The Martha’s Vineyard Commission is close to finishing its deliberations on the controversial Katama Meadows subdivision in Edgartown, after another three-hour session Thursday night to discuss the conditions of a potential approval.
Commissioners are set to debate the Island-wide benefits and detriments of the mixed-income development on Sept. 17, before voting to approve or deny it.
The commission’s conditions for an approval now include a ban on swimming pools and a requirement for solar power generation as part of all new construction, with the developer funding part of the cost for solar at the below-market-rate lots.
The new conditions join others the commission has already added, including the removal of seven out of 26 market-rate lots to create more open space in the 54-acre subdivision.
As conditioned, the plan now has 19 market-rate lots and 26 lots earmarked for buyers with lesser means, more than half of them through the town of Edgartown and Habitat for Humanity.
Commissioners also added conditions requiring the subdivision to keep at least 30.5 acres as permanent open space and to add a permanent walking easement along the edge of the property from Swimming Place Path to Meeting House Way.
Katama Meadows has had a contentious history with the Martha’s Vineyard Commission going back to 2019, when a Utah-based limited liability company first proposed 34 market-rate lots on the undeveloped land off Edgartown-West Tisbury Road.
Amid strong opposition from neighbors and environmentalists, the commission denied the project, then known as Meeting House Way, by 10 to 4 in 2020.
The developers appealed in Massachusetts Land Court and, after a judge in 2023 upheld the commission’s denial, appealed that decision as well.
That litigation is now on hold until the commission reaches its decision on Katama Meadows, which also has drawn criticism from environmentalists who say the project is too dense and will generate excess nitrogen to the detriment of Edgartown Great Pond.
The Sept. 17 meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.
This article appears in September 18, 2026.
Seems to me the island would of been better off back in 2019 with the 34 lots which mostly would of been seasonal use. Now with 45 lots and mostly with year round use with rear round traffic and other year round issues. Other articles in today’s paper report on traffic problems now the MVC has made more of a problem.
it is a yes….mechacket rd is ruined already…why not keep destroying it..
There is no way to enforce a condition on fertilizer use. As an abutter to the 40B Fairwinds development in VH, I’ve seen this first hand with the same condition on the project.
This! It all sounds good on paper and it is worth only the paper it is printed on.
Oh, how I wish for the old guard…A moratorium on all building should be put in place now…For the construction people don’t worry there is enough repair work to keep you busy. Please stop while we have something left….Lets work on repairing and saving our infrastructure….SAD
It’s never too late, but the DAMAGE has already been done
No more building—not affordable, not luxury. It’s already impossible to book a ferry ticket, find a veterinarian, or navigate the roads in summer. We live on an island with limited resources—enough is enough.
Please please do not approve this project. Martha’s Vineyard was once an oasis for people who valued the interaction with nature, set apart from other locations for its unique environment and ecosystems. Multi unit development is the antithesis of what the island should be about, and we are slowly destroying its character. More development means more pollution, more traffic, and a greater strain on our natural resources. Roads such as Meeting House Way and Slough Cove Road have become busy thoroughfares with cars routinely driving over the speed limit. It is just a matter of time before someone is hurt walking, running or biking on these roads. Please save the island before it is too late. Simply vote no.
The original iterations were better projects now were left with this one. Let’s get it approved before we end up with something even worse. Summer Homes are what we need not places that are attacking the infrastructure year-round. Most properties on Martha’s Vineyard will never go to work force. Just the yearly maintenance cost are more than the rent. There are 200 affordable units in the pipeline are currently under Construction in Oak Bluffs alone. If you own a business, it’s your responsibility to provide housing. If it’s municipal employees, build it and put it on our tax rate. Enough of the nonsense.
Michael Wild, a founder of the MV Commission, is turning in his grave at this development. He lived on Great Pond. This is a death sentence for the Pond and for the burden this will cause all aspects of the area. Please say No for the sake of our Island’s future. Thank you.
The island has been developed beyond capacity. This is apparent in every aspect of daily living. Enough is enough!
We are fortunate to be on Martha’s Vineyard and not the Hamptons. With this development we are headed in the wrong direction! Please vote no.
Why is the MVC even considering this project when the majority of local residents seem to be totally against it? Does the public opinion not count ? When is enough…enough…
Please have the guts to vote no on this terrible project.
Another fishy thing about this project…why is it, the town that it would impact the most (IF it gets voted through) has the LEAST amount of representatives on the Commission? Jeff Agnoli recused himself, Kate Putnam was “replaced” and now no Mike McKenty — I am curious why Mike is not representing Edgartown anymore. This project is abhorrent on so many levels but, in my mind, even the process looks tainted. Hoping and praying the remaining Commissioners do the right thing and vote NO.