State Agency Rejects Bid By Surfside Crossing's Neighbors To Halt Construction

Surfside Crossing has won another victory at the state level. The Building Code Appeals Board sided with the controversial 40B development, ruling that construction on the housing complex can continue as further appeals pend before Superior Court.

In a brief letter issued without a formal hearing, the appeals board rejected a request to halt construction filed by a number of neighbors, including prominent Surfside Crossing opponent Meghan Perry and other members of the local political advocacy group Nantucket Tipping Point.

The appeals board found that the complainants had failed to cite a specific violation or a valid remedy that the appeals board could provide under its enabling legislation.

“To be a valid appeal, the appeal would need to cite the remedy being sought,” the denial reads in part. “This appeal is defective and fails to cite a violation of 780 CMR on the part of the building official, nor does it cite any valid relief pursuant to 780 CMR.

Since construction resumed on the development after the Housing Appeals Committee decided in favor of Surfside Crossing, neighbors have worried that the work may be damaging their buildings, raising concerns about vibrations that they say have caused their homes to shake and fractured their foundations.

The complainants had also raised concerns about noise and dirt from the development, but the appeals board ruled that these issues were outside its purview.

“The Building Code does not govern noise, nor does it govern blowing dirt,” the denial reads in part.

The ruling comes after the Housing Appeals Committee also decided in favor of Surfside Crossing, overruling the Nantucket Zoning Board of Appeals and allowing the developers to resume construction.

The Zoning Board of Appeals, a group of neighbors that includes several of the residents on the Building Code Appeals Board complaint, and the Nantucket Land and Water Council—a local environmental advocacy group—have all appealed the Housing Appeals Committee to Superior Court. In 2024, the Superior Court vacated a previous Housing Appeals Committee decision. Now, after two more years of hearings, the case is right back before the same court.

Surfside Crossing has long fought a protracted battle against neighbors, environmental interest groups and the town over its 156-unit housing development. The developers say the project is a key part of Nantucket’s fight against housing insecurity, while opponents have amassed a lengthy list of reasons to block construction, including water quality, infrastructure, environmental justice, carrying capacity, neighborhood character, and island planning concerns.

Surfside Crossing’s 156 condominium units would be contained within 18 three-story buildings (two stories above grade) on 13 acres off South Shore Road that were cleared in August 2023. As a Chapter 40B development, 25 percent of those units are required by the state to be deed-restricted for affordable housing, or a total of 39 units within the development, to residents earning at or below 80 percent of the area median income. The other 117 units would be sold at market rate, priced between $500,000 and $1.5 million.

The plans for Surfside Crossing were filed under a state statute known as Chapter 40B, which allows developers to bypass local zoning regulations and increase density if at least 20 to 25 percent of the new units have long-term affordability restrictions.