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. 

Expansion plans at the Aidylberg elderly housing complex in Oak Bluffs are likely headed to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission for review.

The Martha’s Vineyard Commission approved a project to tear down a historic summer cottage in East Chop, weighing the benefits of responsible rebuilding against the loss of history.

A plan to raze and rebuild a historic house on East Chop Drive will be decided soon by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, after a public hearing closed Thursday night on the demolition project.

The Martha’s Vineyard Commission is retroactively reviewing the demolition of a historic Oak Bluffs cottage that was torn down prior to referral, causing confusion.

The Cottage City historic district commission this week took a first look at a plan to demolish and rebuild a dilapidated building that abuts the landmark Flying Horses Carousel.

The Martha’s Vineyard Commission decided this week to move forward with a public hearing on the proposed demolition of the Denniston House in Oak Bluffs regardless of the timetable for other town committees.

A small and largely unknown group of Oak Bluffs neighbors are circulating a petition calling for the abolishment of the Cottage City Historic District, claiming that the historic district commission routinely violates homeowners’ property rights and is driving down property values.

Oak Bluffs voters this week narrowly defeated a proposal to include the North Bluff section of town in the Cottage City Historic District.

At Tuesday night's special town meeting, voters also argued over how much money a resident could earn and still qualify for town-subsidized property for affordable housing.

In the end, voters opted by majority voice vote to qualify households making up to 140 per cent of median income in Dukes County - a level that advocates said would include people such as teachers and police officers in the program.

It's not heartless developers or steel wrecking balls that scare a group of historic preservationists in Oak Bluffs, but a combination of other factors that sound far more innocuous - low interest rates, a new sewer system and a surge in real estate values.

These ingredients set the stage for a building and renovation boom that, left unchecked, could ruin the town's architectural legacy.