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Trustee hosting rental roundtable on Saturday

From left, Greenport Village Trustee Doug Roberts, Trustee Julia

Greenport Village Trustee Doug Roberts will be holding an informal discussion on the issue of rental housing in the village Saturday morning at 9 a.m. and he has invited village residents to attend.

The meeting will be held at The Loft at Harbourfront on 48 Front St. (above The Harbourfront Deli).

“I’m just looking to bring people together to talk about rentals in the Village of Greenport,” Mr. Roberts said. “Short-term and long-term rental housing is an issue here very different than it is in the Town of Southold. How do people truly feel about what the village should do? We have a rental permit law which we’re not implementing.”

The Town of Southold recently passed a law that requires residential homes that are being rented to be rented for a minimum of 14 nights. The law — which saw its fair share of critics — came in response to complaints from some residents who said the rentals are ruining the quality of life in their neighborhoods and gaining an unfair advantage on regualted hotels and bed and breakfasts.

Southold’s law also was in reaction to home-sharing web sites like airbnb.com, which allow people to rent their homes for as little as one night.

“Short term rentals are the immediate issue facing us and people are really concerned about it,” Mr. Roberts said. “The town just acted, but we’re a really different place than a town. We need to do something before next season.

“Someone suggested we should get people together and talk to each other.”

Mr. Roberts said he asked the Village Trustees at recent work session if they want to host a series of roundtable discussions on rental issues and they said no.

“So I’m gonna host it as a trustee and I’ll let them know what I learned,” he said.