Edgartown ought to negotiate with the MVC

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To the Editor:

The Edgartown selectmen chose to include the question of the town’s membership in the Martha’s Vineyard Commission on the special town meeting warrant on December 14. It was done hastily and without any public hearing or discussion or any meaningful effort to negotiate with the MVC about Edgartown’s share of the cost and the benefits to the town of being a member.

The MVC has provided help to the town for many years. Without the MVC, we would not have the very good affordable housing that we do now. The Field Club was required by the MVC to give money to the town for affordable housing, as have other major developments,

Approximately 300 houses would have been built in a development by Corey Kupersmith on our border with Oak Bluffs, threatening the adjacent ponds and waterways in both towns with pollution.

A number of years ago when Edgartown voted out of the commission, a development boom ran rampant through the town. There was no way that the town, on its own, could regulate it or protect Edgartown’s special resources.

The MVC has helped Edgartown in many ways over the years. Why not send a strong negotiator to the commission when the budget is under discussion, rather than taking it to town meeting. I can assure you that the developers are just waiting for Edgartown to be out of the MVC, to ride roughshod over the planning board, conservation commission, and other boards in Edgartown.

Edo Potter

Edgartown