Oak Bluffs development could grow to 136 units

Commissioners still have lingering questions for one of the largest housing projects proposed for the Island, and amid the uncertainty, developers of the 100-unit Green Villa development are offering to replace four commercial buildings with housing units instead. 

The Martha’s Vineyard Commission made no final decisions over the Green Villa project on Thursday, a proposed Chapter 40B development in Oak Bluffs on Edgartown–Vineyard Haven Road, and will be continuing its review of the project on May 15.

William Cumming, principal of Falmouth-based development firm Atwood Co., facing pushback over a commercial portion of the mixed-use development, offered to build an additional 36 affordable housing units capped at between 80 and 120 percent of the area median income ($70,400 to $115,600 for a household of one, according to the Dukes County Regional Housing Authority) in exchange for eliminating the four commercial units. These units would be housed in four two-story buildings, and would be partially reserved for school employees.

The commercial units have been viewed by commissioners at a past hearing as a major traffic generator, but adding more housing units could instead add to the nitrogen output of the large project, another source of contention for the commission. 

Sheri Caseau, Martha’s Vineyard Commission water resource planner, said the project, with the commercial units, would already exceed its nitrogen generation capacity even if it was connected to sewer. She also said a sewer connection, which would generate the least amount of nitrogen pollution among the options, would expel treated effluent into the leaching fields of Ocean Park and Lagoon Pond. Others, like with an enhanced innovative/alternative system or a Title V septic system, would contribute to the nitrogen load of the already impaired Sengekontacket Pond. 

Cumming said the project is being planned so it can be built with an onsite septic system, or connected to the town sewer, or a combination of the two options. He also argued that the density of his project means the nitrogen generation is proportionately lower than the output of single-family homes and other affordable housing projects, like Tackenash Knoll planned next to Green Villa. 

Outside of the nitrogen issue, commissioners contended that there are parts of the Green Villa plan that hinge on details that are still not set in stone. This includes 150,000 gallons per day in future Oak Bluffs wastewater flow anticipated to be available in 2026, although whether town officials would sign off on allocating a portion of it to the project remains to be seen. 

Meanwhile, Cumming said switching to an increased amount of housing would cut the amount of increased traffic by half, which has been a sticking point for commissioners and the public opposed to the project.

Jeffrey Dirk, traffic consultant from Vanasse & Associates for the developer, said the increase in traffic from the project poses no safety concerns. As to concerns about an increase in traffic on local roads, Dirk said there are mitigation options available, like helping to fund planning studies or supporting the construction of a new roundabout. 

However, the commission wanted more certainty. Oak Bluffs Commissioner Brian Smith emphasized that mitigation efforts like building a new roundabout would need town support, while West Tisbury Commissioner Linda Sibley called the idea “unrealistic,” considering the amount of pushback that arose when the first roundabout was proposed for Oak Bluffs. 

Ian McKinnon, a traffic consultant from Howard Stein Hudson hired by the commission, said the roundabout wasn’t a “silver bullet,” and more clarity was needed on what realistic mitigation efforts would be. 

“It may be many years after this project opens that the mitigation actually arrives,” McKinnon said, taking into consideration the time it would take to receive permitting and gather funds. 

Some commissioners at Thursday’s hearing also called for a reduction in the size of the project. Edgartown Commissioner Jeff Agnoli highlighted that residents in his town are “shocked” when they drive by Meshacket Commons, a 40-unit affordable housing project being developed by Island Housing Trust with buildings similar to those proposed for Green Villa. 

“That is an enormous change, even in a congested area, of what people see when they drive through,” Agnoli said. 

Cumming said lowering the unit count would mean the developers wouldn’t be able to afford offering the units reserved at up to 150 percent of the area median income, some of which would be for businesses to rent to their workers. These units would need to be raised to market-rate units. Cumming also emphasized that Massachusetts municipalities need to have 10 percent of their housing stock qualify under the subsidized housing inventory, something only Aquinnah has accomplished, and that the units would need to be built elsewhere on the Island. 

Cumming’s team will also need to address various lingering issues from Martha’s Vineyard Commission staff, including a waiver to have the commercial buildings — or possibly just housing — be 48 feet tall. Edgartown–Vineyard Haven Road limits building height at 24 feet. The developers will also have to answer whether the project fits into Oak Bluffs’ master plan. 

Nobody from the public spoke on Thursday. 

Cumming is also a member of the development team proposing the 60-unit Edgartown Gardens project.