Do the citizens of Martha’s Vineyard want artificial turf on the high school playing fields? It’s a good question that could be answered by Islandwide referendum.

People on both sides will tell you that the issue is already settled, pointing to votes taken by elected government bodies that favor their point of view. The regional high school committee and the Martha’s Vineyard Commission have approved the artificial turf plan, but the Oak Bluffs planning board has nixed it. Voters in the three up-Island towns rejected the high school budget solely to protest spending on a lawsuit challenging the Oak Bluffs planning board. Was that a vote against turf or just about legal bills? It depends on who you ask.

The issue remains in limbo while a land court judge ponders the legal question of who gets to decide. While eagerly awaited, however, his answer is unlikely to end the debate.

At its core, this is not a legal issue, or even really a scientific one. Mountains of evidence arguing artificial turf is safe would not persuade people who have seen such conclusions change over time. Fundamentally, this is a cultural issue. It is not about what we can prove, but what we believe. It is not about what we know, but about what we don’t know and the risks we are willing to take.

The recent housing bank initiative offers a template for how the turf question could be posed, in identical warrant articles and ballot measures in each of the Island’s six towns. Perhaps it is time to stop looking for a judge or a scientist who will resolve the unresolvable. Perhaps it is time we found out how Islanders really feel.