The Martha's Vineyard Commission backed away Thursday night from a push to redraw the Vineyard Golf Club's Island membership plan.
Commission members dropped the issue of the subjective selection process citing not principles, but politics. Commissioners openly acknowledged that pushing for a lottery system could do more harm than good, threatening an already strained relationship with a town board.
Thoughtful land planning, the end game in development, difficult decisions in the name of protecting the unique qualities of the Vineyard - values, values, values. These were the central themes this week when candidates for the Martha's Vineyard Commission squared off in a public forum one week before the biennial state election.
Using new lawyers but spelling out the same themes, the developers
of the Down Island Golf Club filed a lawsuit against the Martha's
Vineyard Commission late last week, attacking everything from the recent
vote to reject a luxury golf course project in the southern woodlands to
the enabling legislation that created the commission.
A crowd of Vineyard residents registered their concerns with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding a proposed private energy project that aims to plant 170 windmills in 28 square miles of shallow water in Nantucket Sound. For nearly two hours last Thursday night an audience of 60 entered comments into the formal record during a scoping session held in conjunction with a Martha's Vineyard Commission meeting in the basement of the Old Whaling Church in Edgartown.
The developer of the Down Island Golf Club told the Martha's
Vineyard Commission last week that the members of the private luxury
golf complex he hopes to build will be "rich people" who
will bring no real benefit to the town of Oak Bluffs or the Island.
Commissioners Open Review of Southern Woodlands Plan
By JULIA WELLS
Battles lines were drawn last night when a Bolton developer who
wants to build a massive housing project in the Southern Woodlands gave
the Martha's Vineyard Commission its first glimpse of the project.
In fact a glimpse was all that was available, as developer Brian
Lafferty unveiled only the barest outlines of his plan to build 320
homes on 288 acres in Oak Bluffs.
MVC Power of Review on Housing Projects Upheld in Key Ruling by
State Land Court
By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer
In a groundbreaking decision that affects every town on the
Vineyard, the chief justice of the Massachusetts Land Court ruled last
week that the Martha's Vineyard Commission has full power of
review over low and moderate income housing projects under Chapter 40B,
a section of state law commonly known as the anti-snob zoning statute.
The Martha's Vineyard Commission last night affirmed its decision to reject the Down Island Golf Club plan, but not before a minor fracas around an unexpected eleventh-hour pitch from the Oak Bluffs selectmen to have the commission delay the final written version of the denial.
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.
Emotions ran high throughout the final night of public testimony regarding a Chapter 40B affordable housing development that, if approved, would place 20 homes on 4.9 acres of land near Tisbury's center.
