Oak Bluffs officials this week decided to hold off bringing an article to next month’s special town meeting that would have enacted new regulations for jet skis.

The town’s harbor master and harbor advisory committee proposed changes to the town bylaws that they believed would make rules around jet skis more enforceable. Jet skis are currently not allowed on town waters, but the bylaw is not enforced.

At its meeting Tuesday, the select board decided against putting the article on the Oct. 29 special town meeting warrant because there had not been enough communication between the board, the harbor advisory committee and the town’s shellfish committee on the potential new regulations. 

“I think there is a consensus that we want to regulate jet skis, personal watercraft, better than we currently are, but there are still differences on exactly how to achieve that,” said select board member Emma Green-Beach. “What we have printed here is a start, but it is not complete enough to go to special town meeting.” 

The proposed new rules would have brought the town in line with the state’s regulations, allowing jet skis to travel at headway speed – about 6 miles per hour – in Hart Haven harbor, Oak Bluffs harbor, Lagoon Pond and Sengekontacket Pond. The bylaw also would have given definitions for what constituted negligent operation of a jet ski.

Harbor master Emily deBettencourt wanted to see the article looked at again in the future. 

“Going forward, it would be extremely helpful and necessary to recreate this bylaw,” she said.

She added she is not in favor of a complete ban on jet skis because many people already own them, the cheaper price makes them one of the more accessible watercraft and because people from the Cape use jet skis to access the Island.

Jet skis are a common sight in Vineyard waters, especially in Oak Bluffs. Some residents worried that jet skiers were going too fast, potentially creating dangerous conditions. 

“We never want to take away anybody’s ability to use the water with anything, but there’s a certain few who are ruining it for everybody else,” said Mark Landers, the chair of the shellfish committee.

Sherry Countryman, who spoke on behalf of the Lagoon Pond Association and Friends of Sengekontacket, asked the select board to take action.

“This is an urgent issue, someone is really gonna get hurt. I would really, really encourage you all to put this front and center,” she said.

Concerns were also raised about the impact of jet skis on the health of quahaugs, which Michael Santoro, the chair of the harbor advisory committee, said he had not been made aware of before the discussion. Mr. Santoro said that he will begin to work with the shellfish committee to address the concerns.

According to select board member Tom Hallahan, the harbor advisory committee had been trying to meet with the select board for months to discuss the new bylaw, but no meeting had occurred. Several board members said they planned to continue looking into the issue but felt this article just wasn’t ready for town meeting.

“To me it’s more important to do it right,” said select board chair Gail Barmakian. 

The board swiftly approved placing eight other articles onto the warrant. Residents will be asked to authorize allocating $332,000 from the general stabilization fund to replace grant money stolen in a cyber scam in August, and a $750,000 borrowing article for the creation of a new solar farm. 

Other articles will address inconsistencies and redundant language in the town’s bylaw. 

Special town meeting will be held at Oak Bluffs Elementary School at 7 p.m. on Oct. 29. The quorum is 50 people.