Planning Board discusses short-term rental regulation

CAMDEN — The Planning Board considered options for regulating short-term rentals during a Tuesday, April 12, workshop and it was noted the town hired a firm to determine the extent of such rentals in the community.

Ethan Shaw of the Planning Board said a 10 percent increase in Airbnb’s, or short-term rentals, results in a point-four-two percent increase in rents and a point-seven-six percent increase in the prices of homes. He said that does not sound like much until you consider the increase in short-term rentals has not been 10 percent, but 800 percent.