The Nantucket Planning Board is updating the Town of Nantucket 2009 Master Plan. Planning Boards in Massachusetts are required to prepare and periodically update the master plan for their community (G.L. c. 41, S. 81D. Throughout the planning process, there will be multiple public engagement opportunities for the community to participate. The process will consist of four broad phases:

1. Research and prepare an inventory and assessment of existing conditions for each component of the plan
2. Set a vision for the future
3. Identify key planning issues
4. Create goals and policies
5. Develop an implementation program to achieve the master plan’s goals

These broad phases often involve an iterative process of research, documentation, public engagement, assessment and reassessment, and decision-making. The Planning Board, assisted by Planning and Land Use Services (PLUS) and the Barrett Planning Group, is responsible for directing the Master Plan process.

Project Phases

Inventory & Assessment
In this early stage of the Master Plan, Nantucket’s existing conditions are assessed in several areas: Land Use, Housing, Economic Development, Natural Resources, Open Space, and Recreation, Historic and Cultural Resources, Community Services and Facilities, Transportation, Community Health, & Sustainability. These are typical components of municipal master plans prepared today. State law requires most of them, but over time, local governments have added others, such as Community Health and Sustainability, because these topics have become an important part of day-to-day municipal operations.

Set a Vision for the Future
A master plan vision articulates where a community wants to be in about twenty years. It states what the Town, guided by the contents of the master plan, is working towards. Relative to the other parts of a master plan, a vision is the policy direction, the goals for each master plan element are the policy framework, and the implementation plan is the roadmap for making that vision a reality.

Identify Key Planning Issues
The analysis of key issues flows out of the inventory and assessment process. The goal of this phase is to understand and bring focus to the Town’s most critical planning issues and needs. Some master plan topics may involve more pressing concerns than others. Sorting out what the priorities should be matters for managing resources and developing an implementation program that will be orderly, focused, and effective.

Create Goals and Policies
Understanding key issues will help to set Nantucket’s Master Plan goals and priorities for the future.

Develop an Implementation Plan
In order to achieve the identified goals, the Planning Board will develop an implementation program for Nantucket to follow. This helps to ensure the future Nantucket envisions for itself is accessible and achievable.

Past Planning Efforts

The Master Plan draws on information from many previous plans and studies undertaken for Nantucket and in the region.