Aquinnah selectmen this week held off on signing a conservation restriction on two parcels that are tied to the Moshup Trail Project. Two of the three selectmen told Brendan O’Neill, the executive director of the Vineyard Conservation Society, that there are too many unresolved issues.
Selectman Walter Delaney said: “I do have questions.” Mr. Delaney said at least one of the parcels, five acres belonging to South Shore Beach Inc., is used as a beach access club. Mr. Delaney asked how a conservation restriction can apply to a 16-car parking lot and how it benefits the town.
At a joint meeting held this week in Aquinnah, the board of selectmen and conservation commission unanimously endorsed two conservation restrictions along Moshup Trail. The gift of the restrictions -- called CRs -- was held up several weeks ago as selectmen inquired into the relative benefits to be gained from them.
The southwest view from the Gay Head Cliffs combines smooth beach and green hills, with tiny vernal pools dotting a landscape of leafy trees, wildflowers and dunes.
Beach BeFrienders has met monthly since its inception, gathering to clean different beaches with a rotating group of volunteers. This year’s summer season begins Saturday, June 29 in Aquinnah where from 8 to 10 a.m. volunteers will head out to Philbin, Lobsterville and Moshup’s Beach.
A draft project aimed at opening up more scenic views along Moshup Trail won the backing of the Aquinnah select board at their meeting Tuesday, pending permits.
The Gay Head selectmen voted yesterday to take the property of Andrew and Brenda Warshaw through eminent domain, seizing the couple's retirement property but shielding the rare geology and wildlife of the Moshup Trail.
The taking of the Warshaw land was authorized by voters at a special town meeting Dec. 7. But since then, a selectmen's vote has repeatedly been postponed, as the community has struggled with questions about fairness. The Warshaws were not notified of the town meeting.
A decision by the U.S. Supreme court closes the book on a decades-long court battle over whether private land off Moshup Trail can be opened up for development.
Aquinnah landowners who have been battling for nearly 18 years to develop some 30 acres of land off Moshup Trail won a favorable decision this week from the state Court of Appeals, but the convoluted legal saga continues.
The gift of 17 small parcels valued at $3.7 million represents an important conservation gain in the rare heathlands of Aquinnah, conservation leaders said.
