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It takes eight minutes by ferry to cross the sliver of Shelter Island Sound that separates Shelter Island and the South Fork of Long Island, but the distance in temperament between the two areas could not be more pronounced.

With ospreys circling over the island’s 30 square miles of Long Island pine trees and the wetlands of Mashomack Preserve, and tricycles piling up outside the Tuck Shop ice cream parlor, Shelter Island has the refined but casual feel of an accidental resort town.

There are still the seasonal visitors, but they tend to be less disruptive than the weekend revelers who rent shares of Hamptons homes in the towns to the island’s mainland; many Shelter Island guests stay in bed-and-breakfasts or rent stately Victorians for the entire summer.

And that’s precisely the way town officials want to keep things.

In 2017, with online sites like Airbnb vastly expanding the short-term rental market, the town passed a rental law that regulated how often a home could be rented per season, with punishments for offenders including steep fines and even jail time.