission in the hope of setting up a group to work on short-term rentals, and there is no plan to have short-term rentals on the council agenda anytime soon.

Noank, which has its own zoning, decided last year to enforce a prohibition on short-term rentals. Neighboring Stonington is contemplating possible regulations for its side of Mystic.

City of Groton Mayor Keith Hedrick said the city is waiting to see if the town passes an ordinance, and if it does, the city would look at that ordinance and those in other communities, and put together a proposed ordinance to bring to the City Council and likely to a public hearing.

Groups form on both sides

Those on both sides of the issue have organized as the community grapples with the issue.

Groton Homes, Not Hotels is a group of residents, taxpayers and voters who are “concerned about the encroachment of commercial transient lodging business disrupting our residential neighborhoods,” according to the group’s website. The group’s guiding principles include restricting short-term rentals to non-residential areas, and the group has yard signs that say “We (heart) Neighbors” and “Enforce Zoning Codes.”

“We essentially are turning neighborhoods into hotel zones,” said Mystic resident Linda Vogel.

Vogel said she’s concerned about the impact on the community from short-term rentals because if the inhabitants of a home change every week then there’s no longer a neighborhood with kids going to local schools and playing local sports and parents joining the parent-teacher association.

Her second concern is the economic impact as people buy properties at top dollar to use as short term-rentals because they can earn more than they could renting it out on a monthly basis, which has the effect of driving up home prices. She said there’s already an affordable housing crisis, and now there will be a dearth of moderate-income housing. She questioned where employees from Pfizer, Electric Boat, the Navy and the school system will live, and if qualified workers will come if they can’t find housing in the area.

“Where are people going to live?” she asked. “They’re going to have to leave our area.”

Tim Marchand owns a house in Mystic and has two short-term rentals near his house. He said it can be unsettling raising a family next to short-term rentals because, although he hasn’t had any incidents other than some people wandering onto his property. He sees strangers coming and going every weekend.

“That and the fact that we’re strong believers in community,” he said. “It seems like we know everyone on our streets except the people that are at the STRs every weekend.”

Marchand said when the pandemic hit, his family grocery shopped for an elderly neighbor. Marchand said when he gets older and living across the street from a hotel, he can’t imagine anyone helping him out.

“Mystic is sold on being this charming community, historic, scenic town along the shore, and you’re losing that if it’s going to be a bunch of commercial businesses,” he said.

Short-term rental owners are forming an association called Mystic Hosts Association, described as a “a group of responsible, caring and passionate short-term rentals in Groton” committed to maintaining properties and vetting guests, according to its website. The group of about 65 people is developing a code of conduct and circulated a petition.

Arnaud Bourgeois, Mystic Hosts Association vice president, said he sees the association as a buffer between residents unhappy with short-term rentals and the rental owners.

Bourgeois, a pilot, said his dream was to own waterfront property, but he could never afford it. He realized that if he ran a short-term rental, he could afford a house that was for sale along the Mystic River and pay the taxes. He and his wife spruced up the basement and now run a short-term rental in the basement and live upstairs. He said that while that places restrictions on them, they are willing to accept them so they can live on the water. He also has a short-term rental in Old Mystic as an investment.

Bourgeois said short-term rentals should be allowed, but every owner should have a local contact that neighbors can call and who can take care of any issue right away.

Ellen Elfering and her husband, who are approaching retirement age and live in Westchester County, N.Y., bought a home in Mystic three years ago as their retirement plan. They have been coming to the area for the past 15 to 20 years, have friends here, and enjoy kayaking and dining at area restaurants.

They initially rented the property to a long-term renter but decided to turn it into a short-term rental once that renter transferred to another area. Elfering and her husband, who work remotely, are building a smaller house on the property that they plan to move into this fall, while continuing to rent the larger home as a short-term rental.

“It allows us to keep the property in good maintenance and also it is a decent income,” Elfering said. “It pays for the mortgage and it’s not disruptive to our neighbors. We are very particular about who we rent to. There’s no noise or parties or anything like that, and we have a really good relationship with our neighbors on all sides.”

k.drelich@theday.com