Houseboat Regs Put on Hold Once Again

Houseboats still have a green light to float into town, after town board members unanimously put off a measure to tighten their usage in local waters.

Town leaders have been working drafting language in recent months to regulate houseboats, both as residences and as businesses, however the issue remains a complex one – classifying boats as real property or personal property has been the subject of several lawsuits.

The local law would grandfather in existing houseboats, however the concern for future floating homes not paying taxes remains real, Supervisor Sean Walter said recently.

"We won't permit any additional houseboats," Walter said. "We don't want to see them popping up … The question I'm posing is, 'What's fair?'"

Tuesday's tabling – the second in the past several weeks – concerned potential complications with federal law, and will be subject to further discussion at a future work session.