As pending litigation and appeals loom over whether the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) will have the authority to continue to review certain affordable housing projects, at least one Island town is planning to back the regulatory body’s effort.
The Chilmark Select Board unanimously voted Tuesday, June 16, to send a letter to state legislators urging the preservation of the MVC’s authority to regulate Chapter 40B projects, a state statute that removes local zoning barriers for developers and makes building projects easier. The board also wants to coordinate with officials from other towns to form a unified front.
The decision came after Jim Malkin, who formerly served on the Chilmark Select Board for three terms, called on the current board members to make a stand against excessive development on the Island. He said while he was “not a fan of everything the MVC does,” it has been the one regulatory body that acts as a roadblock to what he called “unimpeded growth.”
“I’m not for suburbanization and density on this Island. Density in our town without the check of the MVC will be very different,” he said.
Chapter 40B was created in 1969 to bolster the development of affordable units amid a national housing shortage, an issue that continues to persist. Amid a housing crisis on the Island, the MVC aim to act as a deterrent against potential overdevelopment and work to preserve the character of the Island.
While 40B projects increase housing, only a quarter of proposed units needs to be affordable, and concerns have been raised over the ratio between market-rate and affordable units. On the Vineyard, there have also been questions about the availability of resources, like wastewater, to support large housing projects.
But the MVC’s authority to review 40B projects was essentially stripped after the Massachusetts Housing Appeals Committee’s April ruling in favor of Falmouth-based developer William Cumming. Cumming challenged the MVC’s authority to rule on 40B projects, calling it a local board, a designation that prohibits the commission from making major decisions on projects proposed under the state statute, after one of his projects called Edgartown Gardens was rejected by the MVC. The appeals committee sided with Cumming, and the MVC is challenging the ruling in Dukes County Superior Court.
Malkin also expressed concern of similar projects being proposed.
Rebecca Haag, the Chilmark Select Board’s newest member, said she shared Malkin’s concerns and highlighted the MVC’s review process.
“It does put people through a rigorous process,” Haag said. “[The MVC] generally makes a proposal better and has had the ability to restrain unfettered development.”
Malkin told the board he heard that Oak Bluffs and Edgartown select boards are also working on their own letters, although drafts may not be available yet. According to town administrators in both down-Island towns, measures to back the MVC are not solidified.
Wendy Brough, Oak Bluffs town administrator, said there hasn’t been a “formal conversation” in a select board meeting.
“This may be up for discussion in the near future but it is not on the upcoming agenda,” Brough said.
James Hagerty, Edgartown town administrator, said a letter was “news” to him but didn’t rule out the possibility.