MVC sends Division Road project to public hearing, approves other projects

Commission approves several modification projects.

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The Martha's Vineyard Commission discussed the Division Road project at the meeting last Thursday. — Brian Dowd

In a meeting Thursday night, the Martha’s Vineyard Commission met with Doug Hoehn — a surveyor and partner in Schofield, Barbini and Hoehn — to review a proposal for the creation of five house lots off Division Road (a.k.a. Henry’s Path) in Edgartown.

The commission had to decide whether or not the project requires a public hearing as a development of regional impact (DRI). The land-use planning committee (LUPC), a subcommittee of the commission, recommended a public hearing.

After discussion, the commission voted to hold a public hearing for the project as a DRI; that hearing will be held on June 14.

The commission also approved a project for Flat Point Farm in West Tisbury that would add four new buildable lots, reconfigure four existing building lots, add five lots around existing buildings, and place 60 acres on a 91-acre farm under conservation.

Arnie Fischer, the owner of Flat Point Farm, created the plan to provide affordable housing lots for his daughter and niece to build homes.

“The philosophy behind what they’re doing is that it’s about family, and I think that’s what the affordable policy is about,” Kathy Newman, the Aquinnah appointee for the commission, added.

In other business, the commission approved several modification reviews for Carroll’s/UPS Trucking, Morning Glory Farm, and the Dockside Inn.

UPS and Carroll’s Trucking got the go-ahead to add an additional sorting cart to accommodate an additional 12 truck bays to their existing package-sorting operation to meet increased customer demand. UPS uses the sorting carts to sort through incoming packages, and has seen a substantial increase in home delivery in the past few years.

At the commission’s previous meeting, the project was put on hold to allow UPS and Carroll’s to modify their proposed plan to meet zoning laws. The commission approved their amended plan for another sorting cart, and a proposal to return to the commission in one year to present a master plan to improve the sorting facility to meet an anticipated 18 percent increase in home delivery demand over the next three years.

Morning Glory Farm will begin constructing a new vegetable washing barn next to its current farmstand. The need for a new barn comes from increased business for the farm, and to comply with the Federal Food and Safety Modernization Act and its implementing produce safety rule. Morning Glory has received a $100,000 grant from the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture for the project, but must spend the money before June 30 of this year.

The Dockside Inn in Oak Bluffs was approved for a modification to add four guest rooms to its hotel. The new rooms were previously used as employee housing; the inn owners now house employees in a rental house in Oak Bluffs.

In what commission members joked was record time, the Clarion Inn in Edgartown received approval to add two rooms to its building, bringing the total number of rooms from 34 to 36. The inn plans to install a partition to existing rooms to create the additional units, and will not be adding to the footprint of the building.