Erosion Control On Baxter Road Is Not An Isolated Issue; It Is A Precedent

To the editor: On the May 4th vote on who decides the future of Baxter Road: Which is better equipped to protect taxpayers on this issue, the Select Board or the Town Meeting?

When it comes to the future of Baxter Road, the question before the Nantucket voter is straightforward: will the Select Board and Conservation Commission act in the financial interest of all taxpayers, or primarily in the interest of those who live along the coast?

At first glance, it may seem easy to dismiss the Baxter Road problem—why intervene when expensive coastal homes are at risk? But when those homes are lost to the ocean, so too is the substantial tax revenue they generate for the town. Beyond that, these properties support a wide network of local jobs: caretakers, cleaning, landscaping, maintenance, repairs, and more. The economic impact reaches far beyond the homeowners themselves.

Some may argue that as erosion continues, new oceanfront properties will simply emerge farther inland, minimizing long-term loss. But that assumption overlooks an important reality: once we signal that oceanfront property will not be protected, all such property becomes inherently less valuable. Future oceanfront lots will carry greater risk and, therefore, lower value—and lower tax revenue.

Conversely, if homeowners are allowed to protect their properties at their own expense, it could stabilize—and even increase—property values, strengthening the town’s tax base and thereby reducing the tax burden on the rest of the island.

Baxter Road is not an isolated issue; it is a precedent. The decisions made here will inevitably shape how we approach erosion along the rest of Nantucket’s coastline, including within town. Are we prepared to extend the same logic everywhere?

What makes this decision especially challenging is its complexity. Coastal erosion, property rights, environmental protection, and long-term financial impacts are deeply intertwined, and the consequences of any choice may not be fully understood for years. Nantucket voters are now being asked to decide not just what to do, but how these decisions should be made—whether to grant the Select Board and Conservation Commission the authority to act on the town’s behalf, or to retain that authority within Town Meeting itself.

That raises an important question: are issues of this technical and long-term nature best decided through the broader but time-limited forum of Town Meeting, or by boards that have spent decades studying, debating, and managing them? Nantucket residents will need to weigh the value of direct control against the benefits of continuity and specialized experience as they vote on May 4.

Emily Van Dixhoorn