After a vigorous debate Thursday night, the Martha’s Vineyard Commission voted 10 to 6 in favor of resuming in-person meetings in May.

For a trial period, remote access to meetings will still be provided, but commissioners and applicants must be present at the MVC’s Oak Bluffs building unless they’re physically unable to be there, the board voted.

“It’s a three-month trial, after which we will either continue it, modify it or just trash it,” commission chair Joan Malkin said after the vote.

Members of the public will have the choice of attending in person or online, although commissioner Trip Barnes disagreed with this provision.

“They should be sitting right there where we can see them and they can see us,” Mr. Barnes said.

Ms. Malkin said remote participation should remain an option for the public, using hybrid technology the commission tried out last month.

The state legislature recently extended allowances for remote meetings into 2025 and several Island municipal boards continue to meet over Zoom.

Commissioners on Thursday had a range of responses to the new procedure, with several arguing that online meetings have led to more public engagement over the past three years and represent an advance over pre-pandemic technology.

“It seems a little retro to say everyone needs to be in person,” commissioner Kathy Newman said.

Commissioners Jeff Agnoli and Peter Wharton supported continuing the remote model, which the commission adopted three years ago as the Covid-19 pandemic arrived.

“I think we need to keep our options open to maintain the highest possible level of participation,” Mr. Wharton said.

Commissioners Kate Putnam and Carole Vandal voiced concerns about inclusion, the environmental impact of driving to the meetings and the toll of the commitment on commissioners themselves.

“It’s a burden as you get increasingly distant from Oak Bluffs and it gets later at night,” Ms. Putnam said.

Ms. Vandal said her drive from Aquinnah is both arduous and expensive.

“I will be there. I will step up to the plate because I think that my voice needs to be heard but, I also feel that it’s an equity situation for many of us,” she said.

Commissioner Greg Martino took a dim view of hybrid meetings.

“That’s going to end up probably as an empty room with commissioners in it, speaking to a TV,” he said.

But the benefits of meeting in the same room outweighed potential drawbacks for the majority of commissioners.

“As a quasi-judicial body, when we’re sitting in judgment of projects, I think facing the people who are coming before us, in a room, is very important,” Fred Hancock said.

“I’m not saying we make different decisions on Zoom … but just in terms of public accountability, I think it’s important to go back to the standard,” he added.

Face-to-face meetings bring more integrity to the process, commissioner Ben Robinson said.

“Being in the room is way better, as a participant, than being on Zoom,” he said.

“If you want to make a statement and you want it to mean something, you should show up,” Mr. Robinson said.

Commissioners in particular should be present, he added.

Before agreeing to the three-month hybrid trial, commissioner Christina Brown said she has been impressed with the effectiveness of commission meetings held online, compared to before the pandemic.

“On Zoom, each commission member is sitting there thinking, really listening to each other, and then speaks in a way that helps the rest of us veer toward a decision. That didn’t happen when we were not on Zoom,” she said.

The commission meets virtually one more time on April 13 at 7 p.m. before returning to the MVC’s Stone Building on New York avenue in Oak Bluffs next month.