Nantucket Town Government Roundup, Nov. 28 - Dec. 11

This government roundup includes new information on a legal review of the citizen warrant articles for the 2026 Annual Town Meeting and a plan to provide design funding previously rejected by voters for a new Department of Public Works building.

• The Affordable Housing Trust is allocating another $550,000 to its Lease to Locals housing program, which pays property owners on Nantucket to rent their homes to year-round tenants.
• The Select Board voted to keep Nantucket’s residential tax exemption steady, overhaul the town’s film policy, eliminate seven public parking spaces downtown, and bring a proposal to relocate Our Island Home back before Town Meeting this spring. After initially adding a $43.3 million Somerset area sewer expansion to the warrant as well, they opted to reconsider the decision.
• During a Select Board meeting, Finance Director Brian Turbitt told the Board that the town will be using free cash to pay for a Department of Public Works building design. Voters rejected funding for the design last year at Town Meeting, but that hasn’t stopped town officials, who have found another avenue to back the project and are planning to bring forward a separate $80 million proposal to construct the building in 2029.
• A review of the citizen warrant articles for the 2026 Annual Town Meeting by Town Counsel found that most were legally in order, but a proposal to take Boynton Lane as a public way is not legally permissible, and an effort to appropriate funds for solid waste incineration would most likely violate state law. A warrant article that would institute a Town Council form of government on Nantucket is also dubious, as it does not specify the wording of the new charter the town would have to adopt or the means of adoption.
• Whole deer donations are now being accepted at the Land Bank’s new agricultural processing facility. The venison will be distributed to islanders in need. The Land Bank is also considering an overhaul of its Mill Hill Park property.
• Additionally, the Land Bank has increased the so-called “M Exemption” from its real estate transfer fee for first-time homebuyers from $1.2 million to $1.4 million. It’s the second year in a row the Land Bank has upped the exemption, which was $1 million as recently as 2024. Land Bank staff said they try to keep the exemption in line with the median purchase price for islanders buying their first homes. “I personally feel that if we have the restrictions that it's a year-round resident for five years, that anything we can do for that demographic is a positive thing,” Land Bank chair Kristina Jelleme said.
• After yet another public hearing on a controversial plan to upgrade the Nantucket Public Schools' athletic facilities, which would replace the existing natural grass football field with a new grass field and an asphalt track, the School Committee has once again delayed deciding on the project. The School Committee also reviewed information on proposed cuts to federal grant funding for disadvantaged students and a further enrollment decrease of five students. Collective bargaining with the teachers’ union for a new contract began Thursday.
• The Planning Board approved a six-room expansion to an inn on North Water Street and discussed concepts for warrant articles that may be included on the 2026 Annual Town Meeting warrant, including one related to accessory dwelling units.
• After months of negotiations, the town has reached an agreement with offshore wind developer Vineyard Wind, but few of the town’s initial demands were fully met.