Proposed renovations to the West Tisbury town hall will once again be the center of public debate when voters gather for a special town meeting in the elementary school gymnasium on Tuesday. Town moderator Pat Gregory will open discussion of the 11-article warrant at 7 p.m.

Other topics to be considered include an amendment to the affordable housing zoning bylaw, as well as appropriations for a consultant to examine the up-Island regional school district and preliminary planning of a path from the youth hostel to the town center.

But the $3.7 million town hall renovation project is the main attraction. A similar project failed to win a necessary two-thirds vote at the annual town meeting in April 2003.

In one form or another, renovation of the 132-year-old town hall has been discussed at four town meetings in the last 18 months, and a total of seven town meetings dating back to April 1997, when voters first appropriated money for a feasibility study to remodel the building.

"This was really the reason for the special town meeting," town building inspector Ernest Mendenhall said this week. Mr. Mendenhall is also current chairman of the town hall building committee. "The big thing is for people to come. If they come, we'll try to explain our new design and the reasons behind it."

About two dozen residents attended an informational meeting about the new plans at the Howes House last Saturday. Most said they appreciated that plans were scaled down from the previous year, but some still disliked the expanded parking area.

"I'd say the response was definitely positive about the building itself," Mr. Mendenhall said. "Many people said they liked the proposed plans better than last year's. The building looks more like it belongs here. But there is a group of residents that still don't want to see a parking area. Unfortunately, zoning and state laws dictate how many parking spaces we need to provide. We're just trying comply with the laws we are supposed to enforce."

In order to win approval the town hall renovation project needs a two-thirds vote on the town meeting floor and a majority vote in the ballot box; a corresponding Proposition 2 1/2 override question is set to come before voters at a special election on Nov. 2.

The ballot question does not specify the cost of the renovation project.

"It's not an attempt to hide anything," town executive secretary Jennifer Rand said yesterday. "It's just that ballot questions are worded one way, and town meeting articles are written another way. The money question will be answered on town meeting floor, the authorization will be answered in the election."

The town intentionally scheduled the special election to coincide with the state election, although the town election hours were advertised incorrectly. Polling hours for both elections will be from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., but West Tisbury voters will be handed two separate ballots when they go to the polls.

"We hope we get such a historic turnout, that this could give us the real pulse of the town," Mr. Mendenhall said. "At no point in West Tisbury do more people come out to vote than in a presidential election."

If it is approved, the town hall project will be paid through a 20-year bond. Mr. Mendenhall said the bond would cost the owner of a $400,000 home about $72 a year for the next two decades.

In addition to a series of housekeeping articles to fix accounting errors, appropriate funds from the municipal relief act and transfer money to the election expense budget, voters will consider:

* An appropriation of $5,000 for preliminary engineering of a proposed path from the youth hostel to the town hall area. The money would allow the town to develop an estimate for the total cost of project, which may then go before voters at a later town meeting.

* Allowing the selectmen to accept an unused 14.6-acre parcel originally deeded to the town more than 13 years ago. If approved, most of the land is to be preserved as open space, except for 4.5 acres near the Edgartown-West Tisbury Road, which the town may convert to three single-family residential lots.

* An appropriation of $24,000 for a consultant to carry out the work of the up-Island school district task force. Selectmen have discussed an amendment that would limit the town contribution to "up to $24,000, and no more than 50 per cent of the cost." The amendment will likely be introduced on the town meeting floor.

* A proposal by the planning board to amend the town affordable housing zoning bylaws. The amendments are aimed at encouraging landowners to create more affordable housing, and to prevent abuse of the accessory apartment allowance.

One amendment would allow property owners to carve out lots as small as one acre to be sold to eligible buyers for the sole purpose of affordable housing. At present minimum zoning in West Tisbury is three acres.

The proposed change to the accessory apartments section of the bylaw would require that owners live year-round in West Tisbury. Planning board chairman Murray Frank said some residents who created accessory apartments now use them as an additional guest house or rental unit. The amendment would establish a procedure to cap rental rates on such apartments.

Mr. Frank said the amendment will be controversial. "It was so debated at our public hearing that we thought we would leave it to voters at town meeting to decide."

Zoning bylaw amendments require two-thirds approval at town meeting.