A fuel filling station could be coming to a strip of land at the corner of State Road and High Point Lane in Vineyard Haven, next door to the Island Cove Adventures mini-golf complex.

Property owner Clarence Barnes III, universally known as Trip, received a warm response from the Tisbury planning board last month when he proposed establishing the town’s first inland gas station at 392 State Road.

One of the strongest voices in favor of the concept was that of planning board member Ben Robinson, an ardent environmentalist who frequently clashed with Mr. Barnes when they served together on the Martha’s Vineyard Commission in the early 2020s.

A filling station in the State Road business district makes good sense, Mr. Robinson said at the August 6 board meeting, because the two existing stations in Vineyard Haven are both on Beach Road, close to the harbor.

Idea received a warm response from the town planning board.

Ray Ewing

Idea received a warm response from the town planning board.

Ray Ewing

“[They’re] in a flood-vulnerable area, and as much as we’re moving off of fossil fuels, we’re never going to be totally off of them — at least not in the next 15 or 20 years — but we will see significant flooding events happening in our waterfront commercial district,” he said.

Planning board members Casey Hayward and Daniel Phelan also expressed their support for Mr. Barnes’s idea, which revives a plan for the State Road property he’d originally hatched more than a decade ago before before sidelining it due to other business concerns and a period of illness.

“My cancer’s in remission — has been for quite a while now,” he told the Gazette last week, during an interview in his longtime office at 300 State Road.

Mr. Barnes said he hadn’t yet decided on a fuel supplier or a gas station installer for the business, which he envisions as an extension of the Barnes brand he’s used since the 1960s for his moving company — now owned by Carroll’s — and the used-vehicle dealership he’s in the process of re-establishing at the 300 State Road property.

He’s even considering selling the fuel under the Barnes name, he said, and potentially hauling it to the Island with his own trucks.

Other possibilities, Mr. Barnes said, include a weekly discount day, inspired by the one at Up-Island Automotive in West Tisbury, and round-the-clock hours.

“I will find some interesting people that will work there, and they’ll be very well treated, depending on their needs, and that means they will be funny and smiling and helpful,” he said.

The property needs an advanced septic system to replace the current cesspool, but the building itself is in good enough condition to be renovated, said Mr. Barnes, who wants to add a front porch, paint job and lighting to match his 300 State Road building.

A public restroom is part of the plan and he’d also like to serve hot dogs and soft drinks, if the health department is amenable, he said.

Currently occupied by a weatherbeaten, foundationless house and a gaggle of moving trailers, all of them stuffed with old furniture, the 392 State Road property has a long way to go before Mr. Barnes can realize his vision.

Planning board administrator Amy Upton told the Gazette that if the building renovation is below 3,000 square feet, he will need to secure a special permit from Tisbury’s zoning board of appeals. If it exceeds that threshold, Mr. Barnes will have to go to the planning board. The expansion also would trigger a Martha’s Vineyard Commission review as a development of regional impact.

Mr. Barnes is ready for the process, he told the Gazette.

“It’s probably going to be a long one,” he said.