To the Editor:
Has Martha’s Vineyard become addicted to growth? Or is it just the politicians?
I was inspired to write this letter after reading the comments submitted to The Times and the Martha’s Vineyard Commission by Abigail Higgins of West Tisbury (“Concern for urbanization of Vineyard,” May 8). Higgins is a person of great insight and wisdom who cares greatly about Martha’s Vineyard and its people. If you have not read her letter, and care at all about what is happening to Martha’s Vineyard, you need to read it.
I’ve reread it three times, and have been more impressed each time. She presents a serious challenge to the Island’s leaders, and raises critical questions as to the direction of the growth the Island is taking — and rightly so.
The questions I am posing are directed at one specific aspect of Island growth — neighborhood protection. I ask these questions as my neighborhood enters into a battle to maintain its character and identity — and possibly its existence. On July 17, the Martha’s Vineyard Commission will have a public hearing to consider whether to approve a massive project which, if approved, will most definitely change the course of Oak Bluffs history and greatly impact one of Oak Bluffs’ legacy neighborhoods. I am referring to the proposal by Charles Hajjar LLC (a hotel corporation) to replace the burned-out Ocean View Restaurant project, which is DRI 750 on the MVC website. In short, the proposal asks to allow a three-story, 26-bedroom hotel with balconies, a private dining room and bar, along with a full basement containing a laundry and a couple of rooms for workers to be built on the site of the former Ocean View Restaurant. All this, adjacent to residential vintage cottages and a park. Yes, there was a smaller hotel there 60 years ago, which also burned down. And yes, the plans call for a “Victorian-style” building. And yes, it is a commercial spot zone. But please! 18,000 square feet! In a vintage cottage neighborhood?!
I’m not going to get into all the details of what the problems will be, or if they will be mitigated sufficiently –– the parking, the noise, the increased cars and foot traffic, the increased use of the neighborhood park and beaches, the invasion of privacy via exterior balconies, the increased pressure on our water and air, etc. Those topics are being brought out in other letters and testimony, and can be argued till the cows come home. They are important issues, and people will back whatever side of those arguments appeals to them.
But what is this really about? It’s about growth. Has this Island become addicted to growth? It seems so. And that is a very dangerous place to be. As Ms. Higgins points out, the evidence is clear: “Growth does not pay for itself.” And rarely do the powers that approve it foresee the unintended consequences. How many times have we heard the expression, “How did we get here?” The answer is, you grew incrementally until you exploded. And you ignored what was obvious to everyone else.
Well, Oak Bluffs (and this Island) are about to explode. In case you haven’t noticed, numerous large projects by outside developers are being proposed. Some have already happened, and the impact is staggering. They all want to get in on the goose laying the golden eggs, before the goose dies. This is one of those projects. If you don’t think this will impact your neighborhood, think again. None of us ever imagined a project of this magnitude invading our quiet neighborhood. This has already happened elsewhere around the Island, e.g., 97 Spring St. in Vineyard Haven, Main Street in Edgartown. It’s no longer a question of if it will come to your neighborhood, it’s now a matter of when. Another case in point is the outgrowth of downtown Oak Bluffs. The Washington Park/East Chop Drive area is fast becoming an extension of Circuit Ave. and the harbor.
Is this what we want the Vineyard to be? A global playground? An overpriced “destination community”? A place where people come just so they can say they’ve been here? Where’s the pride? Where’s the culture? What’s the future? What happened to “the Island way of life”? My wife and I have been coming to Martha’s Vineyard for more than 50 years, and declared it our residence in 2017. No, we’re not Islanders. We’re “wash-ashores” and consider ourselves lucky to be that. But we are quickly losing hope that the place we aspired to be a part of will be anything close to what we visited 50 years ago. We understand change happens. But this is desecration.
I’m not asking you to fight our battles, but your support at the public MVC hearing on July 17 at 7 pm at the Stone Building, 33 New York Ave. in Oak Bluffs, would be most welcome. Or join in via Zoom, Meeting ID: 837 1464 0012, Password: 306766. If you live in a vintage neighborhood (especially in Oak Bluffs), this is as much your fight as it is ours.
To paraphrase Abigail Higgins’ closing: “It is the Island of Martha’s Vineyard that is the stakeholder group, whose interest, welfare, and future you must defend. Not the LLCs from off-Island.” Is this Island addicted to growth? Or can we still say NO?
Toni Dorsey
Oak Bluffs
