An overflow crowd of Chilmark voters turned out last night to approve the first-ever town-sponsored affordable housing development for this rural community whose property values rank among the highest in the commonwealth.

The central debate of the evening, however, was not whether the town would go forward with the Middle Line Road project, but whether the 12-unit project would be made up of all rental units or half rentals and half homes that are owned.

After more than two hours of discussion on the first two warrant articles, voters turned down an all-rental option and decided to stick with the mix recommended by the town housing committee: six home ownership and six rental units.

"Approving this project of 50-50 is a sign of the town's commitment to its youth - to the people who keep it running," said Dardanella Slavin, age 30, a graduate of the Chilmark School who worked as a town lifeguard for five years and a police officer for another seven.

"In some ways I think I'm the perfect example of a person who grew up in town and wants to stay, who wants to own a home and raise a family here," she said. "I even have a dream to be a selectman one day. Of course this would be way down the road, but I want to serve my town."

A number of town officials - including two of the three town selectmen - argued that the all-rental setup would allow the town to retain control of its 21 acres off Tabor House Road and provide the greatest number of affordable housing opportunities for future generations.

"I am for rentals; I am not opposed to ownership," said selectman J.B. Riggs Parker, who was the driving force behind a push this spring for the all-rental option. "I am a supporter of the youth lots and homesite lots, but both of those deal principally with private land, and tonight we're talking about town land," he added.

"This is a town asset - which at market prices would probably come to $7 or $8 million. It's your land, but it's your land to preserve for the future - and the best way to do that is all rentals," Mr. Parker said.

Nearly 200 voters (the exact count was 199), including a large contingent of young adults, turned out on a warm June night for the special town meeting at the Chilmark Community Center. All but two of the 12 articles on the warrant were devoted to the Middle Line project, which has been the subject of vocal discussion in town for the last several months. Moderator Everett H. Poole presided over the meeting.

There was no disagreement about the need for affordable housing in Chilmark. But voters were divided at times over the question of rentals versus ownership.

"I have to thank Mr. Parker. That was an eloquent speech, and I actually agreed with a great deal of it, which is unusual," said Christopher Murphy, a longtime commercial fishermen who recently retired. "But when I listen to Riggs speaking about this I realized that our difference is Riggs is trying to preserve units and property. And I'm trying to preserve people."

Joshua Scott, a member of the town housing committee who was one of the last recipients of a youth lot in Chilmark, echoed Mr. Murphy's remarks.

"I see this plan as a great opportunity to invest in the town's community and our future," he said. "The town should not be paranoid about losing a town asset. This after all is about people and community, not about land and money."

Finance committee member Douglas Sederholm, an advocate of all rental units, said that he had never seen so many young people at a Chilmark town meeting.

"And I kind of understand why they're here. This might be their shot - their only shot. And that might be great for them, but that's not going to help those kids that are five years younger," Mr. Sederholm said. "It's not just the wonderful kids in this room right now. It's the wonderful kids in ninth grade and seventh grade - like my kids, actually. They're not going to have a chance at these lots if we give them away right now."

Some who are on the waiting list for a town homesite lot spoke about their desire to stay in town and become permanent members of the community. But others were unpersuaded.

"I love you and wish that all of you all had your own home," said Jane Slater. "But I wonder if it's really the town's obligation to provide six families with equity when there are probably 15 families that would be equally deserving."

Selectman Warren Doty, the lone member of the board who favored ownership units, responded: "If somebody in this room who's 30 years old moves into Middle Line Road and lives there for 50 years - right on."

Some argued that a long-term commitment to the community should be the ultimate goal of an affordable housing development.

"People who rent are frequently transient. They're not ready to commit to town, they want to try the town and see if they're really ready to do this," said Edward (Tip) Kenyon. "People who are ready to make that commitment are not only committing to a home, they're committing to the town of Chilmark. They've decided that this is where they want to put down their roots, this is where they want to be a part of the community."

In the end many suggested that a mix of rentals and ownership was a sensible compromise.

After the all-rental article was rejected in a voice vote, the 50-50 plan was approved with no further discussion.

Voters then made quick work of the last nine articles, approving all of them in less than half an hour, except for one article that centered on the question of with whether ownership units should be transferable to heirs. The article was postponed indefinitely.

Voters also agreed to use some Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds to help finance the $3.5 million project. There was some discussion early in the meeting about restrictions attached to the use of CPA money. But all three CPA-related articles passed unanimously.

And as the town of Chilmark prepared to embark on its first affordable housing venture, Mr. Murphy framed the outlook. "You've got to look at it as just one experiment in a long line of experiments for years to come," he said.