The Oak Bluffs zoning board of appeals settled a dispute over the use of land owned by Goodale Construction Company Thursday night

The definition of agriculture is under scrutiny by the Oak Bluffs zoning board of appeals, as neighbors butt heads with a landscaper operating on a property owned by Goodale Construction Company.

Though there is only one gravel pit on the Vineyard, the issue is not so different from other neighborhood squabbles occurring more frequently all over the Island where action by one property owner impinges on the lifestyle of another.

Goodale Construction can continue to mine for sand and gravel without special permitting from the town, following a vote of the Oak Bluffs board of appeals. The vote overrules the building inspector who said the company had exceeded its nonconforming use which dates to 1948.

The town zoning board of appeals is considering whether or not to require the owners of Goodale’s sand and gravel pit to apply for a special permit to mine new areas of their property. A public hearing opened last week that saw strong expressions on both sides of the issue.

The Goodale Construction Company has long mined for sand and gravel without restrictions. But what was once an isolated, sparsely populated region today includes residential homes. The town is asking Goodale’s to obtain a special permit for its operation.

The town of Oak Bluffs has decided to take a harder look at operations at the Goodale’s Sand and Gravel Pit in Oak Bluffs. Recently-appointed building inspector James Dunn has determined that a hot asphalt storage silo operating on the site since last April runs afoul of town zoning.

Is Goodale’s sand and gravel pit expanding? On Thursday the Martha’s Vineyard commission said no and sent the matter back to the town of Oak Bluffs.

The Martha’s Vineyard Commission must hold a public hearing to decide whether the operation at Goodale’s pit in Oak Bluffs requires review as a development of regional impact (DRI), the commission executive director has said.

The decision to hold the hearing comes after some confusion about whether the town of Oak Bluffs had referred the site to the commission as a concurrence review or a discretionary referral, two different commission procedures.

Goodale’s Pit, the longtime family-owned earth mining business in Oak Bluffs, does not need review by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission as a development of regional impact, a key commission subcommittee decided Monday.

The MVC land use planning committee voted 10-1 to recommend no review by the full commission, sending the matter back to the town.