May 23, 2025 – At the 2025 Annual Town Meeting, Nantucket voters approved a new Inclusionary Zoning bylaw aimed at expanding housing opportunities for year-round residents. The policy establishes a clear and consistent requirement: larger residential developments must now include a percentage of units that are affordable to income-eligible year-round households—or contribute to the town’s Affordable Housing Trust.

Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) is a widely used tool across the country that ensures new development helps meet the housing needs of the local workforce. With Nantucket’s median home price hovering around $3.73 million¹ and the 2025 Median Family Income at $163,500, the disconnect between wages and housing costs has only widened. This bylaw offers a proactive way to address that gap.

A Grassroots Vision Turned Policy

This idea took root at Housing Nantucket’s 2023 Housing Summit, where local leaders and housing advocates collectively identified the adoption of an Inclusionary Zoning bylaw as a top community goal. Led by a collaborative partnership between Housing Nantucket and the Nantucket Land & Water Council—demonstrating how conservation and affordable housing efforts can advance together—a focus group of advocates, planners, and builders came together to shape the policy.

Originally introduced as a citizen’s article at the 2024 Town Meeting by Housing Nantucket’s Executive Director, Anne Kuszpa, the proposal was referred for further study to better understand its potential commercial impacts. Over the course of the following year, those concerns were addressed and refinements were made. In 2025, the Planning Board stepped forward to sponsor the article—culminating in its unanimous passage.

How It Works

Nantucket’s Inclusionary Zoning bylaw applies in two primary scenarios:

• Division of Land: When land is divided into five or more buildable lots through rear-lot subdivisions, flex developments, or workforce homeownership subdivisions, the bylaw requires that a portion of the new homes be income-restricted, or that the developer make a corresponding financial contribution to the Affordable Housing Trust.
• Multiple Units: When a developer constructs five or more dwelling units as part of an apartment building or workforce rental community, the same inclusionary requirements apply. This is particularly significant, as Nantucket’s year-round housing needs increasingly call for well-located, multifamily rental options.

By aligning private development with community needs, the bylaw ensures that future housing growth includes options for the essential workers—teachers, healthcare providers, tradespeople, and others—who help sustain the island year-round.

A Policy That Builds Community

Inclusionary Zoning is one of several strategies supporting the island’s growing Parallel Real Estate Market—a term that refers to housing opportunities intentionally reserved for year-round residents. This market includes deed-restricted homeownership units, income-qualified rentals, homes with year-round occupancy restrictions, and innovative programs like Lease to Locals.

Together, these efforts form a complementary system of housing stability that runs parallel to the traditional market. Inclusionary Zoning reinforces this system by establishing clear, consistent expectations for developers. With each qualifying project, the community moves closer to a future where year-round residents can live, work, and raise families on Nantucket.

Looking Ahead

As Housing Nantucket and its partners continue working to expand affordable housing options, the passage of Inclusionary Zoning marks a meaningful step forward. It reflects what’s possible when local organizations, residents, and town officials align around shared goals. By embedding affordability into the growth of the island, this bylaw helps ensure that Nantucket remains a livable, vibrant home for its full-time community.

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1. Source: Fisher Real Estate Nantucket Market Report