Nantucket residents, commission clash over overhaul of regional planning body

Nantucket proponents and members of the island's planning agency squared off at a Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government hearing over Bill S21, a Home Rule petition to change the composition and powers of the Nantucket Planning and Economic Development Commission (NP&EDC).

Supporters told the committee the bill would increase representation and accountability; opponents said the NP&EDC already has a reform package under development and that S21 was advanced without adequate local collaboration.

"This bill passed by nearly 72% of the vote," said Hillary Hedges Rayport, the bill's lead petitioner and a year-round Nantucket resident, referring to the special-town-meeting vote she said approved the proposal. Rayport told the committee she had worked on the bill for four years and said the commission had not presented its own reform despite repeated opportunities.

Proponents who testified in support said the current NP&EDC has failed to perform continuous long-range planning for the island. Angus McLeod, vice chair of the Nantucket Historical Commission, said the island's preservation interests need a voting seat on the regional planning body: "The historical commission should have a seat on Nantucket's planning commission." Anne Duas, a Nantucket resident, told the committee the proposed changes would improve "transparency, accountability and diversity and achieve results."

Commission members and staff urged caution. Megan Bridal, deputy director of planning for the NP&EDC, testified in opposition and said the commission has conducted dozens of public meetings and is preparing its own enabling-legislation updates. "It is unusual for a citizen to submit a Home Rule Petition to drastically change the composition of a regional planning agency," Bridal said, adding the commission's forthcoming proposal includes many changes informed by public engagement but does not convert appointed at-large seats to elected posts or add term limits.

Abby DeMolina, a current NP&EDC member, urged the committee to oppose S21, saying the bill was "crafted behind closed doors" and that the commission's own proposal is the product of a more transparent process. Barry Richter, chair of the NP&EDC, told the committee the commission updated its enabling legislation in December 2024 and asked the legislature not to advance S21, saying the petition was pursued outside negotiations with the commission and that the bill's claims included "misinformation, misdirection, and... outright lies."

Committee members asked whether the matter had been handled through town meeting. Rayport and other supporters said the special town meeting vote was properly noticed and represented substantive local support, while commission witnesses said they sought more time to roll out their legislative changes and to broaden public engagement beyond those who attend town meeting.

Why it matters: the NP&EDC is Nantucket's regional planning body; changes to its membership or appointment method would alter who has voting influence over long-range planning and economic development on the island.

Supporters pressed the committee to report the bill favorably; the commission asked the committee to allow the NP&EDC to complete its public rollout and present its proposed text. The committee took no vote at the hearing.