MVC Comes Under Fire; Leaders Assess the Future

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

For the first time in years, one Vineyard town has decided to take
steps to withdraw from the Martha's Vineyard Commission, leaving
the 25-year-old regional planning agency with a new set of quandaries
and new battles to fight. On the surface it appears that the commission
is under siege on a variety of fronts, both inside and out.

In Oak Bluffs last week, a record turnout of voters said yes to
withdrawing from the commission; at least one act of the state
legislature and a second vote by the town will still be required to make
it happen.

In Edgartown this week, two selectmen and their appointed member of
the commission took turns criticizing the MVC.

The commission is currently without an executive director and a
search process for a new director has dragged on, losing momentum.

But battles and quandaries are not new to this unique and venerable
planning agency; in fact it is the battles that have helped to shape the
commission over the years.

"I feel there is a lot of support for the commission still
- I always get encouraging words, even from people who think we
voted the wrong way on the golf course," said James Vercruysse, an
Aquinnah resident who is chairman of the commission.

Last month the commission voted 9-7 to reject the Down Island Golf
Club plan and even though the fallout has been nearly nonstop, Mr.
Vercruysse said he has not lost heart.

"I don't feel discouraged," he said. "If you
look back historically, there have been many times when the commission
was controversial. I think it shows how important the commission is to
the Island as a whole, and that encourages me. And if you look at the
history you can see clearly the good things that the commission
does," he added.

"I think the commission will survive," said Linda
Sibley, a longtime member of the commission who has herself become the
target of a smear campaign in recent weeks. Despite the unpleasant
campaign, Mrs. Sibley remained sanguine. "I think that controversy
of this sort is both difficult and sometimes clarifying," she
said, adding: "I don't go back far enough to have been on
the commission when the other towns withdrew, but clearly it had to do
with their taking exceptions to decisions that had been made. I think
the other two towns learned on net that the commission was doing them a
great deal of good, and that getting out because of a decision they
disagreed with was not such a good idea."

"I am wary of the phrase ‘under siege,' when what
you have is a few vocal critics," said James Athearn, an Edgartown
resident who was elected to the commission a little over a year ago. Mr.
Athearn said his own brief experience on the commission has been very
positive. "I have found that it is a very thoughtful and
intelligent and considerate group of people who may hold opinions but
keep their views open as long as possible to allow a full debate to take
place. And my impression is it is civil debate and intelligent,"
he said.

Mr. Athearn said he has developed a new respect for the role of the
commission in the community, and he said at times controversy is
impossible to avoid.

"When you stick your neck out, it is inevitable that someone
will take a chop at it. But in truth a lot of things are split right
down the middle, and then people color their perceptions and their
decisions according to their philosophy," he said.

Mrs. Sibley agreed.

"Sometimes I think the divisions on the commission do reflect
the divisions in the community - and then it is almost impossible
for the commission to win from a public relations point of view."

Mr. Athearn said it is a fallacy for a town to pull out of the
commission under the guise of home rule. "It occurs to me there is
more home rule in some ways with the Martha's Vineyard Commission
than without - because without it they have to obey the state
rules, and the state's rules are awfully broad and often not
applicable," he said.

Mr. Vercruysse said he believes the controversy has helped to
strengthen the commission staff, despite the absence of an executive
director.

"The staff is really energized and wanting to be part of the
process of finding a new director. I think they are really excited about
the near future and the long-term future - they have really had to
pull themselves up because the commission is under siege. They are
jelling and doing their best work; people are energized and working
hard," he said.

Two weeks ago, golf course supporters disrupted the Thursday night
commission meeting with shouts and rude remarks directed at members of
the commission.

The pounding was expected to continue last night; reports surfaced
that the Oak Bluffs selectmen were planning to ask the commission one
more time to reconsider its decision on the Down Island Golf Club plan.

Mr. Vercruysse said he had consulted with the commission's
Boston counsel and was prepared to put the matter to rest.

"That decision is done - there is no way to reconsider
that particular DRI [development of regional impact]," Mr.
Vercruysse said. He said the golf course developers are welcome to bring
in a new plan for the commission to consider. "There has to be a
new plan; we are not rethinking the vote on the last plan. It's
done - there is no way legally to reconsider it," he said.

Mrs. Sibley did not downplay the bruising effects of the current
events, but she continued to take the longer view.

"I think it is clearly harmful to us in the short run, but if
there is a good public dialogue then I think that it can strengthen the
commission in the long run - even if we were to lose members.
It's happened before and I think the commission came out stronger
in the end," she said.

Mr. Vercruysse agreed.

"I am excited about what is going on - from the outside
looking in it looks like the commission is crumbling, but to me it is
getting stronger every day," he said.