NLWC News

NLWC 2024 Annual Town Meeting Recommendations

Anna Day • May 20, 2024

Nantucket’s community depends on the vitality of its sustainable natural resources.


2024 Annual Town Meeting
Tuesday, May 7th at 5:00 PM
Nantucket High School Auditorium


VOTE ENVIRONMENT FIRST

The Nantucket Land & Water Council has reviewed the Warrant for the May 7th 2024, Annual Town Meeting and offers the following recommendations on articles which could affect the island’s unique and valuable natural resources and quality of life.

For more information on the Annual Town Meeting and for a copy of the Warrant and relevant maps, please visit the Town website HERE.


Article 42 NO Zoning Bylaw Amendment: Flex Development – Open Space Protection
This proposed amendment is unclear as drafted and could be interpreted to allow the Planning Board to waive the permanent restriction to protect open space that is intended in the Bylaw.

Read more information on Article 42 by clicking here

Watch NLWC Executive Director speak about Article 42 at the Nantucket Civic League’s Meet the Articles on April 6, 2024. Time Stamp: 46:07 through 51:27

Article 43 NO Zoning Bylaw Amendment: Rear Lot Subdivision
This amendment would enable the Planning Board to grant a Special Permit for a Rear Lot Subdivision without having to formally endorse an Approval Not Required subdivision plan. It unreasonably eliminates an important regulatory check which has always been a prerequisite for this type of subdivision.

Article 45 YES Zoning Bylaw Amendment: Moorlands Management District (MMD) Pool Prohibition
This article would prohibit pools and outdoor residential recreational water features from the MMD, which are currently allowed by Special Permit. This district was created in the 1980’s to protect and preserve the scenic and ecological integrity of the moorlands in the Smooth Hummocks and Head of the Plains areas. Pools are inconsistent with the underlying purpose of the fragile MMD.

Read more information on Article 45 by clicking here.

Article 50 YES Zoning Map Change: Open Space Parcels – Various
This article appropriately changes the zoning of several open space properties, increasing the minimum lot size to the greatest extent possible within the respective Town or Country Overlay District.

Article 53 NO Zoning Map Change: LUG-2 to R-20 – 25 Rugged Road
This unusual zoning change for only a portion of a single lot, would create a new market rate lot where zoning does not currently permit one, by decreasing minimum lot size from 80,000 sq ft to 20,000 sq ft. This change would also require an isolated conversion of Country District into Town District, contrary to the Master Plan designation. Alternatively, this lot is currently eligible for the creation of secondary and tertiary residential lots through the covenant program, which would be disincentivized if this article is passed.

Article 59 NO Zoning Bylaw Amendment: Definitions and Word Usage/Residential Rental Use
This article is identical to the previously-defeated Article 42 at the 2022 ATM and Article 2 at the 2023 STM. This Article should be defeated again because it would legalize unlimited commercial STRs as a primary use for houses in all of our residential districts across the island. Once this right is granted under zoning it cannot be taken away. The proliferation of commercial STRs in residential districts threatens the island’s natural resources and infrastructure. Moreover, recent court rulings have confirmed that STRs are a commercial use that is not legal in residential districts. NLWC supports allowing STRs as an accessory use in residential districts. This would ensure all Nantucket residents have the ability to short-term rent their homes so long as they are using their home primarily as a residence. This would prevent commercial/investor-owned STRs in residential neighborhoods.
Please vote NO on Article 59.

Read more information on Article 59 by clicking here.

Article 60 NO General Bylaw Amendment: Definitions and Word Usage/Residential Rental Use
The Fin Com recommendation for this article is purported to be a compromise. But it does not advance balanced limitations on STRs that will protect our Island from increased intensity of use and measurable impact on our natural resources and infrastructure. Nor does it limit STRs to Nantucket residents, but instead contains large loopholes (referring to “other legal entities”) for STRs for commercial purposes owned by corporations and outside investors. It even tries to acknowledge all existing commercial STRs as lawful even though recent court rulings have held they are not (see Section K and “Continue to permit the operation of STRs…”). Finally, it attempts to regulate use and ownership of properties through a General Bylaw provision when such limitations can lawfully be addressed only through a Zoning Bylaw provision. This Article should be defeated.

Article 61 & 62 NO General Bylaw Amendment: Short-Term Rentals
Articles 61 & 62 contain the same loopholes permitting new commercial STRs owned by corporations and outside investors. They suggest incorrectly that the operation of STRs as a primary use in all our residential districts is currently legal under zoning (including the stated purpose and intent to “Continue to permit the operation of STRs…”). It is not. These articles also attempt to regulate the use and ownership of properties through a General Bylaw provision when such limitations can lawfully be addressed only through a Zoning Bylaw provision. Article 61 would enable any structure that has received a Certificate of Occupancy to operate as an STR in the future, which has the potential to dramatically increase the number of full time commercial STRs across residential districts on Nantucket. Article 62 attempts to limit ownership of STRs to 2 units per natural person, which will not impose enough of a limitation on the creation of new STRs as an investment. These Articles should both be defeated.

Article 67 & 69 YES Home Rule Petition and Bylaw: Coastal Resilience District
These articles would enable the Town to create Coastal Resilience Districts to support ongoing efforts towards coastal resiliency. This important tool will significantly increase the Town’s capacity to implement and accomplish the goals and objectives of our Coastal Resilience Plan.

Article 68 NO Real Estate: Lease/License of Baxter Road Property for Erosion Control
This article as drafted is unnecessarily vague and open-ended. It would issue a blank check for the beach to be utilized for construction of any coastal engineering structures on Sconset Beach forever into the future. It has no time frame, no limits on the type of structures, or their location, undermining the intent of Chapter 67-1E, which requires a Town Meeting vote to authorize the duration, location, and type of structures on Town owned land.

Read more information on Article 68 by clicking here.
Watch NLWC Executive Director speak about Article 68 at the Nantucket Civic League’s Meet the Articles on April 6, 2024. Time Stamp: 29:58 through 35:00

 

Article 72 NO Bylaw Amendment: Repeal Chapter 141: Stretch Energy Code
This article would eliminate important local legislation that requires building with higher energy efficiency and savings than our Building Code. Nantucket should be improving energy efficiency, not reducing it.

Article 74 YES No Town Funds: Surfside Crossing
We support this article based on the significance and history of this project. If there is an opportunity for the Town to participate in a meaningful way that benefits the public, it can be brought to Town Meeting in the future.

Article 79 YES Home Rule Petition: Community Housing Bank Real Estate Transfer Fee
This article will create a funding source for affordable housing similar to the Land Bank fee structure.

Article 83 YES Home Rule Petition: An Act Regulating the Application of Fertilizer
NLWC supports the intent of this article allowing Nantucket to amend and improve existing fertilizer regulations. We continue to advocate for and support education, implementation and enforcement of the existing regulations.

Great Harbor Yacht Club Foundation Awards Generous Grant to Nantucket Land & Water Council to Advance Eelgrass-Friendly Moorings Pilot Project

February 25, 2026
New partnership will transition conventional moorings in Monomoy to protect and restore Nantucket Harbor habitat The Nantucket Land & Water Council (NLWC) has received a generous grant from the Great Harbor Yacht Club Foundation to support the installation of eelgrass-friendly moorings in Nantucket Harbor, a major step forward in protecting one of the island’s most important marine habitats. Healthy eelgrass is essential to the vitality of Nantucket Harbor. Eelgrass meadows provide critical habitat for wild bay scallops and juvenile fish, improve water quality by filtering polluted runoff, absorb excess nutrients, store carbon, and stabilize shorelines against erosion and storm surge. Yet eelgrass in Nantucket Harbor has declined significantly in recent decades due to nutrient pollution, warming waters, and physical disturbance — including abrasion from traditional boat moorings. Since 2018, NLWC has worked with Harbormaster Sheila Lucey and her team, the Town of Nantucket and island partners on eelgrass restoration initiatives aimed at reversing this decline. One of the most practical and immediate solutions is transitioning conventional chain moorings to eelgrass-friendly systems — a key recommendation of the newly adopted Nantucket Eelgrass Management Plan. In 2022, NLWC partnered with Nantucket Harbormaster Sheila Lucey and Anderson Stillwater Moorings to design and implement an environmentally-sensitive mooring system adapted for Nantucket’s unique needs. The design uses a 300-pound pyramid anchor and an eco-rode that keeps gear suspended above the seabed, preventing the heavy chain “scouring” that destroys eelgrass beds around traditional moorings. The NLWC Waterkeeper vessel has been successfully secured using this mooring system for three consecutive seasons. Thanks to generous funding from the Great Harbor Yacht Club Foundation, NLWC and the Harbormaster’s Office will now launch a pilot program this spring, in partnership with local mooring companies, to transition up to 25 conventional moorings to eelgrass-friendly systems. Ed Orenstein, GHYC Foundation President, states: “The Foundation prioritizes projects that deliver both immediate and long-term benefits to Nantucket Harbor’s ecosystem and our community at large. These new eelgrass-friendly moorings accomplish both. We couldn’t be happier to team with NLWC on this impactful initiative and applaud Emily Molden’s leadership." NLWC will monitor the pilot sites to measure eelgrass recovery and seabed stability, with the goal of informing future harbor management decisions and expanding the program if successful. “Eelgrass is the foundation of our harbor ecosystem — without it, we lose scallops, water quality, and coastal resilience. The beauty of eelgrass-friendly moorings is that they solve a problem without restricting boating. This project shows conservation and harbor use can work together for the betterment of our environment and to the benefit of our community, and we hope it becomes a model for broader adoption.” – RJ Turcotte, Nantucket Waterkeeper The Nantucket Land & Water Council extends its sincere appreciation to the Great Harbor Yacht Club Foundation for their foresight, vision, and generous support for innovative solutions that protect the island’s land and water through science, advocacy, and community engagement.

Advocate for the Environment – Join the NLWC's Community Advocates!

February 4, 2026
If you feel aligned with our mission and would like to support our work through advocacy, there are many meaningful ways to get involved. You can attend local regulatory meetings, participate in and speak at Annual Town Meetings, serve as an informed environmental ambassador among friends and neighbors, rally support for articles that protect Nantucket’s natural resources, and oppose those that pose risks to their long-term health. You can also lend your voice by drafting or signing Letters to the Editor. If you’re interested in participating in our advocacy efforts as a Community Advocate, please click H ERE.

The NLWC’s Lane
– Reflections on STM

December 22, 2025
As the end of the Fall season approaches, we would like to take some time to reflect on Nantucket’s recent Special Town Meeting, held on November 4th. The Nantucket Land & Water Council has been engaged in Nantucket’s discussion about short-term rental (STR) policy and regulation for many years. As an organization, we have, at times, faced questions from residents about the relevance of STRs to the NLWC’s mission . The NLWC’s mission is to help preserve the long-term health of Nantucket’s environment and community through the protection of our land and water resources. Development impacts the environment. This simple fact should come as no surprise. Our actions on the land have a direct impact on the health of our waters. Nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus from septic systems and fertilizers, along with other contaminants such as those found in stormwater runoff, don’t just disappear. They travel through the soil and into our ponds, harbors, and drinking water. The accelerated development, repurposing of properties, and intensity of use associated with short-term rentals (STRs) as a business put increasing pressure on the island’s infrastructure, reduce habitat and biodiversity, and endanger our water quality. Of course, a community needs to change and develop and grow, but the health of our environment and the ability of a place to naturally support the people who live there are directly related to the intensity and type of development and growth that we, as a community, choose to allow and encourage. The NLWC has always made it clear that we are not opposed to all short-term rentals. We support the ability of island residents to short-term rent with reasonable restrictions. We have, first and foremost, sought to reduce the impact from investor-owned STRs, and reduce the intensity of use and development from properties that are maximized solely for the use of short-term rentals because of the cumulative environmental impacts that this type of use and development creates. We were very disappointed by the November STM vote, which resulted in the full codification of short-term rentals across all residential zoning districts of the island. It is clear that much of the community was incredibly alarmed by the simple messaging provided by Article 1 proponents that asserted this was a matter of maintaining an important property right or losing that right. Alternatively, we, as proponents of Article 2, attempted to communicate a more nuanced message that memorializing this right with reasonable restrictions would actually allow most residents to continue short-term renting in a meaningful way while helping to protect the future of our environment and community. As the dust settles, and our media expresses the reality of the inadequacy of our existing regulations ( https://nantucketcurrent.com/news/nantucket-banned-corporate-owned-short-term-rentals-a-loophole-is-allowing-them-to-continue ) , there is clearly more that needs to be done. All of our policies and practices relative to growth, development, and land and resource management , including STR regulations, must be scrutinized for their impact on our shared natural resources and adjusted where needed to protect the health of our environment and community. It is easy to make the claim that STRs as an issue is not “in our lane” and to suggest that how we use and develop our properties are somehow separate from: PFAS issues, contamination of our public water supply, nutrient pollution, and water conservation , but these are the exact concerns that compel the NLWC to engage in community conversations about growth, development, land use, and STRs. We are the voice for Nantucket’s environment, working to safeguard the present health and future sustainability of the island. This is our lane. We thank all of our members and friends for your support , regardless of your position or vote at STM. We know that, despite differences in opinion, we all share a deep care for this special place and a desire to protect what makes it unique. Together, we can shape policies that reflect both the needs of our community and the limits of our fragile island environment. Your willingness to stay engaged—ask questions, share concerns, and offer ideas—continues to strengthen our efforts. There is more work to do, and we look forward to doing that work with you.
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