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Nantucket discussion spotlights funding options: philanthropy, transfer fees and Land Bank role
Summary
Workshop participants said Nantucket can leverage private philanthropy, the Land Bank and alternative fees to fund priorities such as housing and coastal resilience, and debated the need for clearer coordination between independent funding entities and town government.
NANTUCKET, Mass. — Funding and sources of revenue were central at a master‑plan visioning workshop, where participants said private philanthropy, existing Land Bank mechanisms and new fees could be used to advance community priorities but that coordination and legal limits matter.
“ The land bank is bound by this charter, which precludes them from doing certain things to help with ... low income families, etcetera, ” said Jesse (participant and former Land Bank staffer), warning that Land Bank authority and interpretation of its enabling act limit how that funding can be used. Several attendees described the Land Bank as a “powerful tool” because it can act quickly to acquire strategic parcels.
Speakers described a successful record of private funding for conservation and hospital capital projects, and urged the master plan to be explicit so philanthropists can direct gifts toward agreed priorities. Participants raised concrete funding options discussed elsewhere in the session: targeted real‑estate transfer fees for housing, a coastal‑resilience fee, better grant‑writing capacity and structured public‑private partnerships.
Multiple participants noted legal and governance constraints. Facilitators reiterated that the master plan is a municipal planning document (the Commonwealth of Massachusetts requires municipalities to prepare master plans) but that many island stakeholders — property owners, nonprofits, and quasi‑public entities such as the Land Bank — are outside direct town governance and should be engaged in implementation.
Ending: Attendees urged that the master plan include clear priorities and implementation steps so private donors and independent entities can align resources, while noting that the Land Bank’s charter and other legal limits will shape what funds can be used for.
