Michael Maynard, who is leading land-use and housing work for the Madaket Area Plan, outlined a multi-part approach: redefine the Madaket boundary, cross-reference Coastal Resilience Plan priority areas, and consider an overlay district that would protect local scale and density while allowing carefully designed workforce or small-unit housing.

"I think the more I've been studying this stuff, I think, I'm feeling more strongly that we're gonna end up coming out of this with a Madaket area plan, a Madaket area overlay district that will address a whole bunch of issues," Maynard said, describing options for zoning tools the group could recommend.

Why it matters: Zoning and overlay decisions would shape what kinds of housing and development are allowed in Madaket — from tiny houses and duplexes to larger redevelopment — and will affect coastal-resilience outcomes if sewer expansion or other infrastructure changes occur.

Members discussed tools and trade-offs. Joe Topham, speaking from a planning-board perspective, endorsed preserving the VR zone’s character with modest tweaks and said targeted adjustments (for example, limiting house massing on undersized lots) can be sold to the planning board and town meeting. Topham encouraged the group to be ready with draft language and to monitor a pending cottage-colony proposal that would be reviewed as a special permit by the planning board.

Planning constraints and process notes: Members noted prior guidance from a consultant (referred to in discussion as "Andrew") that recommended proposals be backed by local surveys before asking the town to alter zoning. The group agreed the work group — not the planning department — needs to research, draft and justify any zoning changes, and that the town planning staff typically will not initiate zoning changes on the group’s behalf.

Coastal-resilience concerns and timing: Maynard cited rough, self-identified counts showing several dozen Madaket houses in a priority-action area and many more at high risk under the Coastal Resilience Plan; he prefaced the numbers with "my numbers may be off" and asked the group to treat the figures as preliminary. Members said overlay rules should consider future sewer availability and grandfathering approaches so that existing households are not unexpectedly made nonconforming.

Design prototypes: The group discussed a "cottage colony" form — small, low-rise units modeled on existing Madaket cottage clusters — and emphasized keeping such density out of the village core while enabling tasteful small-unit housing in appropriate locations. Several members suggested grandfathering existing properties until transfer as a possible approach for phased adoption.

Process steps: Maynard and other chapter leads proposed preparing two- to three-page bullet lists, convening small Zoom subgroups to refine language and then submitting clean drafts to the chair for posting and group review. The planning-board liaison recommended preparing comments and draft language ahead of any planning-board hearing so the work group’s views can be presented in time.

Votes and next steps: No zoning changes were approved at the meeting. The group agreed to hold chapter-level subcommittee Zoom meetings in the next few weeks, produce short summary notes of those meetings, and then circulate updated drafts for full-group review.