🎯 STRisker: Bulletin - Pittsfield, MA
Pittsfield Inches Closer to STR Rules: Community Weighs in on Fairness and Limits
A Deep Dive into Your Area’s STR Updates — Helping You Navigate the Ever-Changing Rental Landscape.
Pittsfield Inches Closer to STR Rules: Community Weighs in on Fairness and Limits
Pittsfield is finally getting close to formalizing its short-term rental (STR) regulations, and the debates are heating up. With no current ordinance in place, STRs in the city technically exist in a legal gray area. But after months of discussion, the City Council’s Ordinances and Rules subcommittee is shaping a policy that aims to strike a balance between neighborhood preservation and owner opportunity.
At the end of June, the subcommittee agreed on some major pillars of the ordinance. First off, the Community Development Board will serve as the granting authority for STR licenses and STRs will be capped at 150 rental days per year — a compromise meant to keep properties from turning into full-time hotel alternatives, while still allowing operators to earn supplemental income.
Not everyone’s thrilled with that number. Councilor Dina Lampiasi pushed for a stricter 90-day cap, voicing concern that STRs could chip away at Pittsfield’s already tight housing stock.
“Five months isn’t really short-term when you think about what a neighborhood is supposed to be,” she said. Others, like Councilor Kathy Amuso, warned that a 90-day limit might make STRs financially unworkable after code upgrades.
The subcommittee also tackled the sticky issue of who qualifies to operate more than one STR. There’s strong momentum toward requiring owner-occupancy for second units, to prevent deep-pocketed investors from scooping up housing. Building Commissioner Jeffrey Clemons argued against multi-unit STR setups entirely, saying it veers away from the ordinance’s intent to help homeowners — not investors — earn a bit of extra income.
STRisker Document Analysis
Finding the right compliance documents shouldn’t feel like searching for a needle in a haystack - STRisker’s Documents Analysis is built to simplify your life, offering instant access to hundreds of thousands of documents from thousands of cities across the US.
Council President Peter White and others were open to allowing second STRs in owner-occupied properties, but only if it’s enforceable using tools like assessor’s data.
Licensing also got a green light — every STR must be licensed, and enforcement will fall under the city’s new inspection protocols: once every five years for owner-occupied units and yearly for others.
Government Websites by CivicPlus®
City Planner Kevin Rayner put it plainly: until this ordinance passes, all STRs are technically illegal in Pittsfield. But with clear frameworks on definitions, licensing, caps, and compliance starting to fall into place, the city seems ready to bring STRs into the light.
The final steps are just around the corner, and if the current momentum holds, Pittsfield may soon join the list of cities with a thoughtful, enforceable short-term rental policy on the books.
Stay Updated with STRisker
STRisker offers tools and features to keep you updated with the Short-Term Rental movement across the U.S.
👍 We’d love your feedback.
We're always looking for ways to improve Bulletins.
Was this one useful to you? Other topics you'd like to see get covered?
✉️ Just reply directly to this email. We read and respond to every message!
-Will McClure
🙋 P.S.
Know someone else who should be reading this Bulletin? Feel free to forward this along. We want to make sure operators and stakeholders are aware of regulatory changes in their area.