OLD ORCHARD BEACH — A moratorium on short-term rentals was voted down on Tuesday night.

Consideration of a moratorium for short-term rentals came at the request of Town Councilor Larry Mead. Mead initially wanted an Emergency Moratorium, then when he realized he didn’t have support for the emergency measure, supported a moratorium.

“I requested the moratorium on new licenses because I believe that the spread of short-term rental properties to residential neighborhoods west of the railroad tracks is reducing the availability of year-round housing units in Old Orchard Beach, and changing the character of those neighborhoods,” said Mead at Tuesday night’s Town Council meeting.

However, Mead had a change of heart after a public hearing last month drew a standing-room only crowd of people, most of whom were adamantly against the proposed moratorium.

He said Tuesday night that the proposed moratorium was a mistake, and counterproductive. He said his intention was to propose the moratorium to give room for public dialogue.

“Instead it just cut off dialogue because people felt threatened,” he said.

Mead said he was not opposed to short-term rentals, but the town needed to find a balance to preserve year-round housing in established neighborhoods while ensuring that vacation rentals remain plentiful where commercial activity was permitted or in neighborhoods like Ocean Park where short-term rentals have long been accepted.

Council Chairman Shawn O’Neill said he was upset the proposed moratorium on short-term rentals made it on a Town Council agenda, because it was not necessary.

He said in his 24 years on the Town Council, he had heard one complaint regarding short-term rentals.

“There was no crisis to create this,” he said.

O’Neill said as the moratorium was first established as an emergency measure, residents focused on the word “emergency.”  This created a level of distrust of the Council form the public, and he wanted to re-establish this trust.

“If there’s no trust, it’s awful hard to make progress,” he said.

While Mead suggested tabling the vote on the moratorium, O’Neill said the Council needed to vote it down to help regain the trust from residents.

The Town Council on Tuesday voted unanimously in opposition of a moratorium on short-term rentals, but agreed that there will be public discussion in the form of a workshop on short-term rentals in November.

Saco Bay News Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at newsdesk@sacobaynews.com.