THE NANTUCKET CIVIC LEAGUE

Founded in 1903

October 15, 2004

Secretary Ellen Roy Herzfelder
Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA)
ATTENTION: Mr. Richard Bourre
100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900
Boston MA 0211

RE: ENF EOEA No. 13342 - GREAT HARBOR YACHT CLUB/Nantucket

Dear Secretary Herzfelder:

The Executive Committee of the Nantucket Civic League has unanimously authorized our organization to request that the proponent in the above-captioned matter be required to prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) in regard to the Major CommercialDevelopment (MCD) it is proposing to build within the Old Historic District of Nantucket. The components of this development, which will front on the equally historic and environmentally significant Nantucket Harbor, include a swimming pool, sports barn, healthclub, restaurant and snack bar. The complex will result in the demolition of Nantucket's last remaining working pier. The potential impact of the project on the overall historic and environmental character and resources of Nantucket Island cannot be overstated.

The Nantucket Civic League, founded in 1903, is an island-wide organization which represents 21 neighborhood associations and has over 2000 dues-paying family members. The mission of the Civic League is to promote the general welfare of Nantucket through informed citizen participation in civic affairs. We have a one-hundred-year record of speaking out about issues of major importance to our island community. This project is one such issue.

Quite frankly, we are somewhat surprised that the proponent has asserted that the project does not rise to the standard of requiring an EIR. Throughout the local permitting process, the developers assured the Nantucket community time and time again that they are in "no hurry" and that they realize the project will undergo changes. Their commitment, they reiterated, is to develop a project which, when completed, will be viewed as a "positive" by the Nantucket community.

In order to achieve this outcome, it is imperative that the project undergo a thorough and independent review. This is particularly critical in the absence of an overall plan for Nantucket Harbor, which, unfortunately, has not yet been developed and adopted. It is our understanding that the Nantucket Board of Selectmen (BOS) has recently received state funding to accomplish just that.

The Nantucket Civic League joins the elected and appointed officials of our community, as well as other non-profit organizations and private citizens, in requesting, in the strongest possible terms, that the proponent of this development be required to submit an EIR. If ever there was a development proposal which necessitated such review, it is this one.

Sincerely,

D. Anne R. and John W. Atherton, Jr.
Co Presidents