BACKGROUND

Background: A Glaring Gap

On Nantucket we pride ourselves (and justifiably so) on the extraordinary preservation efforts which have been made in land conservation, cultural heritage and our island's historic built environment. However, during the past year, as a result of a much publicized proposal for a Major Commercial Development (MCD) in the Old Historic District fronting on Nantucket Harbor, a group of citizens learned about a glaring gap in our preservation efforts. Nantucket's harbors and waterfronts, which have been used by generations of residents and visitors for both economic livelihood and recreation, have not been adequately protected, nor the preservation of their uses ensured.

During the MCD permitting process for the proposed 41,700 square foot complex, which would convert Nantucket's last remaining working waterfront boatyard into a members-only, private equity yacht club, consisting of a club house, swimming pool, sports barn, health club, squash courts, restaurants, as well as a 40 boat slip combination (fixed and floating) pier, the following became apparent:

There is no overall plan for the development of Nantucket and Madaket Harbors.
Our community lacks local control over the development of our harbors.
Public access to the water front is not guaranteed.
Zoning regulations affecting the waterfront are piecemeal and, in some instances, inappropriate.
Traditional uses of Nantucket's waters for fishing and scalloping are in jeopardy.
Municipal needs for the waterfront have not been identified nor provided for.
Previous determination of the overall capacity of our harbors for boats and moorings have been a moving target.
Sustainable limits for future growth in the harbors have not been defined.
Enforcement has been lax or non-existent in regard to provisions of state licenses for dredging and other water alterations that require public access and certain maritime uses.

Further, we have learned that an Action Plan, drafted in 1993 by a broad-based Harbor Planning Advisory Committee, was never State certified as a bona fide Harbor Plan and has been implemented only haphazardly without community participation. We have learned that protections are not in place and that, currently, the only way to preserve important areas of our waterfront is by addressing each proposed development as it comes before our local and state permitting bodies. This is a time consuming and expensive approach that has proven to be completely inadequate for the future of Nantucket.

For those of us who care about Nantucket and its waterfront, these matters are disturbing. They go far beyond any one MCD proposal, beyond any one neighborhood. Together, we must identify a community vision for the future of the waterfront and put strong protections in place to realize that vision.