Groton ― With the busy warm-weather season approaching, the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday approved short-term rental regulations that will go into effect May 15.

The regulations will only apply to new short-term rentals as existing ones are grandfathered.

Short-term rentals have been a contentious and long-debated issue in Groton. Some residents have charged that short-term rentals cause noise and quality-of-life problems and limit housing stock, while others have maintained the rentals boost the economy and provide the income they need to stay in town.

Meanwhile, the Town Council has decided to hold off on implementing any town ordinance such as one that would require the registration of short-term rentals, until a Connecticut Supreme Court case on short-term rentals is decided.

According to the new zoning regulations approved Tuesday, a homeowner or long-term lessee would need to have their primary residence on site for any short-term rentals allowed in residential zones. There also are limitations on the number of short-term rentals per lot in residential zones.

Short-term rentals will be banned altogether in single-unit residential zones and in heavy industrial, working waterfront and open space, green zones.

The regulations conditionally allow short-term rentals, with site plan approval, in neighborhood commercial, regional commercial and mixed-use industrial zones.

The regulations conditionally allow short-term rentals, with site plan and special permit approval, in residential zones with one and two-unit dwellings, rural residential zones, multi-unit residential zones, and in mixed-use zones in downtown Mystic, downtown Groton and Poquonnock Bridge. A special permit would require a public hearing.

The regulations stipulate that the short-term rental owner must provide an off-street parking space for every bedroom; show that the rentals will not be a nuisance to abutting neighbors, and comply with lighting standards and zoning, building, fire, and electrical codes.

The regulations define the time period for a short-term rental as 30 days or less.

The zoning regulations do not apply to the City of Groton, Noank and Groton Long Point, said Deborah Jones, the town’s assistant director of planning and development services. Short-term rentals are not authorized in Noank.

Town Manager John Burt said if the Town Council chooses to move forward with a potential ordinance, it could, for example, require the registration of both existing and new short-term rentals. In 2021, the council had drafted an ordinance for registering short-term rentals, but did not adopt it.

In a March 6 letter to Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Jeff Pritchard, Town Mayor Rachael Franco wrote that the council has decided to delay pursuing any short-term rental ordinance until the Connecticut Supreme Court decides the Branford case of Frances Wihbey v. Zoning Board of Appeals of the Pine Orchard Association.

The council also requested the Planning and Zoning Commission delay adopting regulations.

Franco wrote that the town’s attorneys have recommended the commission take a pause until the court case is decided. Franco said the attorneys have said the outcome of the case “will likely provide more clear terrain for the legal characterization and regulation of STRs, including the scope of nonconforming rights” and “could affect the enforceability of the proposed regulations.”

Jones said the commission discussed the recommendation at a previous meeting but decided to move forward with regulations.

“It’s unclear when that decision will be made and the commission decided to move ahead with their amendment, noting that they could revise the regulation if there is a conflict with the court’s decision,” Jones said.

k.drelich@theday.com