Facing a possible denial by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, the owners of a historic home on Indian Hill in West Tisbury have withdrawn their application to demolish the house.

In an email to MVC development of regional impact coordinator Alex Elvin last Thursday, homeowners Jeff and Lois Meyer said they intend to submit new plans to the commission in the near future.

Three days earlier the commission land use planning subcommittee had voted 7-1 to recommend that the tear-down be denied.

The full commission was due to vote on the project this coming Thursday. That meeting has now been canceled.

The Greek revival style farmhouse at 371 Indian Hill road dates to around 1840, and is perched on a hilltop with commanding views of the north shore. The Meyers, who have a long family history on the Vineyard and with the house, bought the 22-acre property in 2018. Some 18 acres of the property have been under a conservation restriction held by the Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation since in the early 1970s.

The Meyers want to demolish the old house and replace it with with a more modern-looking, large new family home designed by Phil Regan at Hutker Architects.

MVC review is required for demolition requests on all houses that are more than 100 years old.

The Indian Hill house is listed in MACRIS, the state property database of historic homes.

A public hearing on the teardown request was held in early January.

After the hearing, with the written record still open, the commission received a flurry of letters objecting to the project, including from the West Tisbury planning board, which reiterated its objection to an earlier 2018 demolition request for the house that was subsequently withdrawn.

The project comes amid a proliferation of demolition requests on the Vineyard. Discussion at the subcommittee meeting last Monday reflected deep concern on the part of commissioners about the current trend, a recording of the meeting shows.

“I have to say I don’t think I’m in favor of this,” commissioner Fred Hancock said. “It’s not a house that has been surrounded by other additions, the original house is very identifiable, yes it needs a lot of work but it’s not falling down . . . and it is very prominent.” Noting the site and its commanding views of the sound, he continued:

“In that location . . . I think it’s quite wonderful on this Island that you come upon these houses in these terrific landscapes. I think that’s one of the great cultural aspects of living on this Island these places were built in what now seem to be strange locations, but it’s one of the wonders of the Island, and I would rather see this applicant work on this house, repair this house and put an addition onto it instead of tearing it down.”

Commissioner Kathy Newman agreed.

“I hear what Fred is saying,” she said. “I wish, given the thoughts of the planning board and the neighbors, that they could come up with a compromise of using the house as a template. We all know that you can take away the insides of a house and reconfigure rooms and stuff . . . I wish [the applicants] had been little bit more responsive to that.”

Commissioner Joan Malkin underscored the cultural historic value of the home.

“MACRIS said it was an exceptionally fine example of Greek revival archictecture,” she said. “I think it’s stunning. It’s almost awe-inspiring sitting on top of the hill . . . I find it extraordinary that a family could not find a design which would meet their space needs and aesthetic needs that would not retain the existing building.”

Commisisoner Trip Barnes argued forcefully to allow the demolition, but he was a lone voice among eight at the meeting, which was also attended by the Meyers and their architect.

“This is a tough one for all of us,” Mr. Barnes said later in the meeting.

“It absolutely is,” agreed commissioner Doug Sederholm.

Commissioner Jay Grossman spoke about the current trend of razing homes which he called troubling.

“I think this emblematic of a big problem on the Island,” he said, noting the speed with which new construction is overtaking old houses. “Things of enormous value are ending up in a dumpster,” Mr. Grossman said.

Commissioner Ben Robinson suggested compromise could involve a renovation and addition.

“This is one of the many historic demolitions we have reviewed,” Mr. Robinson said. “Each represents a different part of the Island and part of its history. You can emphasize, or de-emphasize as you want . . . [but] there may be a middle ground of some sort. I am not going to presume to tell the owners what to add on, how to add on, how to save the building . . . but renovation doesn’t have to be more expensive than new construction.”

Information presented by the Myers and their architect pegged the estimated cost of the new house at $4.6 million, while a renovation and addition was estimated at $4.8 million.

Mr. Sederholm explained that the homeowners could withdraw submit a new plan without prejudice.

After the vote, he briefly addressed the applicants.

“You have competing interests here,” he said. “You have a historic structure the commission feels worthy of preservation, and you have family needs . . . you have a needle to thread.”