Massive Warrant for Annual Meeting Confronts Edgartown Voters
Tuesday

By MANDY LOCKE

Edgartown voters will face 70 articles - dense with pages
worth of zoning regulation proposals - at their annual town
meeting Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Old Whaling Church.

Voters will be asked to approve an $18 million budget - up six
and a half per cent from the current fiscal year - and to approve
Proposition 2 1/2 budget overrides which would fund some $300,000 in
town paving projects, a planning project report for the library, a new
dump truck for the highway department and a number of shellfish
programs.

Aside from the typical town housekeeping, voters will be asked to
adopt a number of zoning and wetland protection regulations for
Chappaquiddick - proposals developed after the Martha's
Vineyard Commission designated the island as a district of critical
planning concern (DCPC) last June. The Edgartown ponds advisory
committee also proposed four new regulations for the Edgartown Ponds
district, designated as a DCPC 12 years ago. In addition, voters will
review three town-wide zoning ordinances.

After nine months of intense working groups and discussions, the
Edgartown planning board and the Edgartown conservation commission
submitted five regulations for Chappaquiddick to be considered by
Edgartown voters.

Edgartown residents can decide to establish a five-member
Chappaquiddick affordable housing committee to work in conjunction with
the Edgartown resident homesite committee and other Island affordable
housing groups. The DCPC designation for Chappaquiddick stipulates the
town must ensure future affordable housing there.

Another article, submitted by the Edgartown conservation commission,
recommends extending the jurisdiction of the town wetlands protection
bylaw from 200 feet to 300 feet inland from coastal wetlands, coastal
banks, beaches, dunes, flats, fisheries or shellfish habitats on
Chappaquiddick.

The Edgartown conservation commission also submitted an article
which would limit lawn sizes to 2,500 square feet in areas protected by
the wetland bylaw on Chappaquiddick. In addition, application of
synthetic products such as herbicides and insecticides and ground
irrigation would be prohibited. Exterior lighting would be limited to
fixtures required by the state building code. Landscape plans must be
reviewed and approved by the conservation commission, and a 25-foot
natural vegetative buffer must be maintained between the development and
resource area.

The planning board submitted an article that would limit house
foundation size on Chappaquiddick to the greater of 2,000 square feet or
10 per cent of the lot size, not exceeding 3,500 square feet. The
building coverage would include accessory structures as well as the
primary building.

Town voters submitted a petitioned article which would allow voters
to approve a foundation size limit of 4,000 square feet on
Chappaquiddick, regardless of lot size.

Voters can choose to continue limiting development on Chappaquiddick
by adopting a two-year building cap - limiting the number of
permits to six each year with an additional two for first-time home
owners who plan to make their full-time residence on Chappaquiddick. The
cap would be effective when the one-year building moratorium expires in
June. Exceptions would apply to affordable housing projects,
applications being processed before the moratorium began and applicants
making specified conservation restrictions on the property.

Voters will also consider a townwide building cap petitioned by
Edgartown residents. The cap would limit building permits to 85 each
year for the next two years. The zoning inspector is expected to
establish a system under which the Chappaquiddick and the town-wide
building cap could work in conjunction if both are adopted by voters
next Tuesday.

Another Chappaquiddick-related article seeks to repeal entirely the
commission's designation of the island as a DCPC. In addition,
another proposal asks residents to "vote to repeal any rule,
regulation or bylaw promulgated or adopted by the Martha's
Vineyard Commission, without the vote of voters of the Town of Edgartown
for the ‘Chappaquiddick Island District.' " Yet
another petitioned article asks the town highway superintendent to use
available funds to widen Chappaquiddick Road by six feet for its entire
length within the limits of the town jurisdiction.

A townwide zoning article seeks to redefine "detached
bedrooms" in Edgartown as either a freestanding structure or
bedroom over a uninhabitable accessory structure that includes only
bedroom(s) and bathroom(s) and is limited to one sink, one toilet, one
bathtub or shower. The bedroom must be limited to 400 square feet, and
no stove, refrigerator, sitting rooms, entrance alcoves or hallways may
be built in the detached bedroom.

A staff housing article would allow Edgartown employers to apply for
a special permit to establish apartments for employees in any town
zoning district. The structure must not disrupt the appearance of the
neighborhood. The housing can be no more than eight units, and each unit
will be limited to 4,500 square feet. A manager must remain on site, and
the apartments can house employees only during their time of employment.
Lighting, parking and traffic patterns will also be limited.

The planning board submitted an article providing for
"demolition delay," a measure to encourage the recycling of
houses slated for demolition. If this rule is adopted, a property owner
would be granted a permit to tear down a house only after the structure
is first offered to the Dukes County Regional Housing Authority for
affordable housing. The permit will be granted only if the housing
authority turns down the house or does not remove it within 60 days or
if the condition of the house makes demolition necessary.

The Edgartown ponds advisory committee submitted a proposal
prohibiting two-stroke boat engines in the Edgartown ponds district.
Another article prohibits the use of synthetic products such as
fertilizers, extending through the inland zone, 700 feet from mean high
water. These products were formerly limited only within 300 feet of the
pond.

Voters will also be asked to limit house height and size on the
borders of Edgartown ponds. The ponds advisory committee proposes
limiting house height to 21 feet for pitched roofs and 13 feet for flat
roofs in zones extending 300 feet from the water. Residents will also
consider a regulation that limits house size to 5,000 square feet within
300 feet of the pond edge. A special permit would be required to exceed
these limits.

Voters will also be asked to appropriate $8,517 to the Dukes County
Regional Housing Authority to help cover administrative costs. The
allocation will only be effective if every Island town contributes its
designated share. This is the first year of a five-year phasing in
period for towns to help cover the $150,000 administrative budget of the
regional housing authority.

Another affordable housing article - found on every
town's warrant this spring - allows voters to petition the
state legislature to let the Island towns and the Dukes County Regional
Housing Authority establish deed restrictions that can designate
properties as affordable housing in perpetuity. The petition also asks
the legislature to raise the standard for "middle income persons
and households" from 80 per cent of the county's median
income to 150 per cent of the median income as stipulated by the United
States Department of Housing and Urban Development. For a family of
three, $79,500 would be 150 per cent of the Dukes County median income.

A number of town departments have submitted a wish list in the form
of articles on the town warrant. The police department asks to replace a
new cruiser for $30,000. The shellfish department needs a fiberglass
boat at a cost of $5,250. The harbor master asks for $20,000 to maintain
town docks, floats and walkways.

While the 2003 proposed budget increased six and a half percent over
the previous year, the property tax rate is expected to decrease from
$5.14 per $1,000 of assessed value to $4. State contributions are
expected to drop 10 per cent in the 2003 fiscal year, but Edgartown town
administrator Peter Bettencourt said the town budget is designed to
absorb the shortfall.

The town's election ballot offers three contested races for
seats on town boards.

Jay Guest is challenging incumbent James Carter for the wastewater
treatment commission. Robert Burnham will run against incumbent Peter
Clough for a seat on the board of assessors. Four Edgartown residents
face off for two openings on the financial advisory committee. Incumbent
Donna Lowell-Bettencourt, Joel Deroche, Robert Kagan and Morton Fearey
will vie for two of the spots.

The following candidates are uncontested: William Elbow for board of
health, Margaret Serpa for board of selectmen, Jonathan Searle for
constable, Philip Norton Jr. for moderator, Jane Varkonda for park
commission, Alan Wilson for planning board, Gail Leighton Palacios for
school committee, Joan Thompson and Kenneth Southworth for library
trustee and Robert Burnham for water commission.

Edgartown polls will be open at town hall on Thursday from 10 a.m.
to 7 p.m.