Cisco Beach's Retreat From the Bluff Is Stalled on Two Fronts This Fall
October 8, 2026
October 8, 2026
At the top of Cisco Beach, the newer of the two parking areas is still bare ground with sparse vegetation. Posts mark its outer edge and one interior parking row, and no grading has been done. The Nantucket Islands Land Bank's own project documents say the lot closes in the off-season. Behind it, a sandy back road from the end of Falmouth Avenue is the subject of a Conservation Commission hearing that has been continued again. The same road is also the subject of a Land Court case over whether the public may use it at all.
The Land Bank started both projects for the same reason: to move access to Cisco Beach back from a shoreline that keeps losing ground. As of early October 2026, neither is finished. This fall, getting to the beach still depends on the setup both projects were meant to replace.
The Land Bank owns and maintains the road, trails and parking that serve Cisco Beach. It calls the beach one of its most popular south shore properties and says that on an average summer day, more than 500 cars use the parking area and surrounding properties. Those cars have been parking in a shrinking space. The Land Bank's February 2026 project scope says the southern lot, which has a hardened surface, has lost a number of spaces to bluff erosion over the last several years.
The northern lot was the fix. The Land Bank permitted and built it in 2024 to "retreat parking away from the bluff edge." The site was mowed and fenced and opened to the public in June 2024, but the final hardened surface was left out of that first phase. The second phase calls for grading, drainage swales, a finished surface and new posts marking the edge and interior rows.
That work was scheduled to be finished by Feb. 28, 2026. At the Land Bank's Feb. 10 meeting, staff reported that they had decided not to award the contract so they could revise the bid documents, and that the job would go back out to bid "in the fall." No public record found so far shows that the rebid has happened or the work is done. The lot meant to take pressure off the eroding edge is the one the Land Bank describes as closed in the off-season, and it is still in its unfinished first-phase condition.
The second project concerns how cars reach the lot. The Land Bank wants to move about 400 feet of the secondary access road, between the end of Falmouth Avenue and the Cisco parking lot, farther inland and away from the eroding shoreline. At an August hearing, Land Bank attorney Peter Vetere told the Conservation Commission that the road is on Land Bank property and that the plan would move it about 50 to 100 feet inland and restore the dune where the road now runs. The 400 feet is the length of road being moved. The 50 to 100 feet is how far inland it goes.
The Conservation Commission approved the plan in January. Ocean Heath LLC, an abutter, appealed in Nantucket Superior Court, arguing that it and other abutters had not received the notice required under the island's wetlands bylaw. In June, all three parties asked the court to send the matter back so the hearing could be reopened. Judge Elaine Buckley allowed that on June 18 and kept the case open while the commission reconsiders.
The reopened hearing has drawn sustained opposition from neighbors. They argue that improving the route would turn what has become a walking path into a busier traffic route through the private roads of their neighborhood. A neighbor pointed to the corner of Falmouth and Westerwyck as "a completely blind corner," where people on bikes or walking dogs would not see oncoming traffic. The Land Bank submitted letters of support from Fire Chief Michael Cranson and Police Chief Jody Kasper for keeping a second route. Cranson's letter was measured:
The route is "not strictly required for emergency response," but it would be helpful during high-traffic periods or severe weather.
The technical question is now the road surface. The Land Bank says the material for the relocated section is permeable and similar to other dirt roads on the island. Opponents argue that cars would pack it down into a hardened roadway. Commission chair Seth Engelbourg said that if the road is considered impermeable, it could count as a "structure" under the town's wetlands regulations and require another waiver. Commissioner Tim Braine called the current road "basically a four-wheel-drive sand trap" and asked why its construction needed to change. Commissioners asked the Land Bank for examples of similar roads so they could see how the material holds up over time. Engelbourg also limited the scope of the hearing to the 400-foot section on Land Bank property. "This is not Falmouth Avenue relocation," he said.
Falmouth Avenue itself is before a different court. On July 1, Ocean Heath, the limited liability company tied to two owners of a Falmouth Avenue property, filed suit in Massachusetts Land Court. It asks for a ruling that neither the Land Bank nor the general public has an easement over the road. Ocean Heath's complaint says Falmouth Avenue "is, and always has been, a private way."
The Land Bank's answer turns on history. It says it acquired Cisco Beach around 2000, voted in 2002 to connect the beach road to Westerwyck Way by way of Falmouth Avenue, improved the full length of the avenue in 2003 and has maintained it since. Ocean Heath acquired its property in 2021. The Land Bank and the town argue that more than 20 years of use has created a prescriptive easement, and the Land Bank is asking the court to confirm access to Cisco Beach "year-round by all means." On Aug. 20, the Land Bank added three more owners to the case, because it says they also own parts of the land beneath the road: an individual trustee; CalCam Beach House LLC, owner of 3 Falmouth Ave.; and another individual trustee.
The two proceedings are linked. The Conservation Commission is deciding how the last stretch of the back road should be built. The Land Court will decide whether the public has the right to travel Falmouth Avenue to reach that stretch at all. The Inquirer and Mirror's Aug. 27 report describes that question as still before the court.
Even if the commission votes on Oct. 15, its decision covers only the 400-foot section on Land Bank property. The Superior Court appeal stays open while the reopened hearing runs, and the Land Court question is a separate case. For the rest of this season, the back road is still undecided.
Inland from the beach, the fall schedule is more settled. Cisco Brewers lists ACKtoberfest for Oct. 3 and 4. Jimkata plays from noon to 3 p.m. and Linda EPO from 4 to 7 p.m. on Saturday. On Sunday, The Slips play from noon to 3 p.m. and Linda EPO returns from 3 to 6 p.m. The Levitate Flannel Jam is set for Oct. 12 from noon to 7 p.m. The brewery is closed Oct. 13 for staff appreciation. Its food truck roster lists Lobster Trap daily, Millie's Wednesday through Monday, Lemon Press Friday through Sunday, Hang Ten Raw Bar Monday and Tuesday, YOHO Raw Bar Wednesday through Friday, and 167 Raw on weekends. The brewery's site still shows summer hours and warns that winter hours can change with weather or staff vacations, so call before a late-season visit.
Bartlett's Farm says it is open year-round. Its visit page lists fall hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, with the Garden Center open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fall workshops run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Friday and Saturday in October, with pumpkin painting, wreath-making and family activities, for $5 a person with no reservation required. The Fall Farm Talks run Saturdays from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. through Nov. 7. On Oct. 10, Joann Burnham of Dharma Yoga leads a session on breathing techniques, flowing movement and different meditative styles.
The Saturday after that talk is Oct. 17, two days after the Conservation Commission's next scheduled hearing on the Falmouth Avenue road. Whatever the commission decides that week, its vote will not settle the Land Court case or the rebid of the northern lot.
On Cisco's south shore, how people reach the beach is tied to how quickly the bluff is moving, and that affects every property owner nearby. If you'd like to understand how access questions like the Falmouth Avenue case are considered in valuations on this part of the island, Jen Allen is glad to go through the public record with you. Start the Conversation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
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