Preservation planner: Coastal Resiliency Plan consultant to add guidance for elevated roadways in historic district

During the Sept. 16 meeting the commission’s preservation planner reported that the Town’s Coastal Resiliency Plan (CRP) consultant will prepare an addendum to the resilient Nantucket design guidelines focused on elevated roadway locations.

Holly, the commission’s preservation planner, said Leah Hill from Natural Resources had reached out and that the CRP team is “working on doing an additional aspect of their plan, which would include an addendum to the resilient Nantucket design guidelines, specifically for these elevated roadway spots.” Holly told commissioners the town intends to hire a preservation subconsultant for that work and that the commission will be included in the process.

Commissioners asked for clarification: Holly confirmed the addendum would apply the existing design guidelines at a finer level to the special conditions around raised roadways (for example, proposed elevation or roadway‑raising actions near historic properties).

Commissioners also requested that the commission formalize an internal policy so that necessary documentation—historic determinations and elevation certificates—are captured as part of the Commission on‑line application or required as part of issuing a certificate of appropriateness (COA). Holly said staff would prepare the item for a future agenda so the commission could vote to add those items to the town’s application/COA workflow.

The update signals coordination between resilience planning and preservation staff and an intent to ensure design guidance for elevated roadways is sensitive to historic character and to streamline permit documentation for affected properties.