Capt. William Lewis has sold to a syndicate of Boston gentlemen all the land, wharf property, &c., of the West Point Land Co., on West Chop, Martha’s Vineyard.
The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank has signed an agreement to buy and conserve seven acres of farmland as part of a larger, proposed 35-acre subdivision in West Tisbury that would include affordable and market-rate housing developments.
While Chappaquiddick left an indelible mark on the Vineyard, the broadscale population change and development that occurred on the Island over the next 50 years had started long beforehand.
A Martha’s Vineyard Commission survey confirms a stark contrast between the needs of renters and homeowners on the Island.
Working as a group, six Island planning boards have launched an initiative that aims to create hundreds of affordable housing units over the next 10 years.
The early framers were the Thomas Jeffersons of the Vineyard - visionaries and idealists ahead of their time. They looked down the road, saw trouble and took action, with an eye toward a regional solution.
The result was the Martha's Vineyard Commission, a regulatory commission considered unique in American government, both then and now.
Listening to the banter of benchwarmers in front of the Edgartown town hall, it's hard to tell if it's 1972, 1982, 1992 or 2002.
The characters have changed, but the themes stayed the same. The building trade is booming. There's a new home on every corner. The town can't house its young people.
"We've always been talking about growth. We've always thought we're growing too fast," said Larry Mercier, lifelong Edgartown resident and respected town official.
