Town-Owned Property On Bartlett Road To Be Used For Seasonal Intern Housing

Two buildings located at town-owned property at 77 Bartlett Road will be used as seasonal housing for municipal interns after a Select Board vote on Wednesday.

The property was primarily acquired by the town to serve as the location of a pump station for the Somerset area sewer expansion approved by voters at last spring’s Annual Town Meeting, but the two homes on the lot also offered an opportunity to expand municipal employee housing, a major initiative for the town.

Staff recommended using the buildings as seasonal housing for interns because the approach “preserves the property's primary infrastructure purpose, avoids unnecessary relocation costs and project delays, and provides a valuable housing resource to support seasonal municipal operations. This approach best balances fiscal responsibility, operational efficiency, and stewardship of a Town-owned asset while maintaining flexibility for future needs.”

Another option offered to the Select Board was using the buildings for year-round workforce housing, but staff recommended against it.

“Although year-round workforce housing remains an important Town priority, seasonal

employee housing is also a persistent operational need that directly supports the delivery of

municipal services during Nantucket's busiest months,” a summary presented to the Select Board reads in part.

Some Select Board members initially considered breaking with the staff recommendation and designating the homes for use year-round by families because of the cost of installing a $120,000 sprinkler system mandated by the island’s fire code for all buildings that house more than three unrelated individuals.

“I would say that we don’t use this for temporary seasonal housing, and we use it for year-round housing for a family or an employee and save ourselves $120,000,” Select Board member Bob DeCosta said.

Several Select Board members suggested that the requirement was essentially unenforced on Nantucket, and that the town was being held—or holding itself—to a higher standard than other employers.

“No one wants to go against a fire department opinion, but any employee housing anywhere on this whole island would be subject to being sprinkled,” chair Dawn Hill said.

If the individuals living in the house are related, the fire safety rules are different.

“I don’t think that three unrelated people is a legal definition anymore,” Fee said. “Families are different now, and I think that is written in our code that way, but I don’t think it’s enforceable.”

But eventually, the Select Board assented to the plan and voted through the staff recommendation unanimously.

The Select Board was also presented with a slew of other options, including various options to move one of the houses off-site and potential partnerships with Housing Nantucket or the Affordable Housing Trust.

The town completed the acquisition of 77 Bartlett Road property for $2.7 million in December 2025.