Nantucket residents have overwhelmingly voted down a zoning proposal that would have placed restrictions on short-term rentals as the island has seen an explosion of Airbnb and Vrbo listings in recent years.

Nantucket Town Meeting voted 378-558 for the controversial short-term rental article, soundly defeating the proposal after a lengthy debate about the zoning regulations and their potential impact.

Article 60 would have placed limits on short-term rentals in residential districts on the island. Short-term rentals would have been allowed in residential areas on properties that are owner-occupied for at least 6 months a year.

“I brought this article because like you, I care about the island and I’m deeply concerned about the urgent need to take action to protect our community, our homeowners, our neighborhoods and local economy,” said resident Emmy Kilvert, who sponsored the article.

“Right now, homeowners have no zoning protections and full-time commercial interests are taking over neighborhoods and threatening our year-round housing,” she said, later adding, “We cannot afford to wait any longer.”

For non-owner occupied properties in residential districts, a short-term rental would have been allowed if all dwellings on the property were primarily for long-term residential use — and if the short-term rental was registered with the town.

All other short-term rentals in residential districts would have been prohibited.

Ahead of Nantucket Town Meeting, The Alliance to Protect Nantucket’s Economy — a leading opponent of Article 60 — hired the UMass Donahue Institute to conduct a study about the article’s impacts. The zoning proposal could have cut the number of short-term rentals on the island by 95%, according to the analysis.

Of the 2,293 short-term rentals on Nantucket, it appeared that only 114 short-term rentals would have been eligible to rent — a 95% reduction overnight. This would have affected the amount of taxes to the town and visitor revenue to the island’s businesses, according to the Institute.

At Town Meeting, the head of the Nantucket Association of Real Estate Brokers spoke against the article. President Penny Dey said the zoning change would treat classes of ownership differently, seasonal versus year-round.

“If this is not unconstitutional, it is certainly unfair,” Dey said. “Our seasonal owners provide accommodation for 95% of our visitors during the summer, and they also pay more than 80% of our property taxes.”

Residents advocated for the town to let the Short-Term Rental Working Group to present proposals in the fall.