A proposed Edgartown affordable housing trust, which would streamline purchasing and take spending out of voter control and put it into the hands of a seven-member board, is the subject of a public forum set for Tuesday.

The forum, scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Baylies room of the Old Whaling Church, comes ahead of a Dec. 9 special town meeting at which voters will be asked to approve the formation of a trust and an associated bylaw.

Affordable housing committee chairman Janet Hathaway said the trust would create a nimbler affordable housing program at a time when a volatile housing market favors flexibility.

If it is approved the trust will mark the first of its kind on the Island.

“It enables us to spend money before going to town meeting in April. The process is huge and it has held us up in the past,” she said. “We’re hoping that if it passes, it can clear the state by February. We already have a list of turnkey properties we would love to acquire.”

She said there are no plans to disband the housing committee if the trust is established.

The trust would give affordable housing money a designated account, a pressing issue in the light of a $1.8 million payment coming from the Field Club.

Developers of the members-only recreational facility in Katama won the right to pay the town instead of designating three lots on their property for affordable housing, following a decision from the Martha’s Vineyard Commission in September.

Currently, in the absence of a designated account, affordable housing money is sent to the general fund, the town’s basic expense account.

An initial $700,000 installment of the Field Club payment has been received by the town, according to town accountant Kimberly Kane. If the trust is enacted, she explained, any remaining installments will go directly to the trust and can be spent by the board without further town consultation.

The trust is dealt with in two articles on the Dec. 9 warrant; one is a general request to form the trust and another to adopt a ten-clause bylaw.

Governing the trust, under the bylaw, would be a seven-member board of trustees, made up of four affordable housing committee members, a selectman and two members at large.

The bylaw, with language drawn from the Massachusetts General Laws, includes a 16-point sub-clause detailing the trust’s powers.

Among them are: the ability to acquire, sell and lease property; to manage and renovate real estate; to hire and pay agents such as accountants, appraisers and lawyers as deemed necessary; and the ability to abandon any property deemed not worthy of retaining.

Ms. Hathaway said since the bylaw is tailored to the entire commonwealth it is all-inclusive and contains some generic material not relevant to Edgartown.

“I think it’s just language that’s used very little,” she said.

The warrant article states that the town may omit or modify powers by way of another bylaw approved at town meeting.

Ms. Hathaway said Tuesday’s public hearing is a good chance to talk through potential questions about the trust ahead of town meeting. She said, for example, that some feel the issue of rental properties is not sufficiently addressed within the bylaw.

She added that she felt this was not necessarily an issue — pointing out that as a requirement of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, the Field Club payment must be spent on the purchase of new homes. She also argued that Edgartown’s rental needs are well covered by the Dukes County Regional Housing Authority rental conversion program.

Committee member Marilyn Wortman said the trust was not about awarding power.

“It’s not like anyone’s going to be buying houses in Jamaica here,” she said.

The market is ripe for purchasing she added.

“As the market goes down it’s more and more of an opportunity for affordable housing. It’s sad [that the market is down] but happy for those who can purchase,” Ms. Wortman said.