Jason Graziadei • Jan 13, 2023

Residents of Monomoy recently  assailed a short-term rental property owned by The Copley Group which they say has brought noise, trash, drunken parties, and traffic to one of Nantucket’s most exclusive neighborhoods.

The comments came during a hearing before the Zoning Board of Appeals, as the Monomoy residents urged the board to find that The Copley Group’s use of the property solely as a commercial short-term rental in a residential neighborhood constituted a violation of Nantucket’s zoning code.

Matthew Westfall, a seasonal resident who owns a property next door to The Copley Group’s short-term rental at 32 Monomoy Road, said it “has brought nothing but trouble to Monomoy and abutters,” while rattling off a list of alleged incidents stemming from renters there, including: criminal trespass; illegal cutting of trees; excessive noise; and “raucous” parties such as one house party that attracted “over 200 kids.”

The Copley Group, Westfall said, had shown itself to be “self-serving, litigious, and unwilling to behave with any sense of deficiency to their neighbors, our community, or the fragile environment. I did not receive so much as an apology.”

The Zoning Board of Appeals, however, remained unmoved. As it had done in previous and similar challenges of short-term rentals around Nantucket, the board voted unanimously to deny the appeal, and affirmed building commissioner Paul Murphy’s decision that the short-term renting of the property constituted an allowable residential use.

“32 Monomoy Road being used as a short-term rental does not violate the zoning code,” Murphy said. “It’s still a residential use, which is why I declined taking enforcement action.”

Neighbors of the property in Monomoy, however, were incredulous with that decision.

“It’s not an owner-occupied home,” said Hale Everets, of 46 Monomoy Road. “It seems clear this is a for-profit business being run out of the home. To say people sleep and eat there is obfuscating the true use of the home.”