Lawsuits and legal appeals continue to stack up in the battle over oversand vehicle trails on Chappaquiddick.

The Trustees of Reservations, the nonprofit group that manages the 16 miles of sandy trails on the small island, filed a lawsuit in state Land Court Wednesday challenging Edgartown’s authority to require a special permit. There are now at least four appeals over the sandy corridors, leaving the future of driving out onto the shore of Chappy in question. 

The latest appeal centers around a missing permit from 1990. In January, the planning board realized it couldn’t find the 34-year-old permit that helped enable oversand vehicle access, raising questions about what is and isn’t allowed. 

Last year, Cape Pogue homeowner Victor Colantonio wrote to the town’s building inspector claiming the Trustees were in violation of the town’s zoning by selling oversand vehicle permits for areas of Cape Pogue that only allow residential activity. 

Mr. Colantonio contended that the original application did not seek tours, walk-on beachgoer fees, kayak rentals and allowances for thousands of vehicles. 

In response, building inspector Reade Milne, said she couldn’t determine if the Trustees were exceeding its allowance because there was no permit to look at. 

Mr. Colantonio, who is separately suing the Trustees in a different case, appealed her decision to the zoning board, which last month ordered the Trustees to apply for a new permit. 

In the new suit, the Trustees pushed back, saying the zoning’s board order was vague and the July 13 deadline for a special permit application was unrealistic.

“The order is unreasonably vague and does not specify what, in particular, requires a special permit,” the Trustees said in a statement. “The order, which wasn’t filed until June 26, also provides insufficient time for The Trustees to comply by July 13.”

Martin (Skip) Tomassian, the chair of the zoning board, declined to comment on the case, citing the pending litigation. 

The Trustees also argued that the zoning board lacked the jurisdiction to rule on Mr. Colantonio’s appeal. Instead, the issue should have gone to the planning board. 

In its ruling, the zoning board said that if a special permit was not applied for, the Trustees would have to cease operations on Cape Pogue, raising concerns about access in the heart of the summer. 

“Given the unreasonable deadline coupled with the threat to close beaches to the public – as well as the vagueness of the Order – the Trustees have no choice other than to appeal the Order, even were the Order not otherwise in excess of the ZBA’s authority,” the lawsuit reads.

The practice of driving SUVs and trucks out to the beaches of Chappaquiddick is popular with fishermen and beachgoers, but controversial. The conservation commission debated vehicle limits for months and took dozens of comments. 

The commission ended up capping the Leland and Wasque trails to 200 vehicles and Cape Pogue to 30, prompting appeals from the Trustees, which felt the limits were too low, and neighbors, who felt their were too high.

The land court had not set a date to hear the latest appeal, and the state Department of Environmental Protection is still considering the appeals on vehicle limits.