A proposed 100-apartment affordable housing complex needs to bring more details to Island planners before it can start a full public review, members of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission said this week.

The commission’s land use planning committee Monday told developers William Cumming and Chris Miller it needs more details about their mixed-use Green Villa development eyed for land in Oak Bluffs near the regional high school before the application can go to the full commission. 

“There are some really huge issues outstanding,” said commissioner Joan Malkin.

Expected to be a 132-unit development near the Southern Tier affordable housing project on Edgartown Vineyard Haven Road, some commissioners wondered what rules there would be around the four retail businesses for the space. 

“I want to know what restrictions they plan to put on the retail,” commissioner Linda Sibley said.

Mr. Cumming has said he is interested in stores such as a pharmacy, food store, bank branch or package service.

But perhaps the biggest roadblock is a dispute over the rules for the Oak Bluffs zoning board of appeals process. Earlier this summer, the developers challenged the town’s zoning board of appeals decision to not allow a streamlined application process under the state’s housing laws, known commonly as 40B.  

Under state law, if a developer plans to produce a certain number of affordable housing units in a project, they can apply under a single comprehensive permit to the zoning board of appeals, while also skirting some zoning provisions. 

But under 40B, towns that make progress toward affordable housing goals can claim “safe harbor” status, giving them power to enact more restrictions on housing projects. 

At the heart of the dispute in Oak Bluffs is how much affordable housing the town approved and where those projects are in development.

In April 2023, the Oak Bluffs zoning board approved the Southern Tier project, a neighborhood of 60 affordable apartments. In a June 13 letter, the zoning board claimed this approval, along with a new housing plan by the town, gained the municipality the safe harbor protections. 

But in an appeal to the state, Mr. Cumming’s attorney argued that, because the Southern Tier development hadn’t been built within a year of approval, it should no longer be eligible towards the town’s affordable housing goals, stripping any chance of gaining the safe harbor status.

The state in July ruled the board had not asserted the safe harbor status in a timely manner, and found that the Southern Tier units were ineligible. Mr. Cumming said the town has since appealed that ruling. 

The state’s Housing Appeals Committee continues to review the appeal, and a determination has not yet been made, said Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities spokesperson Kevin O’Connor.

The Martha’s Vineyard Commission’s land use planning committee is expected to take the project up again on Sept. 23. 

If approved, Green Villa would build 84 one-bedroom apartments, 16 three-bedroom apartments and four retail stores. Twenty-five per cent of the residences would be reserved for people making below 80 per cent of the area median income and the rest would be reserved for people making under 150 per cent. 

Editor's note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the project did not have a wastewater plan. The article has also been updated with further information about the safe harbor status appeal.