Like most towns across the US, Nantucket had no formal regulations for land development in the early days of the island. It took decades and lots of false starts before organized regulations were implemented. In 1928, Nantucket voted to create a Planning Board to generate rules and guidelines for future development, but no one was appointed to the board. Years later at a 1951 Town Meeting a zoning proposal was shot down by 2/3 of the voters. In 1966 a zoning committee was finally authorized, and the first master plan was created 2 years later. Zoning, along with some other land use regulations, was finally adopted in 1972 as a reaction to the Nantucket Sound Island Trust bill. Also, known as the Kennedy Bill, this proposed federal legislation was focused on turning Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard into a National Land Trust, much like the Cape Cod National seashore. Many felt this bill was a federal seizure of the island so it did not pass, but it compelled Nantucket to move forward with an island wide Historic District Commission, the Conservation Commission and the Nantucket Planning and Economic Development Commission. Better late than never!