To the Editor:
The MVC and the Oak Bluffs zoning board seem to be overlooking a crucial issue on the Island: housing. Is there a need for more housing? Absolutely. Along and off Holmes Hole Road, there is potential for six buildable lots. The residents of Oak Bluffs have clearly expressed their wishes by voting against converting residential areas into light industrial zones. This raises the question to the commission: Do the boards recognize the voices of the voters? If the commission were to advocate for maintaining a residential neighborhood in these areas, there is excellent potential to add housing options for Islanders.
Currently, Holmes Hole Road is beginning to resemble a marine version of Evelyn Way, starting with the cabinet shop that looks like a boatyard. During a recent meeting with the MVC, some commissioners expressed concern about the use of containers for storage. Eight containers are visible along Holmes Hole Road, and two are part of what we believe is an illegal structure at 68 Holmes Hole Road. Wouldn’t it be preferable for Holmes Hole Road to develop into a neighborhood, rather than a boatyard filled with landscaping businesses?
We understand the need for landscapers to find a space to maintain their businesses, but a residential neighborhood amid a major housing crisis is not the place for their business. Have the MVC commissioners and the Oak Bluffs zoning board completed site visits to 68 Holmes Hole Road? One wonders if they would appreciate having such a situation in their own backyards.
Randy and Laura Durbin, Aaron Robinson, Mary Alice Robinson, Gayle Stiller
Vineyard Haven