Nantucket conservation easement will create private access road at Sheep Pond; public beach access not included

Ed brought a proposal about a rerouted access road near Sheep Pond to the Rosen Right of Way Committee on May 20, saying the issue merited the committee's attention.

Committee members and town staff discussed a privately maintained replacement road being created under an easement from the Nantucket Conservation Foundation and clarified that the new route will not provide public beach access.

Tracy McDonald, a town real estate staff member who presented the project, said the town negotiated an easement with the Nantucket Conservation Foundation as part of a trade the foundation accepted. McDonald told the committee the existing Sheep Pond Road has partly failed and that the new alignment is an easement that will be private and maintained by the adjacent homeowners. "The new proposed road . . . will be a private road. It will be maintained by all the homeowners there," McDonald said. She described the planned construction as low-impact — brush cutting and limited clearing rather than paving — at the conservation foundation's request.

Committee members asked whether any property owners who have lost land to erosion had been contacted about public-access options. McDonald said she had not seen formal outreach on that question and would have to look into it; she confirmed one edge property had been in foreclosure and that some homeowners are part of a temporary easement arrangement. A committee member noted there are two fully eroded sections of the old road and cement barriers currently in place for safety; staff said the plan is to complete the replacement road before nor'easter season to reduce further erosion risk.

Several committee members raised practical questions about ownership and future public passage. Staff explained the easement is between the Nantucket Conservation Foundation and private homeowners; decisions about posting, gates or other restrictions would be made by the foundation and the homeowners. The committee discussed whether homeowners might form an association to manage the road, and staff clarified this easement grants maintenance responsibility to the homeowners rather than creating a town-owned road.

Why it matters: Committee members said the project is a locally relevant example of how coastal change, private easements and conservation land ownership intersect with public access. The committee asked staff to continue coordinating with the conservation foundation and homeowners as permitting proceeds.

What the meeting decided: No formal motion was taken on the Sheep Pond road itself. Staff said permitting and property-level negotiations are ongoing; committee members requested that staff report back as permitting advances and that the committee stay informed about any outreach to homeowners about public-access options.