Planning Board Member John Kitchener Resigns, Setting Up Special Appointment Process

Planning Board member John Kitchener has resigned, setting up an appointment process that will mirror the one he went through to be appointed to the board himself in 2024.

“Serving on this Board has been a true honor. I’ve deeply valued the chance to work alongside [Planning Board chair Dave Iverson], our fellow members, and the dedicated Town staff in helping shape Nantucket’s future. The experience has been meaningful both personally and civically,” Kitchener wrote in a resignation letter to Iverson.

“After a great deal of thought, I’ve made the decision to step down for personal reasons. While this is the right decision for me, it means that I can no longer continue in my role on the Planning Board and [the Nantucket Planning and Economic Development Commission]. I will continue to support the Board’s mission and the important work you all do, just not as a Board member.”

Kitchener tendered his resignation the morning after the deadline to submit nomination papers for the 2026 town election, meaning his seat can’t be included on the ballot this May. Instead, the Select Board and the Planning Board will jointly appoint his successor. The boards have yet to set a specific timeline, but there will likely be a few weeks for interested candidates to submit applications, after which the boards will meet to choose who to appoint.

After his appointment to the Planning Board in 2024, Kitchener ran unopposed in 2025 for a full five-year term on the board. Whoever is chosen to replace him will serve for a single year, followed by an election next spring in which voters will choose who will finish the rest of Kitchener’s term, which was set to expire in 2030.

Kitchener, who also served on the short-term rental work group, has often pushed for compromise, supporting short-term rental articles pitched as middle-ground proposals and shaping a slow-developing compromise reform proposal for the Nantucket Planning and Economic Development Commission.

“Serving on the Planning Board has been a meaningful and rewarding experience. I have had the privilege of working with an exceptional group of colleagues and Town staff, all committed to the future of Nantucket,” Kitchener wrote in a message to the Current. “Nantucket is a very special place to me, and I look forward to staying involved and supporting the Board’s work in the years ahead.”

Kitchener is also resigning from the Nantucket Planning and Economic Development Commission, which he served on as a result of his election to the Planning Board.

“I enjoyed working with him. I think he put serious thought into all our deliberations,” Iverson said. “I appreciated his service.”

Kitchener’s resignation and the subsequent appointment process bear a striking resemblance to John Trudel’s resignation in 2024. In both cases, the incumbent Planning Board member resigned in early April, right after the deadline to pull papers for an upcoming election, triggering the same appointment process, which will likely conclude around the same date, directly after an election for a separate Planning Board seat. Ultimately, it was Kitchener who was chosen to replace Trudel.