Stonington — The town released a pared down version of a short-term rental ordinance on Thursday after an initial draft led to significant opposition from short-term rental owners and other residents in town.

The new proposed ordinance, scheduled for a town meeting vote Feb. 27, would require owners to register their short-term rental property with the town, conform to local safety regulations and provide information for renters on local noise and property use restrictions as well as an explanation of the town’s trash and recycling programs, including the collection schedule.

Additionally, owners or their agents must be available in person or by phone or text within 60 minutes of receiving a request from police, fire, or town officials.

The ordinance, which would apply to Stonington Borough, contains a provision that would allow the borough to address short-term rentals through its zoning process in the future.

”The ordinance is a result of this resident-driven process. It should give the town a new tool to proactively manage its short-term rentals through a registration process, which will also allow for better data to be obtained in regards to the true impact of short-term rentals in Stonington,” First Selectman Danielle Chesebrough said in an email statement on Wednesday.

Chesebrough said that after the Planning and Zoning Commission declined to regulate the rentals in 2017, the town decided to propose an ordinance, seek community input and allow residents to vote on the proposal.

The town hosted four community input sessions. The most recent took place in January.

“These meetings were set up to offer members of the community an opportunity to directly engage each other and to better understand the different views surrounding this issue and come to a shared understating about what it might take to find the right balance for the community at this time,” she said.

The initial draft ordinance only allowed short-term rentals at primary residences. If a property owner did not meet the requirement, they would have had one year to move into the home, convert it to a rental of 30 days or more or sell the property.

The initial draft also would have imposed penalties for violations, including excessive noise or nuisance, and required the owner or property manager to be available by phone or text within 30 minutes.

Town Planner Keith Brynes said recently that the town received estimates from Granicus, a company that manages short-term rental enforcement for municipalities, estimating the town currently has 331 short term rental properties, and that the number is most likely higher in the summer tourism season.

“This is not a new issue, and it is not a simple issue,” Chesebrough said.

She said the short-term rental industry has grown by 800% nationally since 2011 and that, through in person, email and phone call discussions, she received feedback on how the rentals have positively impacted the community as well as how short-term rentals contribute to affordable housing shortages.