The Hearing Officer for the state Housing Appeals Committee who is charged with reviewing the appeal of Surfside Crossing’s 40B development, has issued a Proposed Decision. His proposal does nothing to balance the community’s need for housing with other important needs, including issues with sewer, water, access, and environmental needs such as habitat and open space. Last year a Superior Court Judge ordered the HAC to redo their hearing so that the NLC could participate and also instructed the Committee that they must take these other needs into account.
Following the local ZBA’s issuance of a permit to allow the development with a total of 40 single-family and 20 condominium units, the developers appealed it to the state HAC. During the appeal process, the developers proposed a new plan for 156 condominium units in 18 buildings, a design that was never reviewed or considered by the local boards. The HAC made a shocking ruling that these changes were “insubstantial” and proceeded with their review without remanding the project back to the ZBA. This means that an incredibly oversized and very impactful development is being reviewed and conditioned by a state agency with zero input from any local board or entity. The NLC joined forces with the Tipping Point abutters to file objections to the proposed decision and will wait to see if the final decision takes those objections into account. The Town also filed objections to the proposed decision as a result of the failure to remand the project back to Nantucket for further review. We are extremely disappointed by the Hearing Officer’s proposed decision and will be ready to review the final decision as soon as it is issued.