The following letter was sent to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission.

I urge you to deny the Stop & Shop application DRI 89-M3 for the following reasons:

Everyone who cares about the Vineyard should memorize this central tenet of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission’s mission statement: “The MVC’s mission is to help carefully manage growth so that the Vineyard’s unique environment, character, social fabric, and sustainable economy are maintained as development takes place.”

To the MVC: Please vote against the enormous expansion of the Stop & Shop store in Vineyard Haven.

While I recognize that the store needs to be renovated, I do not support the size and scale of their endeavor. A look at the pole on the roof to show the actual height of the structure should bring it into perspective as it did for me. It is huge and would dwarf Water street and Five Corners.

The Squibnocket Ridge subdivision is the result of over 10 years of study, planning, and design by the Vineyard Open Land Foundation.

I do not support Chilmark’s warrant article 28.

Recent letters about Stop & Shop’s impressive proposal for Vineyard Haven attempt to make the case that somehow the months long review process by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission regarding the much-needed new Stop & Shop store planned for Vineyard Haven have been less than transparent.