Abutters appeal Tisbury ZBA decision to approve Kuehn’s Way

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Kuehn’s Way, a 20-unit, $6.3 million affordable housing project proposed by the Island Housing Trust (IHT) for a site off State Road in Tisbury, which was unanimously approved by the Martha’s Vineyard Commision (MVC) and the Tisbury Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), has been appealed by several abutters.  

IHT executive director Philippe Jordi told The Times on Wednesday that abutters appealed the project as a whole, mainly due to its density, the traffic it would create, and its water quality issues. The project at Kuehn’s Way had reduced the number of units from the previous Bridge Commons project, which had 30 units. Mr. Jordi said IHT has worked hard to mitigate and minimize impacts on neighbors. 

In a phone conversation with the Times, abutters’ attorney Daniel Hill of Cambridge said they appealed the decision based on what he called “a lack of scrutiny” by the ZBA. Mr. Hill said only two meetings were held regarding Kuehn’s Way and there were no independent peer reviews of the project or the impacts on neighboring septic systems and wells.

“We feel that given the inadequate review of the zoning board, our clients’ interests were not being protected,” Mr. Hill said.

But Mr. Jordi said IHT, with free legal services from Boston law firm Nixon Peabody, is confident that the appeal will be dismissed.   

“We will be requesting that the appeal be dismissed from land court and we don’t feel like there’s any reason why it wouldn’t be,” Mr. Jordi said.