(Sept. 24, 2022) The Nantucket Land Bank has filed suit in Superior Court against the state’s Architectural Access Board over the brick sidewalk at its Easy Street park.
State regulations require that the cross slope of a public sidewalk shall not exceed 2 percent and they “shall have continuous common surfaces, not interrupted by steps or changes in level greater than a quarter-inch.”
But the Land Bank maintains that in order to comply with separate requirements from the Nantucket Conservation Commission, the bricks in sidewalk in front of the Easy Street park along the downtown waterfront had to be laid within a porous foundation to facilitate stormwater drainage. During times of flooding, which happen frequently in the area, the bricks will often resettle and fall out of compliance.
The Land Bank said constantly bringing the sidewalk into compliance will cost $29,000 each time, and that it would need to be done at least once a year.
The Land Bank’s request for variance from the state regulations was supported by the Nantucket Commission on Disability, and no party appeared in opposition during the hearing with the Architectural Access Board, the suit states.
Yet the Architectural Access Board denied the Land Bank’s request for the variance. The Land Bank is asking a Superior Court Judge to vacate the board’s decision because it “is based upon an error law, is arbitrary and capricious, and violates public policy.”
The Land Bank is also asking that it be awarded attorney’s fees and legal costs.