The Martha’s Vineyard Commission is taking steps to review the Wampanoag tribe’s proposed bingo hall as a development of regional impact (DRI).

MVC executive director Adam Turner said on Thursday night that the commission has tentatively set a May 22 meeting with the tribe and a June 6 public hearing to begin review of the project.

The tribe has already cleared four acres it owns off Black Brook and State roads in Aquinnah for the planned bingo hall, although no construction has begun yet.

The town, tribe and commission have been jousting for weeks, both in and out of court, over whether review by the regional land use commission is required, among other things. Aquinnah and Chilmark have both made formal referrals to the commission.

The tribe has strongly objected to the referrals, saying they contravene the tribe’s sovereign rights which have been affirmed by the highest U.S. courts.

In a May 8 letter sent to tribal chairman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, Mr. Turner said the commission would follow normal procedure for projects referred to the commission by towns, “because this constitutes a mandatory referral.”

Outlining procedure, he said the commission normally holds a meeting with DRI applicants to discuss application requirements and review site plans. He scheduled that meeting with the tribe for May 22, and also scheduled a land use planning meeting for June 3 and a public hearing for 7 p.m. on June 6.

“The commission will receive testimony from all interested persons with respect to the proposed development and would, of course, welcome the tribe’s participation in the public hearing process,” Mr. Turner wrote. “You should be aware that, under the commission enabling act, the commission has authority to commence an action or other proceedings necessary to enforce its statutory authority with respect to any decision it may issue.”

At the meeting Thursday evening, Mr. Turner and commission chairman Doug Sederholm said they had received no response from the tribe.

“Since sending that letter we have heard nothing,” Mr. Turner said.

“They have not challenged us. They are ignoring us,” Mr. Sederholm said.

Ms. Andrews-Maltais could not be immediately reached for comment Friday.

Mr. Turner said commission counsel had reviewed the letter and agreed with the proposed course of action.

“We had hoped to find a way forward where we simply addressed the impact of the proposed development,” Mr. Turner said. “But we have referrals from two towns. We have to go back and complete our work. I don’t relish this, but I have a responsibility to the referrals that we got.”

He continued: “I hope we can come to some accommodation with the tribe and I totally respect what they are trying to do up there. We hope to still come to an agreement with them.”

At the site of the proposed bingo hall, there are no signs of activity. Signs posted around the property warn against non-tribal trespassers, while blackout screens have been hung over the chain-link fence that separates the property from State Road.

Meanwhile, arguments are set to be heard on May 31 in U.S. District Court on Boston on the latest legal skirmish between the town and the tribe over the scope of the court rulings that gave the tribe the right to build a gambling facility. In a motion filed in early April attorneys for the town asked the court to clarify that, notwithstanding a higher court ruling giving the tribe the right to build a bingo hall, the tribe needs to obtain a town building permit before beginning construction.

In response, the tribe said the motion is simply another ploy by the town to deny the tribe its sovereign rights.