Board Of Health Greenlights Septic Systems For 19-Bedroom Elder Complex

The Board of Health has approved three septic systems for a proposed elder housing complex at 13 Woodland Drive, the last remaining application filed for a so-called nitrogen loading credit in the wellhead protection district before the board adopted a moratorium on such requests this summer.

The proposed development has been before the Board of Health for over eight months. Before making its ruling, the board appended a number of conditions to its final approval that limit what property owner Stephen Maury can do with the land.

“It is a controversial application. We're not the only ones questioning it,” Board of Health member Kerry McKenna said. “We are really looking at how to maintain water quality, because we are seeing incursions.”

It’s another example of the Board of Health’s cautious approach to development and water quality, which has made headlines in recent months as the board considers a ban on nitrogen loading credits in the area and an island-wide injunction against artificial turf playing fields.

While the Board of Health voted to approve Maury’s application, which would allow him to put up to 19 bedrooms on the property, they restricted him to constructing 12 buildings and are requiring the development to be for elder housing. The Planning Board has looked favorably on the concept, but if they turn against it and Maury chooses to use the land for something else, he’ll have to go back before the Board of Health again.

Board of Health members contend that the restrictive approach is necessary to protect Nantucket’s natural resources. Without strict oversight, pollution could lead to serious environmental and human health concerns.

“We are looking at trying to minimzie any contaminants into our aquifer,” McKenna said. “We've got to keep the water clean.”

But some worry that the crackdown could be detrimental to development and affordable housing—and that the Board of Health could be close to overstepping its regulatory purview.

“I think we're getting awfully close to acting like the Planning Board,” Board of Health and Select Board member Tom Dixon said, emphasizing that the board’s personal opinions on whether the development was good for Nantucket beyond the impact of its septic systems shouldn’t factor into their decisions.

Historically, the Board of Health has approved nitrogen loading credits routinely. Septic regulations limit how many bedrooms are allowed on a given property, but when homeowners agree to switch from a conventional septic system to an innovative/alternative, or IA, system, the Board of Health usually allows them to add more bedrooms to the lot, as IA systems are believed to be significantly more effective at removing nitrogen from wastewater.

Even with the additional bedrooms, the IA system should provide an environmental benefit, and the credits allow developers to offer more homes at a lower price. Nitrogen in drinking water is linked to health problems, including cancer, as well as environmental harms. Traditionally, the tradeoff is seen as beneficial for both parties.

However, some members of the Board of Health now believe that, once additional bedrooms are factored in, IA systems don’t provide a significant benefit. They are pushing to make IA systems mandatory in the wellhead protection district, without any allowance for additional bedrooms. As the discussion, which also extends to the Hummock Pond watershed, unfolds, other parts of Nantucket’s local government, including the Planning Board and the housing department, have become involved.

The debate surrounding 13 Woodland Drive was not limited to nitrogen, however.

Board of Health member Meredith Lepore worried about the frontage that the lots have for buildings, and noted that “it is also a big change for the neighborhood, which I know is not our purview.”

“That's not our purview. Those questions aren't our purview,” Dixon said in response to McKenna invoking concerns raised by the Planning Board. “Those questions have nothing to do with septic systems.”

Lepore ultimately voted against the application. Dixon, McKenna, and chair Ann Smith voted for it, and James Cooper abstained.

Lepore is also the Board of Health’s most outspoken advocate against artificial turf, which the board is considering banning in the wake of a School Committee vote to install an artificial turf field at Vitto Capizzo Stadium.

Maury has been trying to develop the properties for well over a year without success. At the 2024 Special Town Meeting, Maury pushed a proposal that would have seen the properties turned into 40 attainable housing units, restricted to year-round occupancy and offered first to essential workers.

But the Select Board, Finance Committee, Nantucket Planning and Economic Development Commission, and Planning Board all objected, raising concerns about the increased density, and Maury was unable to secure the votes necessary to rezone the property to allow for the development. Neighbors also raised concerns about traffic and the impact on the area’s infrastructure.

Another, less expansive proposal failed at the 2025 Annual Town Meeting.