A proposal to renovate and expand Morning Glory Farm in Edgartown saw strong support during a public hearing last Thursday before the Martha’s Vineyard Commission. The commission is reviewing the plan as a development of regional impact (DRI).

“They run a business that would set a good example in any community,” said John Best, a former farm employee and former commissioner. “When you work on a farm you sort of expect to turn the corner around a barn and see the ugly side — bags of pesticides, junk machinery — but what’s amazing is this farm is largely devoid of those things.”

Commissioner Jim Athearn, the owner of the family farm, recused himself during the public hearing.

The proposal from the Athearn family calls for expanding the farm stand and the commercial kitchen operation. The current farm stand, including retail, workspace, kitchen, employee housing and storage is 5,945 square feet; the proposal would expand the total size to 8,342 square feet.

One 2,700 square-foot greenhouse would be relocated and taken out of retail use, and a new 800-square-foot greenhouse would be built adjacent to the farm stand. The plan calls for relocating the parking area and adding 13 new spots, and moving the entrance to the farm stand farther down Meshacket Road.

Simon Athearn said the current farm stand is too small and does not allow for good customer flow.

“We have been dragging our heels for several years on this; our last expansion of the farm stand was in 1981,” he said. “We have seen our store and the Island grow in traffic in that time . . . now we need to be smart and try and make this work.”

Robert Culbert, a part-time farm employee, said the current setup leads to congestion. “If you’ve ever been in there when we are busy and you try to quickly buy a pear or a banana, you just can’t do it. This will provide much-needed flow and make our customers happier,” Mr. Culbert said.

Public comment was all positive.

But there was a lengthy discussion among members of the commission about the project’s potential to increase nitrogen loading into the Edgartown Great Pond watershed. The farm currently generates 99 kilograms of nitrogen; the expansion will increase the load by an estimated 7.6 kilograms.

The commission’s nitrogen policy for coastal ponds with an elevated risk requires an applicant to reduce wastewater system nitrogen by 40 per cent. But the policy also contains a provision allowing previously developed properties to keep nitrogen levels the same during an expansion or renovation.

The policy is silent on the subject of farmlands, leaving it largely to the commission to decide how the policy should be applied.

The Morning Glory Farm plan calls for a complicated solution to offset the increase in nitrogen through a combination of organic fertilizers and the use of credits earned through the Farm Practice Credit program.

But commissioner Douglas Sederholm urged the applicant go back and find a way to reduce the 7.6 kilograms of additional nitrogen. “Rather than give them a number that doesn’t exist in reality, why not deal with what they have and work with them to try and mitigate the 7.6 [kilogram] increase,” he said.

Jan Pogue, publisher of a recent book about the farm, said she hoped the nitrogen issue does not hold up the plan.

“I can’t talk to you about nitrogen loads. But I can talk to you about the impact that Morning Glory has on this entire Island . . . from a philosophical and commercial standpoint, you can’t ask for more than this farm,” she said.

The commission land use planning committee is expected to review the plan at their next meeting on Jan. 4, and the full commission will deliberate on Jan. 7. The public hearing remains open for written comment.