The Chilmark selectmen have approved two restoration projects at Squibnocket Beach that reflect the recommendations of a special town committee last year.

A complex lease agreement between the town and the Squibnocket Homeowners Association in October added more than 1,000 feet to the town beach and provided an easement to allow the association to build a causeway over town-owned land. It also required that the causeway design be approved by the selectmen.

At the same time, Vineyard Land Surveying has been working with the town to design a new beach parking lot and a boat launch at Squibnocket Pond. Both the town and association projects are in response to a rapidly receding shoreline.

The town committee on Squibnocket formed last spring to review alternatives for restoring the beach area, after voters narrowly rejected a plan developed jointly by the selectmen and the homeowners’ association.

Reid Silva of Vineyard Land Surveying, along with Mark Haley of the firm Haley and Aldrich, presented their respective plans to the selectmen on Tuesday. After many months of public review, the were few questions at the meeting and the selectmen unanimously endorsed both plans.

Former committee chairman Jim Malkin, who attended the meeting, noted how closely the town portion of the plan conformed to the committee recommendations last December. “This meets what we asked for,” he said.

The town part of the plan includes a new parking lot along Squibnocket Road, with a turnaround at the end. A manmade dune will replace the current parking lot along the beach to help buffer the area from storms. Mr. Silva said he expects the dune to migrate inland over time.

Although the committee had not recommended a turnaround, Mr. Silva said not having one would create a “traffic nightmare.” At 32 feet in diameter, the turnaround was larger than he had hoped, but will now accommodate VTA busses. The final plan also has one less parking spot than originally envisioned.

The association plan also strays slightly from the earlier concept, with a new single-lane road hugging the parking lot more closely and also running closer to the pond. But no one at the meeting took issue with those changes.

Most of the road will cut through wetlands and be raised about eight feet, with the underside about even with the current parking lot to the south. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a hundred-year storm would still wash over the roadway. Mr. Haley said in that case only the timber railings would need to be replaced.

As with the parking lot, the new road will combine both gravel and pavement, with the parking lot incorporating Squibnocket Road and using gravel areas for drainage. “The gravel is really part of both the aesthetic and the drainage design,” Mr. Silva said.

With the selectmen’s approval, the project will go on to the town conservation commission, which has scheduled a public hearing for Jan. 6. The commission will decide whether to refer the project to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission as a development of regional impact (DRI) which would prolong the permitting process.

Further delays may result from a recent survey by Public Archaeology Lab that revealed Native American artifacts near the proposed roadway. “They found some chipping debris and other features that are in their opinion possible burials,” Mr. Silva said. “I think we can work through these issues,” he added. “Right now it’s just a little bit of an unknown until PAL gets back to us.”

Town conservation agent Chuck Hodgkinson, who is working to coordinate the project, hoped that all permits would be in place by the end of June, with bids awarded by September and construction possibly starting in October.

The town will fail to meet its June 30 deadline for using a $280,000 state grant. Mr. Hodgkinson has reduced the amount to $52,000 to cover expenses for the current fiscal year, and he said the Office of Coastal Zone Management, which awarded the grant, has encouraged the town to reapply for the balance next year.

In other business, the selectmen considered a proposal from Pacheco Ross Architects to conduct a feasibility and site study for a parcel of land behind town hall where it hopes to build a new fire station. Those plans hit a roadblock earlier this month when fire chief David Norton raised concerns about the suitability of the site. In response, town officials agreed to commission a preliminary site plan and analysis.

The selectmen voted Tuesday to increase their appropriation for the study from $10,000 to $12,000 to cover the bid. They also voted to ask for a six-week extension to a purchase-and-sale agreement that gave the town until Jan. 15 to approve the purchase. A special town meeting for that purpose has been tentatively rescheduled to Feb. 29.

Also on Tuesday, the selectmen agreed to join other town boards in cosponsoring a proposed ban on single-use plastic bags in town. Selectman Bill Rossi noted a “staggering” number of littered bags on the beach, and personally endorsed the ban. “I think this is a good start,” he said.

Members of the Vineyard Conservation Society, which is working to introduce the ban, have visited the selectmen in Edgartown, Aquinnah and West Tisbury, all of which have agreed to add it to their town meeting warrants in the spring.