A preliminary plan to reconfigure a family subdivision for Flat Point Farm in West Tisbury came before the Martha’s Vineyard Commission during a public hearing at their regular meeting Thursday evening.

The Form B estate plan is a modification of a previous a development of regional impact (DRI) that would create four new lots for building, reconfigure four existing lots and create and/or reconfigure five lots around existing buildings on the property. Nine lots are currently grandfathered and have existing structures on them. The plan would also place 35 additional acres of property into conservation, bringing the total conserved land on the 115-acre farm to about 60 acres.

The coastal farm fronting the Tisbury Great Pond has been held by the Fischer family for generations.

In 2009, the commission approved a similar preliminary plan for the Priscilla P. Fischer Trust, but a definitive plan was never filed. A form B plan is not developable and not recorded by the town planning board, so the proposed changes to the property were never made.

Reid Silva, a land engineer and surveyor, and attorney Eric Peters represented the Fischer family at the Thursday meeting. Mr. Reid told commissioners that the trust was seeking feedback from the commission on how to move forward with the application.

“The details aren’t ironed out, but that’s not the point,” said Mr. Silva. “Essentially [the lots] have been planned for the kids.”

Commissioner Leon Braithwaite said he would not vote for any changes because the new estate plan would remove three one-acre affordable housing lots from the property and add an affordable lot off-site. Arnold Fischer Jr., who attended the meeting, responded that the lots had always been intended for family members only. He said the family has since grown and the new plan fits the family’s needs better.

“It’s not, quote, affordable housing, it’s real affordable housing,” Mr. Fischer said. “There are two families here looking for housing and if the plan doesn’t go through there are two young families who won’t have a place to stay on Martha’s Vineyard.”

One of the farm’s neighbors, Samantha Look, expressed concern about increased traffic on Great Neck Road if more house are built on the farm.

“It is a little road,” she said. “I don’t see somewhere in the plan how to keep the road safe. I would love to see a condition about how the road would be addressed.”

Commissioner Linda Sibley said road issues would be addressed once a Form C (definitive plan) is filed, and that the road would be required to conform to town road standards.

Other neighbors and town residents wrote letters in support of the plan, among other things noting the family’s long commitment to land stewardship and workforce housing.

The public hearing was closed, and written comments will be accepted until May 18.

In other business, commissioners approved a series of amendments to the Aquinnah district of critical planning concern (DCPC) regulations. The changes clarify the definition of frontage and allow the town planning board more flexibility in dealing with unique frontage issues.

The commission also unanimously approved a new water quality management policy, pending minor changes, for future DRI projects to combat nitrogen loading in Island estuaries. The plan outlines how to measure nitrogen levels and how to mitigate excess levels.