Developers of a proposed 100-unit housing development in Oak Bluffs are highlighting the benefits of the proposal to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, but questions of the project details still linger as the applicants try to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the town.
The Martha’s Vineyard Commission held a public hearing on Thursday for the proposed Chapter 40B housing project, Green Villa.
The applicants are proposing to build a mixed-use development consisting of apartments, duplexes, and four commercial spaces on 71, 77, and 79 Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road — not far from the regional high school. Additionally, the project would include 144 parking spaces and is also near another large housing development, the Island Housing Trust’s 60-unit Tackenash Knoll, formerly known as Southern Tier.
William Cumming, principal of Falmouth-based development firm Atwood Co., said the goal was to find a way to build the project without subsidies or market-rate housing, although he hasn’t yet revealed exactly how he would do that.
“There’s things we could have done better, but we’re dealing with a lot of constraints on the Island,” he said.
One of the stumbling blocks is a civil case filed last fall in Dukes County Superior Court against the proposal by the Oak Bluffs zoning board of appeals. Board members claim the applicants tried to circumvent the usual Vineyard special permit process. The applicants had requested the state Housing Appeals Committee determine whether the project could bypass the regular Martha’s Vineyard Commission process in favor of a more streamlined zoning board review.
The commission also joined the town’s lawsuit and met about the litigation in executive session on Tuesday.
The Green Villa developers had filed for the case to be dismissed in December, but a resolution has not been reached yet.
Chris Miller, a project representative who owns the land planned for development, said they’ve tried to talk with the Oak Bluffs officials but the town officials “steadfastly refused” to meet. Still, Miller said the town’s affordable housing officials seemed in favor of the project.
Miller emphasized the “overriding benefit is huge” and would help address the Vineyard’s overwhelming need for housing, especially the missing middle — Islanders struggling to find homes but whose incomes aren’t low enough to qualify for affordable housing.
“I have a daughter who lives here. She works in the school system,” Miller said. “Like many of her colleagues … they’re in desperate need for housing.”
According to the applicant’s documents submitted to the commission, 25 units will be capped at 80 percent of the area median income and 75 percent will be at 150 percent of the area median income. The income cap range for deed-restricted homes would be between $90,500 and $185,700 for a household of three people, according to the Dukes County Regional Housing Authority.
There are still a number of issues that will need to be addressed during the review process, including the project’s impact on open space and potential nitrogen output when it is located in the already impaired Sengekontacket watershed.
Doug Sederholm, West Tisbury commissioner and chair of the commission’s Land Use Planning Committee, underscored two issues: whether commercial buildings should be built in an area that hasn’t seen retail developments before (and whether their placement would align with Oak Bluffs’ master plan) and the heightened traffic the project would bring.
“This will generate 1,824 additional trips every day,” he said, referring to a traffic study provided by the applicants. “It will have an impact during peak hours, and that has to be considered.”
So far, only one letter has been sent to the commission from neighbors who were “completely opposed” to the development, who cited the number of units proposed for the area and traffic concerns.
The public hearing will continue on March 13. Edgartown commissioner Mike MacKenty, a friend of Cumming, recused himself from the deliberations.
Green Villa isn’t the only development by Atwood GV LLC being reviewed by the commission. The company is also proposing to build a 40B housing project called Edgartown Gardens consisting of over 60 units, which is scheduled to be taken up by the commissioners on March 6.
