Developer Robert Sawyer has withdrawn his proposal to demolish a historic home and build an apartment building just days after the project was initially reviewed by the Martha's Vineyard Commission.

Robert Sawyer came to the Martha's Vineyard Commission Thursday seeking permission to knock down a historic home to make way for a new 8-unit housing complex. The MVC said it needed more information before it could decide.

The West Tisbury planning board approved a long-planned affordable housing development at 401 State Road on Monday, one of the project’s final regulatory hurdles.

The West Tisbury select board this week took steps to reorganize the town affordable housing committee after a period of disarray, appointing two new members and asking the committee to reconsider its leadership.

At a hearing this week, Vineyarders threw their weight behind a local option transfer fee, the new seasonal community designation and other measures intended to alleviate the state’s housing affordability crisis. 

State Sen. Julian Cyr took a swing through the Island last week, meeting with housing advocates, hosting a campaign event and outlining his priorities in a meeting with Gazette reporters and editors.

In the face of a persistent housing crunch, a controversial state law designed to spur development of affordable housing is once again being considered by Island housing advocates as key to meeting a critical need.

Southern Tier, a new neighborhood of 60 affordable apartments just east of the Martha’s Vineyard Ice Arena in Oak Bluffs, plans to be built in one phase instead of two after the Martha’s Vineyard Commission approved the change this week.

Michael Kim, the owner of Michael Kim Architecture in Brookline and the governor’s appointee on the commission, presented a study last week to the MVC that looked at the viability of housing for workers on employer-owned properties across the Island.

A long-planned program meant to encourage private affordable housing efforts in West Tisbury failed to get off the ground at a special town meeting Tuesday, when residents voted 24 to 80 against a $250,000 funding request.