Latest News
Who will review Edgartown Cove?
Updated Oct. 29 at 4:13pm. The Edgartown zoning board of appeals (ZBA) unanimously voted to refer the already controversial Edgartown Cove project to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) during its…
Tisbury home condemned for alleged overcrowding
A home in Tisbury was condemned by town officials this week after an inspection revealed alleged overcrowded conditions, which town records show to have been a pattern over three years. The condemned home on 182 Lake St. is owned by Khanh and Quynh Tran, who also go by the first names John and Selena. The…
Heading for a clash over new housing proposal
A new housing proposal backed by a developer who is behind some of the most contentious projects in recent Island history is already fanning the flames of ongoing conflict with the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC). The project and the developer William Cumming are again bringing into sharp focus the question of whether the MVC has…
Harbor Homes winter shelter opens Nov. 1 with new director
Updated Oct. 28 at 11:55 am. The only nonprofit and shelter that assists unhoused people on the Island is entering the fall season with a new shelter director and a plan, as homelessness on Martha’s Vineyard continues to rise.
Housing Developments
Katama Meadows overwhelmingly denied by MVC
This is the print edition of this story, updated Oct. 21. One of the largest housing proposals ever evaluated by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) was overwhelmingly rejected Oct. 15 after seven long and heated sessions in which commissioners weighed not only the plan in front of them but also…
‘Tipping point’ of overdevelopment closer with state ruling
The Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) has been fighting to keep its authority over development on the Island since April. After a state ruling by the Massachusetts Housing Appeals Committee (HAC) stripped the MVC of its ability to review projects proposed under a state statute that calls for a percentage of…
Editor’s Pick
New Donaroma’s operation raises environmental questions
Warren’s Island visit focuses on housing initiatives
Housing close to the land
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Contact housing and health reporter Sarah Shaw Dawson
Series: Housing solutions
Housing solutions: Accessory dwelling units
The “Writer’s Cottage,” an 100-square-foot ADU Geoffrey White has on his property. —Sarah Shaw Dawson On a windy day this August, architect Geoffrey White strolled to a 100-square-foot accessory dwelling unit (ADU) he had built near his home in West Tisbury. He’d designed the small building as a livable “garden shed” back in 1995. It’s…
Housing solutions: From an abandoned building to a home
Sweeping strokes of graffiti covered white plaster walls inside an abandoned parsonage in Aquinnah in 2023. Three years later, the property is a renovated, affordable duplex where a family from the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) and another tribal member live year-round. The project, completed by affordable housing developer Island Housing Trust (IHT), is…
Series: Summer economy
Once-elegant hotel now symbol of struggle
In the 1860s, ornate resort hotels were constructed in downtown Oak Bluffs to accommodate an influx of summer visitors. The Vineyard was a budding attraction: Early sightseers promenaded in billowing gowns and sharp suits while attending religious camp meetings, and took in the beauty of the Island as a potential vacation hot spot. One of…
Housing threatens vital summer economy
The seasonal ebb and flow of Island life moves like the tides, a motion that is necessary to keep the local community afloat. But these days, the summer economy and the need for affordable housing feel more like an unpredictable crosscurrent that threatens the sustainability of the Island. Twenty thousand year-round Islanders live and work…
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