Consultants outline Housing Production Plan outreach: survey, story maps and spring workshops

This week the Affordable Housing Trust heard from Barrett Planning on the public engagement portion of Nantucket’s 2026 Housing Production Plan. Tony Yuen of Barrett said the team completed a first round of stakeholder interviews in December and will launch a public survey in early–mid February followed by two workshops in March and April.

The outreach effort is intended to broaden community input and present findings in accessible formats. "We finished our first round of stakeholder interviews in December, and then we have a few scheduled for this week and next," Yuen said, describing a plan that includes an interactive story maps website and downloadable summaries so residents can review highlights without needing to read full technical reports.

The nut of the presentation: interviewees consistently reported worsening affordability and shrinking year‑round housing stock. Yuen summarized recurring themes as a need for more year‑round housing and housing diversity — from workforce and accessible units to smaller homes for seniors and options for multigenerational households.

Board members pressed staff on how the survey will reach underrepresented residents. Forrest Bell recommended distributing flyers through local nonprofit networks and food distribution programs; the transcript records Bell noting use of the Community Foundation’s Healthy Communities Collaborative and Nourish Nantucket as dissemination channels. Dylan, housing staff, said the Trust will coordinate with the town communications office, use newsletters and social media, and rely on partner networks to circulate the survey. The team also agreed to provide surveys in Spanish and Portuguese to improve reach to non‑English speakers.

Barrett and staff emphasized this phase is continuing: additional stakeholder interviews are scheduled this week and next, and the Trust will receive regular monthly check‑ins. The consultants will update materials on the Trust’s web page and present engagement results as the HPP proceeds toward drafting concrete recommendations.