2025 Annual Town Meeting Updates

We are live from the floor of the 2025 Annual Town Meeting and will be posting updates to this page as the meeting progresses.

The following warrant articles have been called for debate: 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 38, 42, 43, 56, 57, 61, 62, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 71, 77, 80, 84, 85, 87, 88, 92, 100, 101, 102.

The uncalled articles passed according to the Finance Committee motions in the warrant.

Non-Binding Sense Of The Meeting Question: The meeting opened with a non-binding sense of the meeting question: Should convert from an open town meeting system to a Town Council / Town Manager form of government?

Yes: 251

No: 477

Article 8 - General Fund Operating Budget: An amendment offered by Toby Brown to strike millions in funding for the town Housing Office was defeated, with 134 in favor, and 596 against. The main motion on the town's $140 million general fund budget was then adopted on a vote of 630 - 97.

Article 10 - General Fund Capital Expenditures: Another amendment from Toby Brown to strike $2 million in funding from the article for the town's acquisition of 9 Goldfinch Drive for housing for a municipal department head was defeated. The main motion on $32 million in capital spending was then approved 624 - 122.

Article 11 - $14 Million Appropriation For Town Employee Housing On Waitt Drive: A proposal to allocate $14 million for the design and construction of town employee housing on Waitt Drive was defeated. While the article earned a simple majority, it required a two-thirds majority (499 votes) for approval.

Yes: 432

No: 317

Article 12 - $1.2 Million Supplemental Appropriation For New DPW Facility Design Improvements: This supplemental appropriation would have allowed the town to proceed with the final design and construction the proposed $67 million new DPW headquarters off Shadbush Road. The article required a two-thirds vote, and was soundly defeated.

Yes: 368

No: 370

Article 13 - $125 Appropriation For The New Our Island Home Skilled Nursing Facility: Island voters on Saturday defeated a proposed $125 million appropriation to build a new Our Island Home skilled nursing facility following an emotional debate on Town Meeting floor.

The final vote was:

• Yes: 450
• No: 283

Read the full story by clicking here.

Article 14 - $14 Million Supplemental Appropriation For Tom Nevers Road Bike Path: The funding would cover design, permitting, engineering, construction, and materials for a new bike path in Tom Nevers.

Yes: 287

No: 49

The article passed by the required two-thirds majority, but will still need approval on the ballot later this month.

Article 26 - Appropriation For The Community Preservation Committee: An effort by Toby Brown to strike funding proposals within the CPC's annual appropriation (for a rain garden at the Nantucket Lighthouse School and $350,000 for affordable housing) was defeated. The main motion was adopted:

Yes 451

No 52

Article 28 - Appropriation from the Community Preservation Fund to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund: A $5 million appropriation from the CPC to the town's Affordable Housing Trust for land acquisition and the development of affordable housing was adopted.

Yes: 363

No: 148

Article 29 - Rescind Unused Borrowing Authority For Affordable Housing Trust: A citizen petition from Toby Brown that was proposed to rescind the unused borrowing authority from the Affordable Housing Trust was deemed illegal by town counsel, and was voted down.

Yes: 89

No: 413

Article 38 - Zoning Map Change, ROH to CDT On North Water Street: A zoning map change proposed by the Planning Board on behalf of Blue Flag Partners, which owns a bed and breakfast on North Water Street, to rezone three lots on North Water Street from Residential Old Historic to Commercial Downtown district was defeated. North Water Street homeowner Dr. George Butterworth spoke out against the proposal, along with several others in attendance.

Yes: 25

No: 502

Article 42 - Zoning Bylaw Amendment For A Temporary Moratorium on Tertiary Dwellings: 

Yes 387

No: 104

Day one of Town Meeting concluded around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday without taking up any of the short-term rental articles. Those will be discussed when Town Meeting reconvenes on Monday at 5 p.m.

DAY 2

Article 62 - Zoning Map and Zoning Bylaw Change: LUG-2 to R-20 and Town and Country Overlay. This citizen petition sponsored by Clifford Williams to increase the density for a housing development at 44 Skyline Drive was defeated. 

Yes: 113

No: 507

Article 65 - Zoning Bylaw Amendment: Preexisting Nonconforming Uses, Structures and Lots. This citizen petition was sponsored by Emily Molden, executive director of the Nantucket Land & Water Council, and had the support of the Planning Board. Molden said it would eliminate "language in our bylaw that has been enabling inappropriate development without sufficient oversight" related to pre-existing, non-conforming (pre-1955) properties and the groundcover allowances granted to them when they subdivide under a state law. The article received a majority vote, but failed due to the fact it did not reach a two-thirds majority by 20 votes.

Yes: 465

No: 262

Article 66 - Zoning Bylaw Amendment: Regulating Short-Term Nantucket Vacation Rentals: Article 66 would have codified short-term rentals (STRs) in the island’s zoning code and dub them “Nantucket Vacation Rentals,” which would become an allowed use by right in all zoning districts except the commercial/industrial (CI) district. The article earned a majority vote, but failed to reach the required two-thirds majority threshold. This is the sixth time such a zoning amendment has been defeated at town meeting.

Yes: 468

No: 321 

(two-thirds was 526)

Article 67 - Zoning Bylaw Amendment: Regulating Short-Term Rental Use. Retired attorney and former Planning Board member Fritz McClure’s article proposes to codify STRs as an accessory use, requiring that they be occupied by the owner (or their friends and family) for at least one day more than they short-term rent it. McClure represents the other side of a debate that has consumed the island for years, advocating a minimum non-STR occupancy of 30 days for all vacation rentals. His article would also require all STRs to be occupied by the owner - or their friends and family - or rented long-term, more than they are used as a short-term rental. It was defeated on a majority vote:

Yes: 243

No: 492

Article 68 - General Bylaw Amendment: Short-Term Rentals: Similar to Article 67, but without the exception for operators who rent long-term in the offseason or a restriction on operators looking to rent multiple dwellings on the same lot, Patricia Wright’s Article 68 is another accessory use proposal. It would require STRS to be “occupied by the owner at least 30 non-consecutive days per calendar year; provided, however, that such short-term rental use is allowed for a maximum of one day less than total number of days that the Lot is occupied by the Owner.” The article was defeated on a majority vote.

Yes: 181

No: 477

Article 69 - General Bylaw Amendment: Short-Term Rentals: Matthew Peel's warrant article would have mandated the town to collect and publish data about STRs on the island over the next three years to facilitate a more informed debate on the subject. Beyond just collecting data, Peel’s article would have restricted STR operators to renting for 70 days a year and established a cap of 1,350 STRs on-island for the duration of the study. It was defeated on a majority vote:

Yes: 82

No: 490