Citing pointed concerns about the financial stability of the Island Affordable Housing Fund in the wake of recent events, the Oak Bluffs Community Preservation Committee on Monday voted without dissent to deny a $400,000 request from the fund for the Bradley Square project.

Reacting to the decision yesterday, the executive director of the fund said that the plan will now be redesigned without a historic renovation component. “I take this to mean that the town of Oak Bluffs does not see merit in the historic renovation aspect of this project. I am not encouraged by the answer, but I am encouraged by the clarity,” declared T. Ewell Hopkins.

The Community Preservation Act request was made in the name of historic preservation for the Denniston house, the former rectory for the Bradley Church, one of the earliest African American churches on the Island. Situated on Masonic avenue, the dilapidated old house is now at the eye of a storm around the financially troubled Bradley Square redevelopment project. The fund still needs to raise more than $1 million to get the $5.3 million project off the ground, but when it suddenly ran out of money for the county rental assistance program two months ago, the previously bright future for Bradley Square grew dim.

Last year Oak Bluffs voters backed a $400,000 spending article from Community Preservation Act money for the affordable housing component of Bradley Square.

Last week Mr. Hopkins, appeared before the CPC to ask for another $400,000, this time for historic preservation.

He told the committee that to date about $700,000 has been raised for the project, including the $400,000 approved by voters last year.

Mr. Hopkins has been on the job for two months. Last week he said the committee’s vote on the request would be a test of town priorities.

At their meeting this week the committee responded.

“I am still 100 per cent behind this project. But I can’t in good conscience support this request,” said committee member Alison Shaw. “I think what they need from us is sort of a mandate one way or the other. But I don’t think a token amount will mean anything, it will just muddy the waters . . . there is too much uncertainty.”

Committee member Harvey Beth, who presented the $400,000 request to the town meeting last year, reframed the question.

“Rather than sit here and listen to the executive director talk about showing support, we should turn it around and say, we will support this project if there is a groundswell of support for historic preservation. We don’t have the funding available to take that chance right now. I think they have to demonstrate they have the capacity to raise the funds necessary.”

Other committee members cited the ongoing financial troubles of the affordable housing fund itself, which abruptly announced in October it no longer could support the rental assistance program run by the Dukes County Regional Housing Authority.

“They need to get their house in order, and this seems to be a project that just isn’t there yet,” said committee member Joan Hughes. “I agree it’s an excellent project, but it doesn’t seem to make financial sense right now.”

Mr. Beth defended the housing fund, which raises money to support the Island Housing Trust, of which he is a board member.

“We all know there has been a big sea change, that some have called the perfect storm. Fund-raising is down, people aren’t honoring their pledges, the former director left and the economy is bad. They hit the wall with these three or four things coming together at the same time,” he said.

“When you’re in business and this happens you have to come back and restructure the project,” Ms. Hughes said. “And I don’t feel that is what they’ve done. In my mind they are still building at a point that was pre-perfect storm . . . we’ve already given them $400,000 . . . I think we’ve been very supportive.”

Mr. Beth noted the money already approved was for housing, not historic preservation.

“Housing yes. But it was for the [entire project],” replied committee chairman Stephen Durkee. “The town supported the project as a whole.”

Committee member Jim Westervelt asked what happens to the $400,000 already approved if the plans for Bradley Square change considerably. “I am just anticipating at town meeting all the critics are going to say: will this ever get built?” he said.

In the end the committee voted 9-0 not to recommend the $400,000, which means the request will not go before voters at the annual town meeting in April.

In an interview yesterday at the Gazette, Mr. Hopkins called the vote an important mandate: “We have a decision and it is clear,”

He said Bradley Square will now be redesigned, and said he had already approached Paul Foley, the development of regional impact coordinator at the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, about the next step. Mr. Hopkins said he expects a redesigned plan to go back to the commission at some point for a new review. “The board will go on fund-raising with affordable housing as the key component [of the project],” Mr. Hopkins said.

In other business Monday, the Community Preservation Committee voted 8-1 to recommend a request from the regional housing authority for $132,000 to fund the town’s share of the rental assistance program next year.

The housing authority had initially asked for $66,000, but doubled the request last month after the fund abruptly ended its support for the rental assistance program.

“I think we’re all aware of the importance of this [request] right now,” Mr. Durkee said.

Committee member Cheryl Sashin was opposed to funding the full amount.

“The rental assistance program is now scrambling to support itself. I am all in favor of helping them support rental assistance, but I don’t know if I want to support them 100 per cent,” she said.

Mr. Beth, who is a member of the housing authority, had another view.

“I have to take umbrage with your comments,” he said. “The housing authority is in complete control of overseeing this program . . . the problem came as a result of the fund calling up the authority on a Friday afternoon and saying: ‘Oh, jeez, we’re terribly sorry but we don’t have the funds for November.’ They called a week before the notices had to be sent out.”

Ms. Sashin cast the lone dissenting vote.

Another request from Ronald Di-Orio, a selectman and chairman of the town affordable housing committee, for $400,000 to be placed into a new town affordable housing trust, modeled after a similar fund in Edgartown, was reduced to $100,000 and approved.