After nearly four hours of deliberation, commissioners agreed that while the town and Island urgently need housing — particularly the 12 low-income units in the Edgartown Gardens plan — the proposed three-story development was too massive for its location off Upper Main street in Edgartown.
The Martha’s Vineyard Commission voted unanimously Thursday night to deny Edgartown Gardens, a proposed mixed-income condominium complex with 55 apartments for owners aged 55 and older.
After nearly four hours of deliberation, commissioners agreed that while the town and Island urgently need housing — particularly the 12 low-income units in the Edgartown Gardens plan — the proposed three-story development was too massive for its location off Upper Main street in Edgartown.
“This is not giving us what we need as Islanders. It’s going to overwhelm the neighborhood. The Stop and Shop is only 18 feet tall, this thing’s going to be almost double that,” commissioner Kate Putnam said.
The applicants, developer William Cumming and attorney Jason Talerman, had proposed 11 three-story buildings, 35 feet in height, on the 3.4-acre site.
Ms. Putnam also took issue with the project’s income mix. As proposed, most of the condos would have been sold at market rate and the affordable units would have been deed-restricted to owners earning up to 50 per cent of the median income for our area.
“This is a perfect place to put [housing], because everything is in walking distance, but they are not being respectful of the wide range of people who need the housing the most [and] I think we need a lot more middle-income workforce housing,” she said.
The Edgartown Gardens plan has drawn vehement resistance from town residents and others on the Island. Proposed for the Donaroma’s Nursery site at the Triangle, Islanders repeatedly questioned the effects the project would have on the already clogged intersection.
“It is so far out of bounds, so much a detriment to the Island that it is really a no brainer to deny it,” wrote Edgartown resident Andrew Berry in one letter to the commission. “It will contribute more traffic to a hopelessly gridlocked intersection.”
The MVC’s written record includes more than 100 letters opposing the development, commissioner Jeff Agnoli said Thursday. The Vineyard Conservation Society and the Great Pond Foundation also have submitted statements of opposition.
Thursday’s marathon deliberation followed a contentious, three-hour public hearing last week and a three-and-a-half-hour meeting Monday between the applicant and the land use planning committee, a seven-member subset of the full commission.
The Monday meeting resulted in a number of offers from Mr. Cumming and Mr. Talerman, including $100,000 for the town of Edgartown to make traffic improvements in the area, the addition of elevators to the apartment buildings and lowered condo fees for the affordable units.
The applicants also raised the possibility of raising the total number of condos to 57 and affordable units to 13 by adding three-bedroom apartments.
That change would require a waiver from Mass Housing, a quasi-public agency that provides financing for affordable housing in the state, Mr. Talerman told the commission Thursday.
The number of bedrooms would have remained the same at 105.
During Thursday’s deliberation, commissioners noted that the applicants had not responded to several requests for further information, including about the development’s future homeowners association and how it would enforce conditions imposed by the MVC if the project were approved.
“Our record is incomplete. We have a lot of questions that haven’t been answered and information that we don’t know,” commissioner Greg Martino said.
The MVC decision puts the brakes on Mr. Cumming’s parallel quest for a special permit from the Edgartown zoning board of appeals based on state statute 40B, which loosens local zoning requirements for developments with affordable housing.
In a statement to the Gazette Friday, Mr. Talerman said he and his client were deeply disappointed in the rejection, saying the Island has an undeniable housing crisis.
“In denying this project, the MVC is denying an opportunity for 13 low-income senior households from securing deeply discounted affordable units that they need in order to remain on the Island,” he wrote.
Mr. Talerman and Mr. Cumming filed a legal challenge with the state housing appeals committee in July, asserting that the zoning board should grant the special permit by default because it failed to hold a public hearing on the project within a statutory period of time.
Mr. Cumming also filed a complaint in September against the Martha’s Vineyard Commission in the state Land Court, seeking to challenge the commission’s jurisdiction over so-called 40B projects in connection with another housing project he is developing.
He has now taken legal action over Edgartown Gardens, filing a lawsuit in Land Court on Wednesday against the commission in a similar vein.
“While the Commission attempted to clothe their decision in imaginary traffic or environmental concerns it is plain they are, at the end of the day, against the development of affordable housing,” Mr. Talerman wrote. “Chapter 40B, under which the project was proposed, was enacted over 50 years ago to override local opposition to the development of affordable housing. The MVC feels it is unique among local agencies and is somehow empowered to serve as a firewall against affordable housing.”
The suit came up briefly during Thursday's commission meeting.
“We learned yesterday that earlier this week, the applicant filed a lawsuit against the commission in connection with this project. We can discuss the merits of that litigation in executive session with council at another time, but the fact that there is pending litigation should not factor into our decision this evening,” said commissioner Peter Wharton.
Mr. Cumming’s other 40B proposal, the 116-unit Green Villa complex in Oak Bluffs, is still before the MVC. A scheduled hearing next week has been postponed at the applicant’s request, Mr. Wharton said.
Editor's note: a previous version of this article incorrectly attributed Peter Wharton's quotes to the wrong commissioner. It has been corrected.
Comments
Well done! Grateful to the
Amy EdgartownWell done! Grateful to the MVC for staying true to their mission statement in this case to "Protect and enhance the islands’ environment, economy, character, and social fabric." The scope of this project simply is not suitable for that location.
I agree with the reasons for
Don Shadley EdgartownI agree with the reasons for denying Edgartown Gardens permit application by the MVC to build a condo complex. Our property abutts' the Edgartown Gardens planned 3.3 acre site on the Donoroma nursery property at the Triangle. 11 buildings housing over 100 bedrooms towering 35 feet or more on such a small congested area just does not work. My family has been here almost 75 years. Change is inevitable but the right change is what the island must have to meet our current and future needs wisely. We can not rush to judge or build these needed developments. And I believe the MVC has done this by denying the permit. They have protected this islands' character, environment, social fabric and long term economy with this decision.
They call t40B law anti snob
Part of a silent majority that needs to speak up MVThey call t40B law anti snob zoning law for a reason. The MVC has proven itself - once again - a dysfunctional NIMBY coalition. They have totally lost sight of community needs and act irrationally and at times are just idiotic. They had a chance to support and improve an essential AND appropriate housing project and the failed. I listened to meeting last night an they should be ashamed of themselves.
If Edgartown Gardens desired
ALR EdgartownIf Edgartown Gardens desired to be true affordable housing for the Island, it wouldn’t allow over 2/3 to be rented out as short term rentals and used investment properties at a cost that most Islanders cant afford.. They would also commit to elevators if they wanted a place for Islanders to “age in place.”
Again. Such ignorance. The
Joe Cape CodAgain. Such ignorance. The developer offered significant restrictions on short term rentals. Restrictions that I’m sure you would not accept on your property and the same goes for everyone on the committee. What’s good for the goose is not for the gander on MV. And elevators were offered at significant cost.
What are the limits to a
James EdgartownWhat are the limits to a community’s demand for “affordable housing”? Should affordable housing pave over the entire island, because supply/demand curves indicate that is what would be needed? It is not a right to live on MV, just as it is not a right to live in any affluent zip code. No one is being held hostage here to pay the island’s crazy prices, so one cannot continuously complain about it. Let market forces determine prices and costs, and that includes police/fire/health/teacher salaries. Any government intervention distorts — usually negatively line rent control — a fairer market.
Exactly right, James. The
Mark G Vineyard Haven/ NYCExactly right, James. The fantasy that every desirable place should be universally affordable mistakes sentiment for economics. An island has limits, geographic, environmental, and moral, and pretending otherwise invites slow ruin. Market forces are not villains; they are signals. When policy tries to override them in the name of fairness, the result is often mediocrity disguised as compassion. At some point, preservation and realism must matter more than the politics of wishful thinking.
Well said
Chris Thompson EdgartownWell said
I am very disappointed by the
A local teacher on MV Oak BluffsI am very disappointed by the group think and lack of honest debate shown by the MVC last night. It’s normal for a butters to want to stop development, it’s not the MVCs purpose to block for them but to see things a broader community needs perspective. I found it shocking and quite revealing of the committee when they couldn’t even agree that the provision of affordable housing was an attribute. The comments by counsellor Brian were particularly dismissive and I’m embarrassed for him.
Thank you MVC !
pamela s. brock VINEYARD HAVENThank you MVC !
What a Conundrum the Island
James Oak BluffsWhat a Conundrum the Island finds itself in. Maybe we stop beating the drum of affordable housing and get fast ferries. The NIMBY crowd really only wants housing in someone else’s neighborhood.
Yes, because fast ferries
Jane ChilmarkYes, because fast ferries will magically ameliorate the workforce housing conundrum while ensuring the island way of life. I hope the fast ferry can get the Tri-Town EMTs to the island in time to reach an emergency, and that salaries for retail and service workers are sufficient to make the commute to the island worth more than working on the Cape - or New Bedford, or wherever else they can shave 4 hours of commute time off of their day.
We have a huge sewage
Ken Edg.We have a huge sewage treatment problem , I dont even know how some developements have managed to hook up. Ocean Heights was suppose to be next, I should attend the meetings to see when I get hooked up.
Thank you MVC. This project
barbara phillips EdgartownThank you MVC. This project was filled with unknowns in their proposals. As much as we need housing, this project was never really about housing the middle class, it would have become short term rentals which has become our nemesis! And as a possible 40B, Islanders would be limited. Bravo on a very difficult, but necessary decision.
Thank you MVC for denying
Susan Desmarais Oak BluffsThank you MVC for denying this project. We can and must find better options!
No affordable housing units,
Ross BostonNo affordable housing units, no market rate units for islanders who actually make a decent income and don’t qualify for low income housing, and an ever increasingy legal budget passed along to the towns; just another great MVC decision…
Traditional Affordable
Affordable Housing 101 Martha's VineyardTraditional Affordable Housing is typically funding provided to develop and sustain affordable housing for individuals earning 80% or less of area median income. Within the lense of traditional affordable housing, we have the concept of 40B which allows developers to develop properties with less restrictions, as long as a certain portion of the development supports the development of affordable housing units (aka units that will serve qualified applicants with income less than or equal to 80%). There are friendly 40Bs (developers come in with dual intention - to develop market rate homes while also supporting affordable housing units to support the community they are building in) and unfriendly 40Bs (developers use 40B to push a market rate project through with low friction while doing the bare minimum for affordable housing). This project came in the form of an unfriendly 40b. This is evidenced by the lack of response to community inquiries, the lack of attendance at local committee meetings, actions that did not align with statements, and other deceptive practices, like doing a local traffic study outside of the busiest time of the year to show lower impact than reality. The island needs more affordable housing and if you take time to understand the context of 40B, it becomes easier to discern the difference between for profit developers with a community mind and just your average for profit developers taking advantage of federal law to push their development through.
These are the type of
Such a shameThese are the type of projects we need approved. I wonder how many of the houses in the neighborhoods are used for short-term rentals
Mr. Donaroma and Mr Cummings
Marie EdgartownMr. Donaroma and Mr Cummings why not build a beauty condo complex with individual condos similar to the ones across the street from your property….People, like myself, would be more happy to self our homes and retire to a lovely condo complex close to downtown….That would be perfect…there are many examples…As men of the vineyard why not have this be your crowning jewel and not try to build something so out of character for the vineyard and it’s life style.
Get ready for a 40b showdown.
Here we go EdgGet ready for a 40b showdown. William is remarkably capable and my inclination is the last meeting with MVC (when there was uproar about no updates in his side) is simply because he knew this decision was imminent to vote against. The MVC just opened a can of worms that likely Mr. Cummings can and will take all the way to the end. Be careful what you wish for folks. When it’s called a housing “crisis” and nothing is good enough to solve it, then eventually we the public have a right to drive the necessary changes or accept the consequences in decades to come. One thing for certain, the MVC is exposed in showing little to no ability in pragmatism. I watched more fervor in discussion over a boat yard barn lol and gutters on elderly housing. Good luck to us all.
the MVC is passé and doesn’t
Here herethe MVC is passé and doesn’t serve any purpose but to act as a firewall to the town planning process and as a duplication to all the local boards. The towns should fire them as is their right. This is not mandatory. Maybe after the towns get stuck with their legal bills???
The housing “crisis” cannot
James EDGThe housing “crisis” cannot logically ever be solved on an island with six towns with various zoning restrictions. Up-Island towns will watch the Down-Island towns turn into endless rows of ugly garden apartments, “community” centers, and high density single family unit clusters. No amount of building will ever satisfy the affordable housing need, because more affordable housing begets more affordable housing ad infinatum. In the end, MV’s Down-Island towns look like the crummy parts of Hyannis. No wonder many island-born families are selling now before the final chapter.
Agree to the above.
Here we go 2 EdgAgree to the above. Affordable Housing is a fairy tale outcome that unfortunately the MVC is now entrenched in controlling. In the 1974 formation of the MVC the spirit of the charter was to maintain development controls on the island to which there are many examples of projects that we, as a community may have very well been regretful of. Somehow, along the journey (unlike any other government / political body) the MVC in somewhat of snowball effect began absorbing more and more un-defined powers that perhaps at the time seemed critical to ensure their role, but it equally has now pigeon holed our ability (again as a community) to have rational discussion about not just affordable housing, but many more critical threats the island faces. In my humble opinion, the towns should have the right to decide affordable housing matters (and yes they are capable of) to which voters could cast the final ballot on and the MVC can get back to regular programming. If not, I'm deeply concerned that not only will affordable housing fail in scale, but community sentiment for or against the MVC will reach a volatile boiling point, which is an outcome that will further divide our community. So for now I close my eyes and imagine if all the might of the MVC regarding "direct regional impact" could be focused on the Steamship Authority circus. Hey.... ya never know ; )
"No amount of building will
Sara Piazza Edgartown"No amount of building will ever satisfy the affordable housing need, because more affordable housing begets more affordable housing ad infinatum."
BINGO!
Bravo MVC! I wish Falmouth
Meg Maggio FalmouthBravo MVC! I wish Falmouth would do the same!
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