Frequently Asked Questions

We all value the beauty and unique environment of Nantucket, respecting the important role nature has played in shaping the elements we love today. In an era of climate change and sea level rise we know that if we do nothing this community will continue to be lost, one house at a time until all of Sconset is destroyed. At the same time, there are a number of important issues at play in our desire to protect Sconset Beach and Bluff from further erosion:

• As the top of the Bluff erodes, Baxter Road could be seriously undermined, along with town infrastructure, such as water and sewer lines, causing a dozen or more homes to be stranded and needing a different access route.
• The northern half of the Bluff Walk has already been closed. The public access along the bluff that once ran from the village to the lighthouse has been lost.
• Many more houses, which are not just private homes but are historic structures and part of a historic setting, are threatened. Erosion has been moving from north to south at the rate of about 70-80 feet per year on average for the last 30+ years.
• The town’s tax base has been reduced by tens of millions in previously taxable assessed value as the Bluff erodes away. The process continues costing taxpayers as taxes are shifted from properties along Baxter Road to the rest of the island.
• Erosion has already eliminated multiple streets in Codfish Park and 8 homes on Baxter. Road and forced an additional 12 to be moved farther away from the bluff edge on their lots. Some of these are less than 15 feet away from edge. That’s 21 out of the original 50 homes on the oceanside of Baxter Road. Another 10- homes have seen their land values reduced as erosion proceeds farther south. In addition property values on the landward side of Baxter Road are now severely impacted.

Erosion in ‘Sconset is not about a public way or private homes; it’s about our ‘Sconset and Nantucket communities, now and for future generations.

This is a story of lost dollars to the town. Every year the amount of taxes lost to erosion grows. Real estate professionals conservatively estimate this amount at more than $250,00 for 2013 based on value lost to the northern 30 homes on the ocean side of Baxter Road. If all of the properties along the eastern side of Baxter Road were lost to erosion, the town would lose $134 million in assessed value, or $473,000 in lost tax revenue, based on 2013 assessment values and residential mil rate. Combined with the $63 million already lost, nearly $250 million, or $750,000 in annual revenue, would be lost to the town’s tax base from the east side of Baxter Road and elsewhere in ‘Sconset.

Though we respect nature and the concept that not all areas should be subject to erosion control efforts, we believe that ‘Sconset is a special, historic place, with incredible natural resources, and we have a moral responsibility to preserve ‘Sconset for future generations for as long as possible. And it is our belief that stabilization and erosion control measures that are effective can be done in a way that will not accelerate erosion elsewhere on Nantucket.

To do otherwise threatens a community, a way of life, and individual homes. It will ultimately cost Nantucket taxpayers over time millions of dollars in lost tax revenue, as well as new costs for road and infrastructure replacements, money that could be better spent on sustaining the quality of our schools, public safety, care for seniors and general quality of life here.

It is not just the homes that are threatened, but the road, accessibility, town infrastructure and community.  Equally important, SBPF has identified a model that maintains not only Sconset Beach and Bluff, but assures that both the existing beach is protected and provides beneficial sand for surrounding beaches.

Fortunately, the emergency efforts in 2014 protected the most vulnerable strip of Baxter Road.  It is important to remember, however, that doing so has been funded by private dollars and with the explicit understanding in the 2013 MOU with the Town that as the current protection shows its success, the current funders will be allowed to protect  the entire threatened area.     In addition, without the protection of an extended project, we could be facing a similar situation in other areas of Baxter Road in the future.

The costs associated with relocating Baxter Road – both in terms of financial implications for the town, the lost homes and property of individual landowners, and the impact on the Sconset Beach community – remain high. Especially now that we know it is feasible to protect the bluff, making moving of the road unnecessary.

At every step of the way, SBPF has followed our initial MOU agreement with the Select Board and all appropriate regulatory bodies in applying to extend the geotube project.  Time and time again, the Conservation Commission’s denials have been overturned by the MA Department of Environmental Protection, reinforcing the legal right for the project to move forward.  The Town has wasted countless dollars defending ideological opposition by the Conservation Commission.  This opposition is motivated and reinforced by a small group of residents who do not believe that it is appropriate to manage the impacts of erosion, despite the evidence that: the project works, it has zero impact on the town, and its continued existence does not negatively impact other neighborhoods in Nantucket.

Over the past seven years, SBPF has invested millions of dollars in over 100,000 cubic yards of sand.  This has replenished what covers the geotubes and mimics what would naturally be washed away from the bluff face in a storm.  As a result, surrounding beaches have not been negatively impacted by this project.

While a single delivery of sand this past winter unexpectedly included some construction debris, an increasing issue with other coastal projects as well as sand cost skyrocket on island, this was an anomaly and not representative of our normally vigorous process for monitoring and assuring sand quality.  The sand samples that were questioned were extensively tested and turned out to pose ZERO environmental risk.  They contained a higher than normal percentage of topsoil, were not contaminated, and met all the required standards,  Going forward, we have put additional protocols in place to limit risk of debris of this nature appearing in future sand deliveries.

Our agreement called for aggressive (almost exhaustive) monitoring.  After several years of consistent/stable results, we continue to monitor the impacts and see little to no change.

The project has been and continues to be 100% privately funded.  It is important to note that the Town of Nantucket has not contributed to the project funding to date, despite the important benefits to Baxter Road, town infrastructure and tax base.

While we are hopeful that we will learn much that can be useful elsewhere from the public-private partnership employed by the SBPF and the town of Nantucket, one size does not fit all. Decisions about whether and how to protect other areas need to be made on a case by case basis.

In June 2013 the Board for Selectmen voted 4-1 to enter into a partnership with SBPF to carry out a plan to protect the  road and bluff. A formal Memorandum of Understanding was executed in last summer and updated in October 2013. While SBPF and the Town’s Board of Selectmen don’t always agree, whenever possible we want to work with the Town to find ways to collaborate on protecting the Beach, Bluff and Baxter Road.

The first proposal presented in July 2013 called for a 4200 foot rock revetment; this length was later reduced to 3400 feet. As time grew short before the winter storm season, the revetment proposal was put on hold (and remains on hold) and the Town of Nantucket and SBPF jointly pursued a proposal for an approximately 1500 foot geotube installation that was focused on the most vulnerable portions of the bluff where Baxter Road and certain homes are imminently threatened. After it became clear that the geotube project would not be approved before the winter storm season during the regular hearing process, SBPF and the Town each filed separate requests for an Emergency Certification with slightly differing project designs. Shortly thereafter, SBPF and the Town filed a combined Emergency Certification request for 3 tiers of geotubes for the most critical 900 foot stretch of the bluff. This request was approved and the geotubes were constructed in December 2013 and January 2014. . It is important to note that though the proposal was in partnership with the town of Nantucket, the actual project was funded and constructed by SBPF with private contributions.

Ultimately, we would like to work with the town to protect the entire bluff from Sankaty Lighthouse to the point at which erosion has begun (approximately 63 Baxter Road).