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Nantucket commission urges more outreach and will send comments on proposed state demolition‑delay bill
Summary
The Nantucket Historical Commission discussed a proposed state bill identified at the meeting as Bill F1428 and voted June 20 to send a brief request that the legislature consult preservation stakeholders before advancing changes to demolition‑delay rules.
The Nantucket Historical Commission discussed a proposed state legislative amendment identified in the meeting as Bill F1428 on June 20 and agreed to ask the legislature for broader outreach to preservation organizations before the bill advances.
Commission members said the draft would amend the historic preservation enabling law (Chapter 40C of the Massachusetts General Laws) by inserting a mandatory demolition‑delay review for any structure meeting the bill’s age threshold, and by limiting local commissions’ ability to deny demolition in historic districts — permitting delay but not outright refusal. Chair Rita Carr summarized the concern: under the proposed language, “if a building falls within a local historic district, that demolition delay doesn’t to create a situation where an HDC couldn’t just deny a demolition request. They would only be able to delay it.”
Commissioners said that outcome would conflict with Nantucket’s special act and with the town’s existing demo‑delay bylaw, which the commission described as created with local housing and reuse goals in mind. They also noted that several state preservation organizations — including the Massachusetts Historical Commission and Preservation Massachusetts — and local CLG coordinators reported they were not consulted in drafting the bill.
Because public comment on the bill was time‑sensitive, the commission voted to draft and send a brief letter urging the legislature to consult the preservation community, including Preservation Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Historical Commission and local historic commissions, before advancing the proposal. Chair Carr said she would draft and send the letter and also consult town counsel and the planning director about how the bill would interact with Nantucket’s special act.
The commission asked that the issue be added to the upcoming CLG meeting agenda and encouraged commissioners to watch the statewide preservation listserv for further discussion. No formal policy position on the bill’s substance was adopted at this meeting; the commission limited its action to requesting outreach and clarification of local impacts.
