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.