With No Debate, Town Meeting Approves Expansion Of Demolition Delay Bylaw

A citizen petition sponsored by the Nantucket Preservation Trust (NPT) to expand the town's so-called demolition delay bylaw was approved during Tuesday's Special Town Meeting without any debate.

Article 8, a zoning bylaw amendment, will extend the period that property owners are required to wait for would-be movers to claim buildings that would otherwise be destroyed before beginning demolition. Since it was not called for debate, the article was approved with the Finance Committee's positive motion.

"Nantucket's long history of house moving and house recycling was overwhelmingly supported by island voters," the NPT stated.

The trend of new property owners demolishing existing dwellings to build newer, larger, and more modern homes on Nantucket has been ongoing for decades. Nantucket’s existing “demolition delay” bylaw established a waiting period during which the town and the applicant can propose and consider alternatives to the demolition of a building of residential value. It is intended to minimize the quantity of demolition debris ending up in the landfill, create an incentive for the reuse of residential structures, and allow interested parties to acquire reusable residential structures. The town also requires property owners to place an ad in an island newspaper to make any house slated for demolition available to anyone able to take it away - at their cost.

If approved by the state Attorney General, Article 8 will extend the town's demolition delay waiting period from two months to six months. It also mandates that buildings slated for demolition can't be advertised as available to be moved until after the Historic District Commission has issued a certificate of appropriateness for their move or demolition.

"This means that people with the capacity to move residential structures with reuse potential that are slated for demolition have more time to secure the necessary approvals to complete a move," the Preservation Trust stated after Tuesday's vote. "We are hopeful these changes will allow for more houses to be saved and used for housing rather than demolished and sent to landfills."