Having long enjoyed several parking spots near the Gay Head Light, a small group of condominium residents in Aquinnah are feeling cramped by summer traffic at the Circle this year. As part of the Gay Head Light relocation project, two cottages near the lighthouse were purchased by the town, disrupting an agreement between condo residents and a former chairman of the town planning board.
“Folks just started driving up there over time,” condo resident Roger Howlett told the selectmen on Tuesday. “But that was never really the intention.” He said former planning board chairman Camille Rose had signed a town document many years ago indicating that the area in front of the cottages was to be used for access and parking for the condos. A declaration of trust by the condo association made a similar claim, he said.
“If those spots are filled we have nowhere to go,” he said.
But selectman Jim Newman disagreed with the premise of the claim.
“The planning board can’t do that,” he said, emphasizing that the town now owns the property. The planning board may deal with easements, house plans and other issues, he said. “But they can’t say that somebody else has the right to park on another person’s property forever.”
He said the town would work to find a legal solution to the problem but in the meantime condo residents had as much a right as anyone to use the spots. “We will do everything we can to work with you,” Mr. Newman said.
In other business Tuesday, the selectmen continued to refine the town’s lease agreement with lot holders in Menemsha. In June, the selectmen agreed to several amendments, including a provision that allowed leases to be shared by non-relatives. But according to an agreement between Aquinnah and Chilmark (both towns have property in Menemsha), only blood relatives and spouses may share their lots, so the selectmen agreed Tuesday to strike the new provision.
“We know there are people who share lots,” Mr. Newman said, adding, “I don’t think any one of us want to be a policeman.” He believed the Aquinnah and Chilmark selectmen should work together to address the issue in the fall.
Lease holder Vernon Welch, wary of the changes underway, asked the selectmen for written approval of a business plan that would involve three partners operating out of his building. The business would involve charter fishing, raising clams and selling jewelry.
“It is multiple businesses,” Mr. Welch said. But he added that the three elements would be complementary.
“I don’t see any conflicts,” Mr. Newman said.
“I don’t care who he works with,” said selectman Spencer Booker. “I just want to see it open.” The selectmen agreed to formally approve the proposal.
The selectmen also approved a long list of committee appointments, including for the resident homesite committee, which recently drafted a request for proposals for a site at 45 State Road. Committee members envision two new affordable houses with a shared well and septic system. Town administrator Adam Wilson said resident homesites in Aquinnah usually sell to a developer for between $30,000 and $40,000.
In the fall, a new five-member committee will begin studying ways to improve access to Philbin Beach, in light of a large and growing sand dune. Mr. Newman said the idea is to build a boardwalk from the parking lot straight across the dune. “It’s amazing how that beach has changed,” he said. “We really need to attend to this because it makes access to Philbin very difficult.”
Another new committee will carry on the work of the Gay Head lighthouse committee on a year-round basis, including ongoing maintenance, event oversight, and the restoration of the lighthouse following its reopening, expected in mid-August. Jim Pickman is the only confirmed member so far.
Work on the Gay Head Light relocation project continues, and a public relighting ceremony for the lighthouse is expected in early August.
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