Across the Island but particularly in the down-Island towns, changing tastes and demands from owners of historic homes are increasingly butting up against rules designed to preserve the character of the Island.
In recent years, the Martha’s Vineyard Commission strengthened its oversight of century-old buildings that lie outside designated town historic districts — oversight that has been met with increasing resistance from some homeowners.
Last week, civil engineer Douglas Hoehn told the town’s conservation commission that his client, real estate investor David Malm, will no longer be moving forward with the exercise spa at 81 South Water street.
Depending on one’s perspective, the Island’s historic district commissions are the last stalwarts fighting to preserve the Vineyard’s eroding character or another bureaucratic hurdle for frustrated homeowners.
The realities of maintaining the Vineyard’s often picturesque past have become increasingly complex, as voluntary boards grapple with insufficient resources and occasional resistance from homeowners who want amenities never imagined by their forebears.
More than four years after the steeple and bell came down from atop Tisbury Town Hall, the 1844 building — a former church — finally has them back again.
The Old Variety Store building in downtown Oak Bluffs adjacent to the Flying Horses Carousel is slated for teardown, after the town issued a demolition permit last month and the select board approved a sidewalk closure at the site Tuesday.
The Martha’s Vineyard Commission denied a proposed historic home demolition on Thursday evening, resolving to protect a 120-year-old Four Square style building in Vineyard Haven.
The fourth lawsuit in as many months was filed this week against the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, an unprecedented volume of litigation that is driving up legal bills.
