A subdivision proposal in Edgartown drew condemnation Thursday night from members of the public who worried about the project’s potential to add extra traffic, further degrade Edgartown Great Pond and continue to push development on the Vineyard. 

Nearly 20 people spoke up at the Martha’s Vineyard Commission public hearing on the Katama Meadows subdivision, adding their voices to the more than 100 letters received by the Islandwide planning agency. Almost all at the meeting were in opposition, as were a majority of the letters. 

Many attendees got a first glimpse at a slightly redesigned plan of the 54-acre subdivision, which will include 26 market-rate lots, 12 community housing lots for people making up to 250 per cent of the area median income and 14 lots that would be donated to the town of Edgartown. 

This new version made changes to the open space aspects of the plan, creating a contiguous corridor between the 27 acres of open space. But most remained unconvinced about the idea, saying the project is simply too large, too close to the pond and too skewed towards housing that wouldn’t benefit Islanders. 

“I want to be able to go out and quahaug and be out in these wild and scenic ponds,” said Samantha Look, the head of Vineyard Conservation Society. “It’s not going to happen if we let this kind of development happen. We have to think about saying, ‘Enough, the Island’s full.’” 

Thursday’s hearing lasted about two and a half hours. A traffic consultant and attorney for applicants Douglas Anderson and Richard Matthews ran through the potential impact on traffic in the area, but held off on talking about the 14 lots that would be donated to the town. 

Martha’s Vineyard Commission hearing officer Doug Sederholm said Edgartown and Katama Meadows are still hammering out details on that portion of the proposal and the housing makeup would come up at the next hearing on March 19. 

Traffic was a point of contention in the hearing, with several commission members questioning the traffic study that was performed by the applicant’s consultant. 

Heather Monticup, of Greenman-Pedersen, Inc, said that the development, which would have more than 200 bedrooms total if built out to capacity, isn’t expected to contribute much to traffic in the area. 

According to the modeling, the 52 new homes would generate about 41 new vehicle trips during the peak morning hours between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. and about 54 extra trips during the peak hours of 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The counts were based on traffic collected in the area in August in 2017, and then adjusted for 2026, including with the addition of the nearby Meshacket Commons housing project. Still, the figures and collection times were questioned by some commission members. 

Michael Kim, the governor’s appointee on the commission, countered by saying that the peak times on the Vineyard may actually be later in the day if tourists are headed to the beach, meaning this study was not capturing the actual traffic impact. 

“Do you believe it’s possible that the peak period for vacation community could be 10:30 a.m.?” he asked. 

Others contended that adding a large development, especially one that could have several seasonal homes with cars coming and going throughout the day, would make the summer traffic woes of Edgartown even worse. 

“You just can’t go in or out of Edgartown,” said Adrian Higgins.

Mr. Higgins works in construction and shuttling trucks around town is essentially impossible in the summer. 

“The town itself is so choked and absolutely it just shuts down,” he said. “The notion that you bring in a subdivision that’s going to bring it to how many cars? Two-hundred more cars, 300 more cars, I don’t understand.” 

The potential for more nitrogen to leach into Edgartown Great Pond was also a major concern that was raised by several members of the public. The pond remains in a fragile state and any additional stress could be a massive blow, said Emily Reddington, the executive director of the Great Pond Foundation, a group that focuses on pond resilience  

“This proposed development will be removing intact habitat that currently mitigates nitrogen, will be adding impervious surfaces, swimming pools and other things that contribute to nitrogen runoff, adding lawns which will have nitrogen and phosphorus runoff and…these are all things that make their way into the groundwater of this protected pond,” she said.

The income restriction mix for the property was also questioned by some, who wondered if there could be better ways of meeting the needs of the Island. Many felt that the 250 per cent area median income, which would equate to a salary of more than $250,000 for a single person, didn’t service the Island’s growing affordability gap. 

“This is going to help a very small fringe of people who have very substantial income on this Island, if they need that help,” said Kate Putnam, a former Edgartown commissioner. “And the question would be, do they need that help?”

After taking testimony from the public, commissioner Brian Smith encouraged the applicants to get creative to find ways to help the Island’s housing crisis without hurting the great pond. 

Katama Meadows attorney Robert Moriarty said new details would emerge soon that would get at what Mr. Smith was hoping for. 

“You’re going to like what you’re going to hear,” Mr. Moriarty said. “It’s going to be different.”