Nantucket CLG Bodies Unanimously Back Citizen Petition to Tighten 81L Subdivision Rules

NANTUCKET -- April 10, 2026, Nantucket's two historic preservation commissions backed a citizen zoning petition and debated demolition enforcement at their annual Certified Local Government meeting April 10. The Historic District Commission and the Nantucket Historical Commission voted unanimously, in separate roll calls as required by Massachusetts Historical Commission protocol, to support Article 63, a citizen petition from Emily Molden that would require a Zoning Board of Appeals special permit for development on lots whose structures predate Nantucket's February 1955 adoption of subdivision control, closing a by-right loophole that currently allows changes without abutter notice or HDC review. A second article, Hollis Webb's citizen petition to require a two-thirds HDC vote to approve demolition of structures 50 years or older, drew no vote after staff noted that town counsel had advised the measure would require amending the HDC's Home Rule special act; HDC Chair Stephen said the board would hold a public hearing before town meeting. Commissioners including George Butterworth pressed for stiffer enforcement penalties, with Butterworth noting current fines can be as low as $1,500, "very worthwhile for a developer to just go 'oops.'" The meeting also produced a proposal from NHC Commissioner Abby DeMolina to create a public-facing online demolition-by-neglect reporting form, with criteria-based required fields to triage complaints before they reach preservation planning staff.