West Tisbury selectmen held a special town meeting Tuesday evening, Nov. 1, covering five warrant articles in about 40 minutes, including the Scotts Grove affordable housing complex, in front of a full house at the West Tisbury School. A quorum was met with 156 voters present, which surpassed the 130-voter minimum.
Scotts Grove, a cluster of nine rental apartments, topped the five-article warrant with the request for $900,000 that would help the Island Housing Trust (IHT) finance development of the “fire-station lot” as an affordable housing project. The parcel is behind the small firehouse on Edgartown–West Tisbury Road.
The $900,000 contribution is roughly one-third of the funding needed, and will come from the town’s Community Preservation Committee (CPC) funds, accumulated over a number of years in anticipation of this project.
The IHT rental development calls for a maximum of seven buildings (excluding nonhabitable outbuildings) with a maximum of 18 bedrooms. The nonprofit is responsible for raising the remainder of the cost.
“This is the town’s contribution, along with the land,” Richard Knabel, chairman of the select board, told The Times last week. “It is essentially $100,000 per unit, and there are nine units.”
It is estimated to be a $2.9 million project. Philippe Jordi, executive director of IHT, told The Times last week that passing the $900,000 will make fundraising the balance easier.
“It was unanimous; we’re pleased with that,” Mr. Jordi told The Times after the meeting. “It’s a big effort the town’s made, and it’s the first neighborhood of rental housing that the town has created. We’re thrilled and honored to be a part of that.” Mr. Jordi said he wants to raise the rest of the $2.9 million by this time next year. Permits have yet to be secured as well, but the major hurdles have gone by. On Monday, Oct. 31, IHT went before the planning board, and the Scotts Grove site plan was approved.
“I think it’s important to note that,” Mr. Jordi said, “that was a local bylaw that allowed for higher-density multifamily housing. This is the type of bylaw that, if other towns adopted [one], would go much further in doing what we’re doing. Typically that type of permit process could take months, if not half a year, through the state.”
“The town should be commended for this type of zoning bylaw,” said the IHT director.
Mr. Knabel was pleased and not surprised about the approval of funds.
“The town meeting has gone along with that several times now, this is just the next step which is the town’s contribution — which is only approximately one-third of what is needed. The town is behind the project, even the people who live nearby are now resigned to it — they know they can’t stop it, but they are also much happier with the design as it has evolved. They are not actively opposed any longer.”
Other business
Voters also unanimously passed $9,000 to be used at James Pond to help fund surveying work needed to begin the permitting process for opening the pond to the sea on a regular basis. The pond once supported a viable herring run. As with many of the Island’s salt ponds, it was once regularly opened to the sea.
Volunteers had previously tried to dig a channel by hand, but this did not work.
On town floor Mr. Knabel motioned to amend the warrant to take the $9,000 from “Free Cash” rather than “Raise and Appropriate.” West Tisbury currently has $655,303 in free cash, according to Bruce Stone, West Tisbury town accountant. Voters unanimously approved the warrant as amended.
Voters unanimously approved an expenditure for a new $22,000 chipper for the highway department, which was amended on the floor to also come from “Free Cash” rather than from “Raise and Appropriate.”
One resident asked why the town doesn’t already have a chipper.
“It is unsafe for employees to be using [the 9-year-old chipper],” said highway superintendent Richard Olsen. “We are desperate for a new one.”
The article requesting $15,000 to remove dead trees in town was postponed indefinitely on town floor.
“It was funded by a reserve fund transfer from the FinCom,” selectman Cynthia Mitchell said. “This was a backup in case the FinCom didn’t agree.”
Voters unanimously approved the indefinite postponement.
The fifth article prompted the longest discussion. It concerned the changing of bylaw definitions and terms.
“Could someone define ‘kitchen appliance,’” one voter asked, which was met with laughter mixed with grumbling from the audience. “The way it reads, if I had a detached bedroom, I couldn’t have a microwave, it that what it is addressing?”
“If you want to have a kitchen, it’s in the house and not in the detached bedrooms,” said one planning board member. “We put in the kitchen appliances because they tend to morph from a detached bedroom to a rental unit. We were attempting to get ahead of the curve here.”
“I think we’re overcontrolling this,” said one voter.
“I think it’s really important that this addition of kitchen appliances be considered in the context of the affordable housing crisis,” West Tisbury resident Susanna Sturgis said. “For five years I lived in Vineyard Haven in an apartment that did not have a full kitchen.”
A motion was made to withdraw “bedroom, detached” from article 5 and address it in the spring. This was approved. Article 5 passed by two-thirds vote as amended – 155 yes to 1 no.
Lastly, moderator Dan Waters presented a “sense of the meeting” question to voters about whether or not the town should pursue bike lanes along state roads.
Mr. Knabel read a letter from the state department of transportation (MassDOT) that stated work of this nature should have public outreach and that the organization would not begin to consider such a project until there was proof of public support, which may require easements.
The nonbinding vote was a resounding yes.