Sharks In Suits… And Nantucket Reds

It’s been a long, hot summer and the sharks are circling the Cape and Islands. Of course, it’s not only on the water where you have to watch out for hungry predators.

On land, the vicious NIMBY has been cruising the peninsula for years now, taking a chunk (in the form of endless council meetings and heaping legal fees) out of unwitting homeowners.

But recently, it looks like property owners have managed to get a harpoon or two in.

The state’s Supreme Judicial Court came down with a ruling that finally killed off an attempt by Nantucket homeowners to prevent their neighbors from building a pool house.

The island’s tough zoning laws are aimed at preserving open space – but Brian Conroy was able to obtain permission from the town to build a new pool house on his property, if he took down an existing garage of the same square footage. His neighbors, who returned to their summer place to find construction already underway, leapt into action, demanding Conroy’s permits be revoked and suing the town when they refused to do so. After winding its way through the Land Court and all the way to the SJC, the state’s high court finally put its foot down on the nosy neighbor’s efforts.

Score one for beleaguered homeowners.

The second victory might be a little more Pyrrhic. The owners of a historic Greek revival home in Chatham have proposed several changes since purchasing the place in 2005, including adding a widow’s walk, a dormer and moving the property back from the road to increase the size of the yard. But each proposal was denied in succession by various town committees and councils.

Last week, however, they managed to hit on one perfectly legal alteration, and have already nearly completed it: Painting the joint lime green and yellow.

Locals say it’s already attracting more attention than the sharks.