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Nantucket Historical Commission to finalize 110-property state-funded survey, staff to compile 31 remaining sites
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Summary
The commission directed staff to fill 31 remaining survey slots to reach the 110 survey-forms required by Massachusetts Historical Commission funding for Brant Point and Cliffside, and to add Eastern Street and nearby areas to the list before consultants’ planned site visit in April.
Chair Rita Carr and staff members said the commission will finalize a list of properties to meet the state-funded survey requirement after a discussion of methodology, boundaries and timing.
Holly Backus, commission staff, told members that Easton Architects will conduct the Brant Point and Cliffside survey under Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) FY23 funding and that consultants are planning a site visit in April. "Just that they're coming in April," Backus said, asking commissioners to flag availability for on-site meetings.
The grant work requires a total of 110 survey forms; Backus explained the state’s newer methodology counts forms differently than earlier building-based surveys, which reduced the initial packet list to 79 survey forms. "So that's what brought down to that 79," she said, and noted that several structures previously enumerated would now be captured in multi-structure forms. The commission agreed staff should supplement the current list — especially properties on Eastern Street and near Cliff Road and Lincoln Circle — to reach the 110 total.
Commissioners discussed practical choices for the additional 31 properties. Angus McCloud recommended compiling a consolidated list from suggestions (including Powell's prior inventory) and selecting 31 from those candidates; other members flagged Eastern Street as a high priority because of recent construction activity and change. Backus said she will compile an augmented list next week and circulate it to commissioners for comment.
Why it matters: the survey will inform preservation priorities and any future regulatory or grant decisions for Brant Point and adjacent neighborhoods. The FY23 funding carries a compressed timetable that requires work to be finished by September, staff said.
Next steps: staff will assemble and circulate the augmented list of candidate properties, coordinate with Easton Architects on the April/May site visit, and return to the commission for final selections.
