To the Editor:
On Thursday, July 30, the Martha’s Vineyard Commission will have its final deliberations and vote on Katama Meadows. The MVC has the unique power and mandate to steer our future in a way that preserves all we love about the Vineyard, and that I believe that the commissioners, and their staff, need to exercise fully.
My hope is that they will think about how this project fits into a larger picture of what we want for the Vineyard, one that is sustainable and enjoyable for us all.
The MVC is being flooded with housing development applications, scantily disguised as affordable housing projects, but which in reality do much to increase our market-rate housing stock. Katama Meadows is, unfortunately, one of a number that has come before them in this year alone.
At the Vineyard Conservation Society annual meeting, some alarming statistics were cited. It was said that of the 55,000 acres we have here, 13,500 could still be developed; that we have
19,000 homes here now and could have another 11,000. I don’t believe we can sustain that and be anywhere akin to the Vineyard we all know and love. For many who have been on this Island for a long time, we are sadly already well past that. We need to therefore work as hard as we can, starting right now, to be thoughtful and conscientious in how we shape the future of our Island.
It is time for the MVC to take a broader view and do some regional planning: Lay out a solid master plan for what this Island can sustain and still be habitable and enjoyable for all. This means looking at carrying capacity factors: how much more development we can sustain, and the impacts of increased population on traffic, schools, and healthcare, considering how much ferry service we want, issues of water quality — both drinking and in our ponds — wastewater and solid waste, housing needs, and quality of life and community. With a master plan, applications can be weighed as to their true benefits and detriments, instead of being decided upon piecemeal.
Katama Meadows clears 28 acres of land, which lessens carbon sequestration, has the potential to cause harm to Edgartown Great Pond, and in reality, does little to add to our needed affordable housing, as only three of the proposed 52 lots have a vehicle — via Habitat for Humanity — to be built at an “affordable” rate.
I hope that the MVC will deny this project, which offers little to our Island, and then takes the time to shape a vision for our future that is sustainable and enjoyable for us all, that can serve as a guide for thoughtful decisionmaking.
Kate Warner
West Tisbury
