Stephanie Sinclair: Make voices heard against Meredith's defense of short-term rentals

To The Daily Sun,

A round of applause to Joseph Piantedosi for his articulate and insightful letter titled “Shady Goings-on in Meredith” on page 9 of the Nov. 25 edition of The Sun.

I attended a Meredith Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting in the spring in which a discussion ensued regarding what to do if there is an issue with a short-term rental. I shared that there is a STR in my daughter’s residential neighborhood in town and there are multiple problems with noise, speeding, etc. ZBA members advised me to have the neighbors notify the town, police would come, and it would get resolved. However, town counsel clearly stated at the Nov. 9 ZBA meeting that it is not the town’s problem.

I listened at the Nov. 9 ZBA meeting regarding the STR debacle in Black Cove off Meredith Neck. I was appalled and embarrassed by the behavior of town counsel and her lack of empathy toward the Marinos' plight. Does anyone understand what “administrative gloss” is? Based on town actions, I loosely interpret it to mean "too bad for residents regardless of what zoning ordinances are in place as town manager can override ZBA." The town’s defense of the town manager’s decision to allow that STR to continue to operate without considering its effect on the neighborhood is mind boggling.

There is a STR meeting slated to start after selectboard meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 4, at the community center in Meredith. I urge all residents to attend this meeting to let their voices be heard regarding STRs. The rules and regulations need to be fixed now with no grandfathering to ensure that we are all protected from the horrific issues that the Marinos, Black Cove neighbors and my daughter’s neighborhood are dealing with.

Stephanie Sinclair

Meredith