Debate about whether to build a public fishing pier on the harbor side of the Oak Bluffs Steamship Authority wharf grew contentious last Thursday, when neighborhood residents of the North Bluff protested the location, citing noise and garbage concerns.

While most in attendance at the Martha’s Vineyard Commission public hearing came to applaud the project, neighboring homeowners insisted the pier should be built on the far side of the SSA wharf.

Representing the Massachusetts Office of Fishing and Boating Access, Doug Cameron said his agency chose the proposed site based on its landside elevation, suitability for access for people with disabilities, water depth and protection from storms by the Steamship Authority pier — all issues that were later contested by North Bluff resident Paul Foley, who vigorously opposes the placement of the pier.

Mr. Foley, DRI coordinator at the commission, has recused himself from staff work on the issue.

The proposed 317-foot L-shaped dock would be funded at no cost to the town by a combination of environmental bond monies and fishing license fees, among other state sources. Mr. Cameron estimates the project will cost between $750,000 and $1 million and called it an integral part of the town’s proposed $7 million restoration of the waterfront.

Many members of the fishing community came to show their support for the proposed pier.

Oak Bluffs native Peter Herrmann said he learned to fish off the steamship pier (which is now disallowed) and that handicapped access would be a boon to fellow veterans. “Just recently a friend of mine, a fellow Viet Nam veteran, lost the use of his leg below the knee,” he said. “He just loves to fish and I’m speaking for him and myself in saying we both would really like to see that pier become a reality especially for him, because right now he’s all done fishing.”

Maria Black of the Beach Plum Inn echoed the importance of handicapped access. Every year the inn hosts a group of wounded veterans and takes them out during the fishing derby. On a recent cloudless day, she said, the veterans were forced to stay inside and watch television as the result of a small craft advisory and lack of handicapped-accessible fishing spots on the Island.

“This would be a wonderful opportunity to open up fishing for people with mobility issues on the Island,” she said.

Oak Bluffs parks commission chairman Nancy Phillips said the pier would offer parents a recreational alternative to the dreaded glowing rectangle.

“Anything we can do to get people away from the seven hours and 38 minutes — that’s the average each child spends in front of a digital screen a day — would be great,” she said. “Let’s get everyone out there fishing.”

Fish pier advisory committee and Martha’s Vineyard Surfcasters Association member David Nash presented four pages of signatures on a petition for the pier collected at fishing derby headquarters.

But North Bluff resident Injy Lew had another view.

“Of course we are all for the pier,” she said. “But when I hear this gentlemen [Doug Cameron] say he consulted with everyone, he certainly didn’t talk to anyone who lived near there and would be impacted.”

Mr. Foley spoke as a resident: “People say the Lookout Tavern is already there; well, the Lookout Tavern is seasonal and rarely open past 11. This would be open 24 hours and I’m sure 90 per cent of the fishermen would be great citizens but there’s going to be 10 per cent that at three o’clock in the morning are going to be slamming their doors and filleting their fish on their trucks. No one in the neighborhood has said they’re against the pier; everyone has simply said put it on the south side or somewhere else.”

Mr. Foley, a regular swimmer at the North Bluff beach, presented a series of pictures taken of him at various distances from the shore, demonstrating that the water depth for much of the length of the proposed pier was less than shoulder deep, while on the southern side it was much deeper. He also argued that the beach south of the pier is unused for at least 500 feet.

Mr. Cameron, who had stated that water depth was an indicator of better fishing areas, argued that the most important factor was the depth at the seaward end of the dock.

Other vocal proponents of the pier, including commercial fisherman Bill Alwardt, attacked the veracity of Mr. Foley’s presentation.

“As for these pictures, I don’t believe him,” he said after being warned repeatedly by commission member Linda Sibley to stop referring to the residents of the North Bluff neighborhood derisively as “these people.” Mr. Alwardt said that the North Bluff neighborhood already sees its share of commercial activity and could bear the addition of a fishing pier. Mr. Foley said he would be glad to re-enact the water depth demonstration for Mr. Alwardt.

Ted Collins of Vineyard Haven argued that the north side of the SSA pier is better than the south side for fishing, an assertion corroborated by a letter to the commission by fisheries expert Greg Skomal. “As a fisherman I want to see the pier built on the north side,” said Mr. Collins. “The largest striper I ever caught was off the harbor jetty. It was my 50-pounder that got away.”

Surfcasters Association president Janet Messineo was sympathetic to neighborhood concerns but maintained that dwindling public fishing access on the Island necessitated the project.

“As fishermen, we know how it feels to lose something that we’re used to,” she said. “They don’t want to lose their swimming; we have locked gates everywhere. We have lost so much fishing access over the past 35 years.” She said the surfcasters would be happy to serve as a friendly patrolling presence on the pier. “We want what you want, a nice quiet place to fish,” she said.

Letters from the Oak Bluffs police chief, harbor master and highway superintendant, as well as a traffic and parking report from the commission’s transportation planner all portrayed the impact of the proposed pier as modest and manageable.

Pending a vote by the commission, which moved to keep the public hearing open for written public comment through yesterday, the fishing pier still faces a number of bureaucratic hurdles. A permit from the Army Corps of Engineers, a license under the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s Chapter 91 Public Waterfront Act, and permission from the town conservation commission under the Wetlands Protection Act are all required.