To the Editor:
I want to thank Mr. Kenneth Wainwright for his very informative letter about the zoning violations that would occur if a rooming house for Vineyard Wind’s employees was permitted at 97 Spring St. in Vineyard Haven. Thanks also to the Cormie family for standing up to town officials and the applicant in their “lonely battle to enforce Tisbury’s zoning ordinance against Vineyard Wind’s improper attempt to inject workforce housing into a single-family residential zone.”
I do not know Mr. Wainwright nor the Cormie family, but I think we share some of the same experiences when it comes to pushing back against powerful forces. My advice would be to keep at it, and do not get discouraged.
In my own neighborhood some years back, a powerful bank president hired bulldozers to tear down mature trees and excavate a Tisbury site in preparation for constructing a 55,000-square-foot bank and supermarket complex. Work began without permits; topsoil and fill were trucked to his residential property in Makonikey to shore up an eroding shorefront.
We were completely shocked by the “Who needs approval and permits?” attitude of the landowner and his “team.” A cease-and-desist order followed, conservation authorities flagged the illegal deposit of “incompatible fill” at the coastal wetland, and the five-year battle over what became known as the Nobnocket Site began.
An ad hoc citizens’ group called Citizens for a Livable Island was formed, people took sides, lawyers were hired, and the plan was referred to the M.V. Commission. The battle included shenanigans along the lines of “Let’s make it up as we go along. We can outlast these abutters.” But we persisted.
The proposal had numerous legal and planning flaws. Traffic specialists criticized the proposed “stacking lanes” needed to handle all of the turning traffic on State Road. As an abutter to an abutter, I became involved, and agreed to become the named plaintiff in the legal challenge.
Despite being cautioned by a lawyer friend about getting involved, with the encouragement and advice of the Vineyard Conservation Society and those supporting the effort, to my thinking it was the right thing to do for the cause, and to carry the fight forward.
In the end, the bank/supermarket complex was never built. And tougher public water supply protection rules that followed will ensure that it never returns.
So if you care about Tisbury and upholding zoning rules, please voice your concerns in regard to this 97 Spring St. proposal. With all due respect I will ask our town officials, and our regional planning agency, along with the M.V. Commission to please play by and enforce the rules. (Translation: It’s the right thing to do, and the law requires it.)
Support the Cormie family ! As stated in Mr. Wainwright’s letter, they “are performing a public service for every property owner in Tisbury.”
Kevin Begley
Vineyard Haven
