A house project that could potentially have nine bedrooms is facing pushback from abutters in West Tisbury. The West Tisbury planning board did a site plan review of the property during a Monday, Sept. 12, Zoom meeting.
According to the application submitted by Squash Meadow Construction, Michael and Heather Crowley want to build their “dream home” at 213 Vineyard Meadows Farm Road, which is designed as a custom two-story building with a “total area of conditional space” of 3,439 square feet on the 1.42-acre lot. The house design has six bedrooms and 4½ bathrooms, alongside a two-bay garage of 720 square feet. A “house-enhanced septic tank” for nine bedrooms was approved by the West Tisbury board of health. It was underscored in the application that “this is not a rental house for us.”
Reid Silva, Vineyard Land Surveying & Construction owner, defined an enhanced septic system as “a septic system that removes more nutrients than a traditional septic system. There’s an extra component.”
The application also points out that there are two houses in the neighborhood with bigger total sizes, one at 4,362 square feet and the other at 3,832 square feet.
A Zoom recording of the meeting showed there was public opposition to the proposed project when Silva presented the project to the planning board.
Silva showed a site map of the property, and gave the board a rundown of it. He also addressed the size of the project, which comes close to the 3,500-square-foot limit that was voted in during the spring town meeting.
“It’s a relatively straightforward house, as far as the board is used to,” Silva said. “I mean, I don’t know how many times we’ve come in recently with 5,000-; 6,000-square-foot houses. This is certainly not a, I would say … a very large house.”
Another concern Silva addressed was an issue that “everybody’s very concerned in that neighborhood, of health.” This was the number of bedrooms at the house: seven bedrooms and two additional rooms later, which is more than what was written on the application. “I think everybody’s got to start reading regulations if they want to be so deep into them. The regulation does not say one bedroom per 10,000 square feet, for the state. It says one bedroom per 10,000 square foot, or if you employ enhanced treatment or a composting toilet or a sand filter. You can change that,” Silva said. “That’s how this application has come before the board of health with seven bedrooms with a two-bedroom addition for nine total, as opposed to six bedrooms.”
Silva said the board of health is still deliberating on it, but based on his experience, the project does “meet all of the town’s requirements.” The board of health’s most recent agenda shows that the Crowleys’ project was not an item for discussion. Silva also went through floor plans of the project. While doing so, Silva said he was surprised by “the amount of angst and, I guess, fear of this project.”
Planning board member Leah Smith said the neighbors’ concerns “seem to be primarily about the whole septic question,” since the size of nearby houses “is comparable.”
After going through the floor plan, planning board member Amy Upton said “neighborliness is something we all strive for,” and it is “clear this particular house is upsetting the neighborhood.”
“There’s always a compromise,” Upton said. “I just recommend that you talk amongst yourselves.”
Heather Crowley clarified that “this is not a rented property.” “This is a place where we want our family to grow,” she said. Alongside her husband, Crowley said the house would be occupied by her, two children, and her mother. One of the bedrooms is planned to be an office space: “We love the Island. We want to spend as much time here as possible.”
Crowley agreed with Upton that they will need to “work together” with neighbors.
West Tisbury zoning board of appeals member and abutter Andrew Zaikis pointed out that although Reid portrays this as a “run-of-the-mill project,” properties allowed nine bedrooms with an enhanced septic tank are not common in the town. Reid said while these types of buildings are not common in West Tisbury, it is “very common” in other Island towns like Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven, and it is “not uncommon” in the rest of the state. Zaikis also took note of how the proposed house is a fair bit larger than the rest of the houses in the neighborhood, none of which go past six bedrooms.
Erich Mettler, an abutter who asked that the meeting be delayed until more information was provided (e.g. health impact of affected groundwater), was one of the most vocal critics of the project during the meeting.
“I hope that every person that owns a house has the ability to share that with their family,” Mettler said. “But we all live in rules, and the planning board, the board of health, the select board, they’re all designed to protect the community and to ask to build within the confines of the town.”
Mettler also pointed out that although Massachusetts laws may allow what the project proposes, the state allows towns to implement stricter rules.
Smith said the board of health will be the ones to look at the septic tank issue, not the planning board. She also reminded Mettler that this was not a public hearing.
In the Zoom chat, several meeting attendees expressed concern about the type of precedent such a large project could set for the town. There was also mounting pressure from the public to hurry it along, over 130 of whom came to see the result of the curb cut decision for Brad Tucker and Liz Ragone.
After more discussion, the planning board unanimously voted that the site plan review has been completed and the size of the house is acceptable based on the approval of the enhanced septic system from the board of health. Smith suggested those who have issues with the septic system send letters to the board of health.
Town boards also received several letters from abutters, including Mettler, opposing the project. Zaikis shared the letters he sent to the board of health with The Times after the meeting, both of which express concern over the number of rooms, the enhanced septic system, and how the zoning bylaws were interpreted.
West Tisbury health agent Omar Johnson said he is waiting to schedule an appointment with town counsel about the enhanced septic system, and then make a decision on Oct. 13. Johnson said the board understands that what they decide can set a precedent for the future.
“There is a provision where if you install an advanced septic system, you can put in more bedrooms,” Johnson said. “What the board of health is not certain of is whether this provision allowed by the state [Department of Environmental Protection] should be allowed to put in more bedrooms, or if it should be used to protect nitrogen-sensitive areas.”
As the contractor, I would like to clarify some things. The Crowleys are proposing to build a 6 bedroom house plus an office. They may finish part of the basement in the future. The Board of Health labels finished basements and offices as bedrooms so in order to abide by their regulations, we have applied for a 9 bedroom septic permit.
Sounds reasonable, good luck with all the naysayers! It seems EVERY application for anything on this island has to go thru hoops and obstacles to be approved. Let them build the damn house!
While I appreciate this story, the author missed the point in describing the conflict. The sole reason why an enhanced septic system was proposed for this property at 213 Vineyard Meadow Farms Road was not to do with endangered waterways or ecological sensitivities. It is exclusively intended to bypass the current bedroom density limits in West Tisbury. This article should say this so that a reader can understand the issue. The conclusion mis-states the conflict. What’s to prevent the next project from proposing a 12 or 20 bedroom home on a 1.4 acre lot by leveraging an enhanced septic system? Where is the line?
The line has been drawn by your town by-laws. Educate yourself by reading them.
I’ve read the zoning bylaws, board of health regulations, and MA Title 5. I’ve also asked the various town officials to provide detailed explanations to these bylaws so I feel pretty educated on the topic. Which Bylaw are you referring to?
The plans are labeled “Proposed 7 Bedroom House With a Future 2 Bedroom Addition” and a 9 bedroom septic system is being proposed. That would mean that this project will eventually result in 9 bedrooms on an acre and a half lot. In our entire development of 115 similarly sized lots, there are no 9 bedroom homes nor 9 bedroom septic systems. Homes in our development do not exceed 6 bedrooms because of the undersized lots. The project clearly appears to be in excess of traditional and normal West Tisbury density limits that would require 10,000 square feet of space for each bedroom. The main issue here is that the proposed enhanced septic system is being advanced solely to get around the existing housing density limits of the town. If this project is approved, it will have far reaching adverse consequences for the future housing density of West Tisbury.
And your point is? Homeowners can do what they wish with their properties as long as it conforms to town regulations. Get more involved with your town so maybe you don’t have to be a NIMBY.
I completely agree with Pam. After re-watching the zoom call of the Planning Board Meeting of September 12th (see link below), I continually ask myself why does the Planning Board want to fast-track this project’s Site Plan Review? Are these Planning Board members overworked and underappreciated? If the Planning Board does not want to complete a thorough review of this controversial project in accordance with Article 9 of the West Tisbury Zoning Bylaws (go to the West Tisbury town website), who should? It is very clear to me that the Planning Board does not receive the necessary external resources it requires to reach an informed and thoughtful decision. I can cite several times in the Zoom call, where the Planning Board members did not fully understand the project details or fully understand the controversial elements of this project (using an innovative alternative “enhanced” septic system to circumvent town bylaws). In many Massachusetts towns (like Weston), the Planning Board charges the Site Plan Review applicant an application fee so that the Planning Board members can obtain non-biased legal, technical and administrative support. Why can’t we expect the same from our town when the matter is controversial?
PLANNING BOARD ZOOM LINK:
https://tinyurl.com/ycy9kzkc
While I live in Oak Bluffs, I am familiar with this West Tisbury development and the uniform size of the houses in this area. As I understand it, the owners are proposing a nine bedroom house in an area of six bedroom homes. The theory seems to be that if I can design a bigger septic system then I can fit as many bedrooms as I want onto a substandard lot. This doesn’t bode well for the town of West Tisbury or its intentions to maintain its rural character and will have adverse repercussions across the island.
Time to take a time out and have the various town boards take a hard look at this issue and work cooperatively towards a solution to this problem. This is far bigger than just a minor conflict between neighbors.
Sneaky Sneaky. Skirt around the bylaws and get what you want. Piss off your neighbors and set a terrible precedent for the rest of the town as well as for all of Up Island. Will your family like living in the house the neighbors all hate? Why bring this strife to a place you love? Withdraw this application and find a way to live nicely here. Please value our ways. Thank you.
Comments are closed.