Martha's Vineyard Commission Approves Hillside Village
Housing, with Conditions

By MANDY LOCKE

The Martha's Vineyard Commission is wrestling a new kind of
development animal these days.

The regional planning agency managed to mold one such project into
an acceptable form last night - unanimously approving a five-unit
housing building for low-income elderly. The newest addition to the
Hillside Village complex on Edgartown Vineyard Haven road had been
stalled in the deliberation phase after commissioners deadlocked 5-5
just two weeks ago. The failure to approve Island Elderly
Housing's project seemed to surprise even the commissioners, and
the vote stirred a passionate protest from IEH leaders and supporters.

Unresolved planning complications - an added traffic burden
for Clover Hill Drive neighbors and nitrogen loading that exceeded the
commission's standards for nutrient contribution in the Lagoon
Pond watershed - sent commissioners back to the discussion table
this week. The MVC granted approval to IEH last night, ordering at least
one potentially cost prohibitive condition to help pacify some
commissioners.

"To challenge this project was the right thing to do. Just
because it's a good affordable housing project doesn't mean
it didn't need to be challenged and made better," said
commissioner Tristan Israel, who voted against the project two weeks
ago.

To construct Hillside Village III, IEH must now install a
denitrifying filter on seven additional units in Hillside Village I. IEH
already planned to install such a mechanism on Hillside Village
III's septic system. Engineers estimate the additional filter
could tack on at least another $20,000 to project costs, likely pushing
the nonprofit agency beyond the $572,000 federal grant allocation for
the building.

During Monday evening's land use planning committee meeting,
where commissioners tried to find conditions that could ease the
concerns of hesitant commissioners, one member asked jokingly: "We
have a new way of voting now. It's, ‘Can you live with
it?' "

The tongue-in-cheek comment flirted with a genuine fear some
commissioners register as the commission continues to review altruistic
projects aimed to help people marginalized by the Island's steep
housing market.

"If this were private, would we accept it? Probably not.
It's because it's philanthropic. It's a good idea, but
they come in telling us how much money they have and what parameters
there are. It's a different kind of animal," Mr. Israel said
during an LUPC discussion about IEH's project, referencing another
Chapter 40B affordable housing project now before the commission.

Bridge Common, a Chapter 40B development that would bring 15
affordable duplexes to eight acres of farmland of State Road in Tisbury,
remained undecided by the end of last night's deliberations. The
work of Bridge Housing, an ecumenical nonprofit group, this partnership
plan with the Martha's Vineyard Land Bank has been before the land
use planning agency since late January. Sixteen abutting acres of this
farmland will be perpetually conserved for the public - a more
than reasonable compensation for a densely packed third of the entire
property, proponents argue. A for-profit Chapter 40B project could
technically develop the entire 24-acre site and only offer a quarter of
the units as affordable, supporters point out.

Last night, commissioners methodically ticked through a long list of
benefits and detriments - often getting hung up on aspects of the
housing plan that commissioners, in other cases, are inclined flatly to
reject.

"Even if we accept that the benefits outweigh the detriments,
we must soberly acknowledge that we are approving something that is out
of character on this Island," said commissioner Linda Sibley last
night.

"You will know the Island is becoming more suburban because of
this project," said commissioner Andrew Woodruff during LUPC
Monday night.

Neighbors flooded the public hearings for Bridge Common, complaining
of a dense development being planted in an otherwise pastoral community,
an extra load of cars in an already congested area and possible threat
of water contamination due to the northeast flow of septic discharge
from the area. Bridge leaders have already added a denitrifying septic
system, monitoring wells, town water hookups, a reconfigured plan which
eliminated one duplex and additional landscaping to help shield the
closest neighbors.

When a member nitpicked one of the plan's drawbacks, others
steered the discussion back on course - pointing to the 300 Island
households without affordable year-round rentals.

"We're addressing a character question here. Will the
Island become a place just for the wealthy? These residents will be
year-round people instead of the weekend warriors and seasonal
residents," said commissioner Richard Toole during Monday's
subcommittee meeting.

While some might argue the MVC is graciously accepting planning
complications in projects like Bridge Common and Hillside Village III,
stalled approval for the new elderly housing units left the director of
Island Elderly Housing critical of the MVC review process.

"The MVC, acting as the local board reviewing this 40B, must
also keep [affordable housing] in the forefront so as not to discourage
it," said Carol Lashnits, IEH's executive director,
criticizing the MVC for scrutinizing nitrogen loading from the Hillside
Village complex even though it contributed the same amount of nitrogen
as a single family home once IEH offered to install a denitrifying
filter.

"They MVC must learn how to balance conservation and people.
If they can't do that, they're dangerous for the future of
Martha's Vineyard," Ms. Lashnits continued.

Meanwhile, Bridge directors patiently wait another week for the
commission to continue deliberations of their project.

"We've worked for two and a half years to this project
to be perfect and workable. This is not the time to give up. We have too
big an investment in doing it right for the community," said
Barbara Shriber, a Bridge Housing director.