At their first meeting of the year, the Chilmark selectmen looked ahead to the annual town meeting in the spring and tackled a wide-ranging agenda, including issues related to immigration, moped safety, tiny houses, the search for a new police chief and a project to restore Squibnocket Beach.

A petition by the Island group We Stand Together, which formed after the presidential election last year, asks town officials and law enforcement officers to support the Island immigrant community by agreeing not to use town funds or resources to enforce federal immigration laws unless presented with a criminal warrant or evidence of probable cause, as required by the U.S. Constitution.

The petition was delivered to Chilmark with 12 signatures this week – more than the 10 required to place the question before voters at the annual town meeting. The group hopes to bring the question to a vote in other Island towns this year as well.

Responses in Chilmark were mixed.

Interim police chief Tim Rich, who had attended an earlier meeting with Island police chiefs and members of We Stand Together, said the chiefs had felt uncomfortable with the wording of the article. “It sounded like the finger was being waved, that something was being improperly done,” he said.

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to deport millions of undocumented immigrants and restore the controversial Secure Communities program managed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — stirring deep anxiety among U.S. immigrants and others in their communities.

Mr. Rich, who served as Chilmark police chief until 2009, pointed out that Island police departments do not enforce federal law, although information about detainees goes into a federal database and ICE may choose to take action from there. The petition article states that it would not change current procedures, although future policies at the federal level could potentially put Chilmark at odds with federal law.

“It’s a slippery slope,” Mr. Rich said, anticipating future laws the Island might also oppose.

But selectman Warren Doty spoke passionately in favor of the resolution.

“We have undocumented kids in our schools,” he said. “When we’re faced with the idea that someone is organizing a deportation force, which has been mentioned in national politics a great deal, we need to make a statement that we are not in favor.” He noted the importance of immigrants to the community in general. “We don’t have any program for that guy who has two girls in the high school and a wife who goes to church,” he said. “We don’t have a plan for that family.”

Selectman Bill Rossi said he supported the concept of protecting immigrants, but questioned the language of the article and said it deserved more thought.

The selectmen took no formal action.

In other business, the selectmen agreed on a process for hiring a new police chief following the abrupt resignation of Brian Cioffi in December. Advertisements for the position appear this week in Island papers and on the Chilmark website. Applications are due Jan. 31, with selectmen aiming for a start date in early spring. Mr. Rich will serve on a three-member review committee appointed by the selectmen.

Mr. Rich is also working with the Mopeds Are Dangerous Action Committee to bring a nonbinding referendum to all six towns in the spring — either on town meeting warrants or annual election ballots — to gauge public support for stricter rules regarding mopeds. The question had yet to be drafted, but he said it could focus on safety requirements such as helmets and closed-toe shoes, along with better enforcement of a 2004 bylaw in Oak Bluffs that deals with moped regulations.

Meanwhile, town health agent Marina Lent has presented early plans for a community of tiny houses in Chilmark — one possible way to address the Island’s perpetual shortage of affordable housing. A proposed pilot study that she is pursuing with others on the Island aims to build a cluster of tiny houses on a single lot, with shared septic systems and other services to further lower costs for tenants.

Many questions remain, including just how small the houses should be, where they will go and what changes may be required of the town zoning bylaws. The town effectively allows up to 3,500 square feet of living space on three acres, which could support three 389-square-foot houses, or four 292-square-foot houses per acre. Ms. Lent said building at that density would be possible under chapter 40B of the state general laws, which allows some flexibility for projects that involve affordable housing. But she favored adding an exemption to the town zoning bylaws, which would require voter approval.

The selectmen seemed open to some version of the idea, but agreed it was too early to make any decisions.

“I think it’s something that we should look into, I just think it’s a bit of a moving target,” said Mr. Rossi, who questioned the practicality of such small houses, in part since they may discourage longer-term residency. “I just don’t like the concept of tiny houses,” he added. “Small houses I can live with.”

Mr. Doty was more upbeat, calling the proposal “a very creative idea,” and praising Ms. Lent for her efforts so far. The selectmen are still waiting for the town planning board and housing committee to weigh in on the proposal.

Also on Thursday, the selectmen approved a town meeting article asking voters to amend the Squibnocket Pond district bylaw to allow for reconstructed or relocated roadways, “including the addition of elevated sections or causeways,” within 100 feet of the pond. A long-planned project featuring an elevated causeway between the pond and Squibnocket Beach has been stalled for months in light of an appeal that cites the existing district bylaw, which greatly limits development in the area.

Following up on town meeting votes in Chilmark and Aquinnah in 2014, Mr. Carroll reported that the state legislature last year finally approved the towns’ request for a new town line in Menemsha. The change would address longstanding confusion surrounding properties on Boathouse Road, where the current line zigzags through three buildings. The new line will place each building squarely in one town or the other. One obstacle still remains, with Gov. Charlie Baker asking for proof that both towns did in fact desire the change. Mr. Carroll planned to send the necessary documents, and was hopeful Governor Baker would sign the legislation this week.