MVC Votes to Rescind District Designation for Chappaquiddick

By MANDY LOCKE

The Martha's Vineyard Commission officially closed a year-long
chapter for the residents of Chappaquiddick last night, voting to
rescind the island's designation as a district of critical
planning concern (DCPC).

The vote ended the one-year building moratorium three weeks early.
Without the vote, the moratorium would automatically expire June 7.

Requesting a planning tool that would allow Chappaquiddick to work
to protect the "rural quality" of the island outpost of
Edgartown, 80 Edgartown residents and the conservation commission had
petitioned the Martha's Vineyard Commission to designate
Chappaquiddick as a DCPC in April of 2001.

The commission's vote followed an April 9 annual town meeting
during which 329 Edgartown residents - in a 195-134 split -
voted not to establish the boundaries of the Chappaquiddick district,
thereby eliminating the MVC's designation. All five zoning
articles, crafted by a handful of citizen working groups, were slashed
from the town warrant after the failure of the district boundaries
article.

Five weeks after the town meeting, the wounds remain open.

"I'm feeling very broken - it was such a unique
opportunity for us to plan for Chappaquiddick's future,"
said Chappaquiddick resident and DCPC proponent Nancy Hugger. "Our
tribe over here on Chappy is being torn apart. We've been
threatened before, but this is different."

"I haven't seen people very much [since the town
meeting]. We seem to be avoiding each other," said Chappaquiddick
resident and DCPC opponent Fran Clay.

Ms. Clay said some Chappaquiddick residents have recently discussed
ways to bring their small community back together after the vote.

"We weren't sure exactly what the vehicle would be to
get people back together," Ms. Clay said. "The question
becomes, ‘Under what auspices do we do that?' "

Long-range planning on Chappaquiddick is at a virtual standstill for
the moment. Most of the soul-searching about the collapse of the DCPC
process is over. Yet no one seems to be mobilizing to plan for the
protection of Chappaquiddick's natural resources at this point.

"In about two years from now, when we finish licking our
wounds, we might come back to the town in another way," said
Chappaquiddick resident and DCPC proponent Liz Villard.

No plans are in the works to renominate Chappaquiddick as a district
of critical planning concern.

"It was such a devastating loss for some. I can't
imagine they'd want to put themselves through that again. Maybe
they are realizing it was the wrong approach," Ms. Clay said.

Some are concentrating their efforts on projects already under way
on Chappaquiddick.

"I'm back to open space planning. I need to stay where I
am effective," Ms. Hugger said.

"Some of the supporters are so demoralized, but there will be
more work," Chappaquiddick resident and DCPC proponent Lionel
Spiro said.

"Hopefully some good will come out of it. It's made
people think about the future of Chappaquiddick," said
Chappaquiddick resident Edith Potter, a leader of the effort to nominate
the island for protection.