The Tisbury select board denied an application for a moped business last week, citing safety concerns.

The board voted unanimously at its June 28 meeting to reject Island Adventure Rentals’ application to resume moped rentals on Beach Road. The business had long been one of the few remaining moped rental operations on the Island and the only one outside of Oak Bluffs.

The business closed during the pandemic and was attempting to reopen. The renting of mopeds on the Vineyard has been a contentious issue going back decades and there have been several attempts to ban them in the state legislature in the name of public safety.

Erin Leone, the owner of Island Adventure, touted the business’s test track where potential riders have to show off their skills before renting a moped. She said she’s ready to deny people a moped if she didn’t believe they were capable of safely navigating Island roads.

“I make sure safety is first,” she said. “I really do.”

But the board was hesitant to approve the license.

Select board member John Cahill said there have been 174 moped crashes in the last 10 years and fellow board member Christina Colarusso said she’s seen people injured firsthand while working as a first responder in Chilmark.

Mr. Cahill made the motion to deny the license due to constraints of the property, concerns about the location and fear for public safety.

The decision did not sit well with Ms. Leone, who contended that an issue in town hall resulted in her paperwork not being processed correctly during the pandemic. She claimed at the meeting that the license should have been a renewal, not a new license.

Seemingly stunned after the vote, Ms. Leone asked the board what the denial meant.

“You could try another town or another location,” Mr. Cahill responded.