Commission Takes NStar to Task Over New, Taller Utility Poles
Sara Brown

Spokesmen for the power company NStar told the Martha’s Vineyard Commission Thursday that they believe the commission has no jurisdiction over a project to install new, oversized utility poles around the Island. The poles have raised the hackles of Islanders and public officials who say they are ruinous to roadside aesthetics and out of character for the Vineyard.

Read More

As Keepers of the Island Way, Martha's Vineyard Commission Has Strong Support
Sara Brown

A second public hearing was set for Thursday night before the Martha’s Vineyard Commission on expansion plans for the Stop & Shop grocery store in Vineyard Haven. As the commission begins an exhaustive review of one of the largest and most complicated commercial development projects in recent memory on the Island, public opinion and institutional knowledge about the commission is mixed.

Read More

Commission Says It Will Review New Telephone Poles
Sara Brown

The Martha’s Vineyard Commission will review new utility poles placed around the Island as a development of regional impact (DRI).

The regional authority voted 13-1 last Thursday that the project merited review by the commission, DRI director Paul Foley said. Edgartown commissioner James Joyce was the no vote.

Read More

Commission Will Review New, Larger Utility Poles
Sara Brown

The land use planning committee of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission recommended Monday that new NStar utility poles should be referred to the commission as a development of regional impact (DRI).

With a majority of the commission members attending the meeting, the group voted 11-0 that the installation of about 180 larger utility poles on pubic roadways.

Read More

Opinion, Attitudes on Role of MVC
Sara Brown

The Martha’s Vineyard Commission has an important role to play when it comes to planning and protection of the Vineyard environment, a majority of people polled by the Vineyard Gazette Harris Interactive survey said.

The commission was singled out for special questioning in the survey which polled more than 500 seasonal and permanent residents on issues ranging from quality of life to cell phone service.

Read More

Phone Poles Will Get Commission Review
Ivy Ashe

Amid growing negative public sentiment over a telephone pole replacement project on the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road, the Tisbury selectmen have referred the project to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission for possible review.
Meeting in emergency session last Friday, the selectmen voted to refer the NStar project to the MVC as a development of regional impact (DRI). The height and size of the poles is at issue.
The move to refer the matter to the commission was recommended by town administrator John (Jay) Grande after consulting with town clerk Marion Mudge.

Read More

Commission Weighs Plans to Double Oak Bluffs Church
Sara Brown

Plans to add a large expansion to an Oak Bluffs church continued to face scrutiny at the Martha’s Vineyard Commission late last week, as commissioners and neighbors questioned the impact on the neighborhood and the environment.

The Alliance Community Church (formerly Nova Vida) has applied to build a 9,000-square-foot addition to its Ryan’s Way building in order to build a 150-seat church.

Read More

Change to Stop & Shop Expansion Plans Will Delay Public Hearing

A public hearing on a major expansion plan for the Stop & Shop store on the Vineyard Haven waterfront has been postponed, the Martha’s Vineyard Commission said this week.

The hearing, the first formal public review of the expansion plan, was set for June 6.

MVC development of regional impact (DRI) coordinator Paul Foley said this week that he was notified by the attorney for Stop & Shop that changes were being made to the plans, but that the applicant would not be ready in time for June 6.

Read More

North Shore Nominated for Protection
Chris Burrell

The Martha's Vineyard Commission acted swiftly last night to set in motion a plan that could preserve the north shore between the West Chop and Gay Head lighthouses as it is today - pristine and virtually free of any piers, docks or groins.

Read More

Loss of Passenger Ferries in Vineyard Haven Hits Hard at Businesses Along Beach Road
Chris Burrell

There are no ripples or wake anymore, but the impact of no Schamonchi and no fast ferry from New London, Conn., has hit some businesses in Tisbury hard, especially along Beach Road where the ferries used to dock and disgorge tourists by the hundreds.

Read More

Pages