Hensdale Club Developer Withdraws Request To Utilize Land Bank Property For Equestrian Program

Amid a flurry of community pushback, developer Alan Worden has withdrawn his proposal for an equestrian club on Land Bank property on Milestone Road. After his withdrawal at Tuesday’s meeting, several members of the Land Bank Commission voiced their opposition to the project.

“When we came before you two weeks ago, we did not ask for a vote. We asked for time - time to learn, and a chance to plan collaboratively with your staff before anything was fixed on paper,” Worden said in a letter provided to the Current and read aloud during the meeting. “It is clear the timing is not right. An idea this early does not deserve to be settled by a vote in either direction, and I would rather step back than press something that is not ready.”

Worden had initially requested that the Land Bank consider leasing him a 28.65-acre parcel of land at 41 Milestone Road to host a public equestrian program. The land is directly behind the 10.5-acre property Worden plans to develop into the private Hensdale Club. The equestrian program would have been a separate, independent non-profit open to the public.

But while the Land Bank Commission’s members seemed open to the idea of a public equestrian club on-island, they had already expressed criticism of Worden’s specific proposal at a previous meeting, and made clear Tuesday that had he not withdrawn his request, it would have been defeated.

“This is precedent-setting for the Land Bank,” commissioner Neil Paterson said. “My opinion is I would vote strongly against this.”

Vice chair Mark Donato, who ran the meeting in chair Kristina Jelleme’s absence, agreed.

“I would definitely be opposed to this,” he said. “We are elected. It's all public land. Whatever you guys tell us is what we're going to do, especially if it's a strong majority like this.”

Donato was referring to the large number of Nantucket residents in attendance Tuesday, many of whom voiced their opposition to the project. In statements made at the meeting, letters submitted to the Land Bank, and a petition with 45 signatures, dozens of islanders came out against the equestrian club, arguing that it would restrict the use of a key piece of public land intended for the enjoyment of the community at large. Almost no one took the other side.

“My concern is whether dedicating nearly 29 acres of public land to a specialized equestrian use represents the highest and greatest use of public property,” said Graham Veysey, who challenged Paterson for his seat on the Land Bank Commission during the most recent local elections. “For me, indoor recreation comes to mind. Nantucket needs more year-round, easily accessible recreational opportunities.”

The letters the Land Bank received ahead of the meeting struck a similar tone.

“Allowing private management to control public land and charge fees for its utilization directly contradicts the definition of genuine, unrestricted public access,” island resident Bill Grieder wrote. “Public land must remain entirely within the public trust. It should never be leveraged to subsidize, supplement, or benefit adjacent private developments.”

Worden, who had said that the program would be called Milestone Stables and would model itself on Nantucket Community Sailing, claimed to have received significant positive feedback from the community.

“We will take it back now, keep listening to the island, and return only if and when there is something this Commission would welcome,” he said. “Our commitment to being a good neighbor is unchanged.”

In his withdrawal letter, he defended the program.

“The Land Bank holds more than three thousand four hundred acres, and thanks to your work, that land carries a genuine mix of open space, agriculture, and recreation,” he wrote. “We looked at that and thought 28 acres of it—a fraction of one percent—might make a good recreational option for all Nantucketers.”

Several Nantucket residents suggested that they would support a public equestrian program, perhaps even on Land Bank land, but that the specific parcel Worden was targeting was too heavily used by the public and too important to the neighborhood.

“Just because it's adjacent to the facility that you're going to build doesn't mean it's the right piece of property to do it on,” Select Board member Bob DeCosta said. “There's plenty of other land the Land Bank has that could be used for this.”

Worden added that the Hensdale Club is still planning a smaller equestrian program on its own property that he hopes will be open to the community in the off-season.

“We hope to help a few dozen children. It is a fraction of what we hoped to build with you,” he said. “We believe the full program could have touched hundreds of islanders. But our plan is the beginning, and we would rather begin than wait.”