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Nantucket Land Bank seeks waivers for East Creek boardwalk and dock; commission schedules site visit
Summary
Nantucket Island Land Bank presented plans to remove a dwelling at 19 East Creek Road and build an ADA-accessible boardwalk, overlook and a new dock; commissioners requested site staking, raised water-dependent use and HDC concerns, and continued the project to April 2 with a March 31 site visit.
The Nantucket Island Land Bank presented a notice of intent on March 19 for improvements at 16 and 19 East Creek Road that would replace a gutted dwelling with an accessible boardwalk, a new pier and a small overlook and reorganized parking.
Liz Phelps, representing the Land Bank, introduced the project and handed the presentation to engineer Adrian Lennon of Pare Corporation, who described demolition of the existing structure at 19 East Creek Road, a timber pile-supported boardwalk, new pier pilings and a planting and invasive-species management plan. Lennon told the commission the project is permissible under state waterfront regulations for water-dependent uses and that permanent impacts to land under ocean were ‘‘approximately 16 square feet’’ (conservative estimate) and roughly 15 square feet to land containing shellfish; salt marsh impacts were described as temporary and planting-driven for stabilization.
Commissioners pressed the team on classification of the boardwalk as a water-dependent use given that portions follow an old driveway and cross disturbed ground; several commissioners said waivers will likely be required for structural elements in the 25-foot buffer and asked that waivers already submitted be included in the record. Questions also focused on ADA slope compliance (1:12 vs 1:20), HDC review and the possibility that demolition and new structures could require different regulatory classification for the pier (residential vs commercial) and related zoning constraints.
Members asked for the project to be staked so the commission could see proposed footprints in the field. The commission scheduled a site visit for March 31 (4:00 p.m. / 4:45 p.m. depending on routing) and continued the application to the April 2 meeting to allow commissioners to review staking, HDC feedback and waiver language. Applicants said they will supply waiver requests, planting plans and details on materials and that they are open to revising the layout to reduce structural area where feasible.
The Land Bank team emphasized resiliency measures: design elevations account for future sea-level rise to 2070 and pile-supported construction was chosen to allow future elevation adjustments to the deck without full reconstruction. The commission and applicants agreed to refine waiver documentation and mitigation commitments ahead of the continued hearing.
