Tisbury Zoning Board Approves Bridge Commons Housing Plan

By MARK LOVEWELL

Tisbury zoning board members last night unanimously approved a comprehensive permit for a controversial 30-unit affordable housing project on eight acres of land off State Road.

The board's action includes numerous conditions but clears the way for construction of Bridge Commons, a housing project of 15 duplex-style buildings. Half of all the units will be dedicated to affordable housing, restricted in perpetuity as low or moderate income housing.

Neighbors, who have raised concerns about the project since it was first proposed more than two years, sat in silence last night as the zoning board of appeals and the town's attorney Jay Talerman detailed 40 conditions on the project. More than 20 neighbors attended the meeting.

The ZBA's intent was to minimize impact on the neighborhood by requiring tree buffers, limiting the number of parking spaces and exerting some control over the appearance of the buildings.

Bridge Commons is the second project this year to come before the zoning board of appeals under Chapter 40B, the state law that enables affordable housing projects to fast track and skirt most local zoning regulations.

The ZBA decision last night still needs to be formally written and turned over to the town clerk by the end of the month. There is also a 20-day appeal period which begins once the decision is filed.

The applicant Brad Austin, president of Bridge Housing Corporation, told the Gazette after the meeting that ideally he'd like to see construction begin next May and completed nine months later.

A nonprofit organization, Bridge Housing Corporation joined forces with the Martha's Vineyard Land Bank to purchase 24 acres of wooded land owned by James H.K. Norton and his wife Sonya Norton of Vineyard Haven.

Duplexes will be built on eight acres while the remaining land will be managed as conservation land. The Martha's Vineyard Land Bank will own nine acres. Six acres will have a conservation restriction and owned by Bridge Commons.

The project had extensive review. Almost two years ago, it came before the Martha's Vineyard Commission as a development of regional impact (DRI) and was approved in May 2003.

At every step, a group of neighbors raised concerns. Last night, before the formal board vote, zoning board chairman Susan Fairbanks praised neighbors' involvement.

"I have appreciated the help the abutters have put into this," she said. "They've helped us write the conditions. So, thank you."

Among those conditions, ZBA members decreased the number of parking spaces from 86 to 72. Home businesses that require signage and generate car traffic will be limited. Property owners will be allowed to own no more than one cat and one dog each.

The duplexes must be varied in architectural appearance, sided with shingles or clapboard and have a black roof. There can be no widening or increased use of the Red Coat Hill Road. Clothes lines, television antennas and dumpsters will be banned.

The board also required that before the first residents arrive, the complex should be complete, with roads paved, and infrastructure done.

Zoning board member Frank Piccione insisted the applicant assure the board that adequate trees are used as sound and visible buffers on the edge of the property. Mr. Austin said he will meet that demand.

Realizing that the comprehensive permit application needed revisions, the board asked the applicant to allow the board a seven-day extension to complete the paperwork by the end of this month, get it signed and turned over to the town clerk.

After the meeting, Mr. Austin said this was not the final step. "I am mildly relieved. I will feel a lot better after the appeal process is over." The appeal period ends 20 days after the permit is filed with the town clerk.

Looking back over the project's permit process, Mr. Austin said it was a good deal longer than his group had originally thought. He then said: "We are sure it will be a positive addition to the neighborhood and not a detriment."