The chief justice of the Massachusetts Land Court heard arguments
this week in a groundbreaking case that will ultimately decide whether
the Martha's Vineyard Commission has the power to review low and
moderate-income housing projects under Chapter 40B, a section of state
law commonly known as the anti-snob zoning statute.
NANTUCKET - Walter Beinecke's name is spoken with a sense of awe and an undercurrent of resentment. He's the fellow, people here will tell you, who in the 1960s awoke this sleepy little island. He's the entrepreneur, who, owning much of Nantucket's downtown and practically all of the working harborfront - jammed with more fishing vessels than tourists in those days, did the math. He figured the place could benefit more from 100 people spending $100 each than 1,000 people buying a $10 T-shirt.
When leaders of the Island Affordable Housing Fund (IAHF) say they'll be collecting $14 million within five years, it's clear there's no room for negotiation.
"There's a lot to be done," John Abrams, chairman of the young non-profit's board, said flatly.
Ruling that the dire need for low-cost rental housing trumps traffic
concerns, the Martha's Vineyard Commission voted unanimously last
night to approve the Pennywise Path affordable housing project in
Edgartown.
Three feet of snow blanketed the ground that day in 1977 when more than two dozen Islanders trudged into the First Congregational Church in West Tisbury, hoping to win a small piece of the Vineyard.
Ann Milstein was pregnant. Pat Carlet had three small daughters in tow. One by one, Vineyard Open Land Foundation (VOLF) officials pulled names out of a box, awarding five Island families the right to buy land in Pilot Hill Farm at a bargain rate.
Debate over the Supreme Court justice nominee John G. Roberts raged
in Chilmark. Dinner guests sat in awe as Patricia Neal recited her
Hollywood Walk of Fame address on Edgartown harbor. And couples danced
the night away to the cabaret music of Eric Comstock and Barbara Fasano
in Lambert's Cove.
A tight-knit community of family farmhouses in the wooded hills off
Tabor House Road. Homes that optimize their surrounding landscape and
maximize exposure to the sun. A rambling stone wall surrounded by
daffodils.
These are the images the Chilmark housing committee will introduce
to town residents next week as part of a new conceptual design and
feasibility report on the Middle Line Road project, the town-proposed
affordable housing development.
Affordable Housing Initiative Clears Key Hurdles at Ballot Box
By JAMES KINSELLA
Voters in three Vineyard towns yesterday brought the Island a step closer to the creation of a housing bank by backing the initiative and enacting the Community Preservation Act.
Approval of the CPA in Edgartown, Oak Bluffs and West Tisbury provided a crucial step on the road to establishment of a housing bank, which would be modeled on the Martha's Vineyard Land Bank.
Martha's Vineyard may have an affordable housing crisis on its hands, but it also has the community support and political will to address the issue.
And if the Island's many grassroots housing organizations cooperate in their present efforts and continue to experiment with new ones, the crisis in the long run could change the Vineyard for the better.
Market forces continue to outpace efforts on the Vineyard to create
affordable rental and permanent housing.
Further, housing advocates say that while some people who could not
find housing in 2001 may have left the Vineyard, those who stayed likely
have watched the gap widen between the wages they earn and the houses
they hope to buy.
