Planning Board reviews draft Nantucket master plan vision; agrees small wording change, leaves draft open for comment

The Nantucket Planning Board on Thursday held a public hearing on a draft vision statement for the town's master plan, heard a presentation from the planning consultant and public comment, and agreed to a wording change while leaving the draft open for further written input.

Dylan Flinker, a planning consultant presenting the draft, told the board the vision is an "aspirational" statement that sits between inventory and goals in the master plan process and sets policy direction for the next 20 years. He said the draft was built from public engagement including about 70 stakeholder interviews, an online survey with roughly 1,600 responses, several visioning workshops and school sessions.

The board settled on a single sentence-level edit during the meeting after several members said a phrase struck them as awkward. "I thought 'who can have a bright future in the context of' is awkward," Board member John (board member) said when reading suggested alternatives. After discussion, the board "subbed in" option D, and Board member Howard (board member) said, "I like the word 'flourish'... I actually think 'diversify' is the correct term" in a related debate. The final agreed substitution reads in the draft as "prosper while preserving our beautiful, natural, and historic resources." The board did not adopt the vision as formal policy at the meeting; members directed staff and the consultant to post the revised draft and accept written public comments through Aug. 4.

The consultant reviewed survey results the team used to draft the vision. Resident respondents (self-identified) included about 834 year-round residents and 593 seasonal residents, he said, and the top things people said they like most were the natural environment (67 percent) and the island's unique location (61 percent). Respondents flagged concerns including too much development (64 percent) and the overall cost of living (60 percent). The survey also identified top planning priorities including growth management and housing affordability (each about 52 percent) and historic preservation (50 percent).

Public commenters spoke in support of the vision but also raised edits and process questions. Campbell Sutton, a frequent public commenter, urged clearer language and asked the board to be explicit about how the town will pursue the vision. "I think somehow we have to say how we're going to be doing that because transforming what we have in 10 years to what's in here is a really big ask," Sutton said. The board and consultant noted the vision is intentionally high level; the next plan phases will translate the vision into goals, policies and an implementation program.

Board members and the consultant also discussed the phrase "diversify our economy," with at least one member asking whether "diversify" implied bringing new industries to the island. Several planning board members and the consultant said the public engagement specifically raised concerns about an overreliance on real estate and tourism and the desire for a more diverse year-round economy that provides good-paying jobs. "Participants noted an overreliance on real estate and tourism, suggesting the need for a more diverse year-round economy that provides good-paying jobs," the consultant said summarizing the survey.

No formal adoption vote occurred. The planning board asked the consultant to post the revised draft with the wording change (inserting "prosper while preserving...") and to continue to accept written public comment through Aug. 4 for discussion at the board's August meeting.

The board also encouraged outreach to underrepresented groups: Board member Hillary (board member) noted the town has not yet captured as much input from Hispanic and Latino community members as desired and urged additional targeted outreach during the public-comment period.

The public hearing remains open; written comments will be accepted to the address listed on the planning board website. The board said it will take any additional requested word-level edits or substantive suggestions up at its next meeting.

Planning board members repeatedly emphasized the next steps: the vision informs the goals and policies that follow in later phases of the master-plan process, and specific actions or regulatory changes will be developed later in the process.