The Martha’s Vineyard Commission opened its weekly meeting Thursday by remembering former commissioner Christina Brown, who died on May 27.
Ms. Brown served on the commission for 28 years as Edgartown’s elected representative.
“She was more than just a fellow commissioner to me. She was a friend,” commissioner Linda Sibley said. “I really love Christina.... She was a very helpful, hardworking, dedicated member of the commission.”
Commission chair Fred Hancock said that Ms. Brown served as an inspiration to fellow commissioners with her clarity of thought and firm grasp on many of the commission’s “arcane” procedures.
“She was very good when she was the chair about explaining, especially to new members like myself at that time, what was really going on,” Mr. Hancock said.
“She especially cared about protecting the natural environment of this beautiful Island and of trying to do whatever we could to create housing for the young people here,” commissioner Doug Sederholm said.
After remembering Ms. Brown, the commission turned its focus to two West Tisbury subdivisions, continuing hearings on both the Flat Point Farm and Bangs subdivisions.
The Flat Point Farm subdivision proposes to create four new buildable lots, each five acres, and dedicate 60 acres to agricultural preservation out of 110 acres owned by the Fischer Family on Tisbury Great Pond. The proposal would also divide the property’s existing residences into separate units.
The Bangs subdivision proposes to divide a woodland lot into three eight-acre buildable lots and a single 1.3 acre affordable housing lot. However, the subdivision’s potential neighbors on Old Coach Road have claim that the Bangs family and any future residents of the property do not have right-of-way access to the property.
Glenn Provost, representing the Bangs family, said that easement issues had been settled, although a member of the Old Coach Road Association debated Mr. Provost’s claim.
Commissioners said they could only weigh in on the subdivision, and that issues regarding right-of-way would have to be settled in court.
After continuing the hearings on both subdivisions, the commission approved an updated flood risk policy, which governs new construction and renovation projects on the shoreline. New predictions about sea level rise and storm frequency necessitated the policy, commission researcher Alex Elvin said.
The commission also voted to review a proposal at the West Tisbury Inn to expand its number of legally rentable rooms from three to five. However, after hearing the commission’s decision to review the project as a development of regional impact, inn proprietor Keith Bassett said he would withdraw his application.
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