HDC refers Jack & Charlie freestanding sign at 10 Straight Wharf back to Sign Advisory Committee

The Nantucket Historic District Commission on May 6 referred a permit application for a freestanding sign at 10 Straight Wharf (Jack & Charlie’s) back to the town’s Sign Advisory Committee for rework and further review.

The commission’s action follows a presentation from Linda, the applicant’s agent, who gave a history of the signpost and said the sign was removed by the Department of Public Works in 2019 and later reconstructed and reinstalled by the property owner. “They pulled out the freestanding sign, which had been in there for, you know, 80, 90 years and threw it in the back of a truck and didn’t bother to ask anybody’s permission,” Linda told the commission.

Chris Young, chair of the Sign Advisory Committee, told commissioners the property has a complicated administrative history. “There was a moratorium placed on freestanding signs,” he said, adding that owners had been asked in the late 1980s and early 1990s to register preexisting armatures to preserve grandfathered status. Young and staff noted multiple prior HDC and SAC applications for that armature — in 2010, 2016 and 2017 — that had been denied because the armature had been out of use for many years.

Commissioners debated whether a site view was needed but concluded the sign’s administrative history and prior denials warranted referral back to the Sign Advisory Committee for further work with the applicant. Commissioner Ray moved to refer the application back to SAC for revisions; the motion carried.

The commission did not approve a new sign or issue a Certificate of Appropriateness; it instead directed the applicant and SAC to rework the submission and return with a revised proposal.

The commission noted staff will coordinate any follow-up materials; the applicant was reminded to provide photographic history and measurement details requested by staff and SAC to support any future grandfathering claim.