To the Editor:
How many “exceptions” does it take before a residential neighborhood is no longer truly residential?
The recent decision to allow amplified events at the Winnetu, even on a one-year trial basis, highlights a growing pattern in Edgartown: commercial activities expanding into residential zones through special permits and grandfathered uses.
Each approval is framed as limited or temporary. But residents have seen how often “temporary” becomes permanent. Meanwhile, the impacts — noise, traffic, and late-night disruption — are anything but temporary for those who live nearby.
This is not about opposing business. It is about balance and fairness. Businesses have designated districts where such activities are expected and appropriate. Residential neighborhoods should not be asked to absorb those impacts piece by piece.
If the town continues to allow incremental expansions, it risks setting a precedent that others will follow. Over time, that erodes the very zoning protections residents rely on.
Edgartown should take a step back and ask, Are we enforcing our zoning bylaws, or slowly rewriting them through exceptions?
Angelo Guadagno
Edgartown