<p>A planned solar array on land owned by the Oak Bluffs water district remains in the slow lane as developers prepare to return to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission later this month.
A planned solar array on land owned by the Oak Bluffs water district remains in the slow lane as developers prepare to return to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission later this month.
The town water district wants to clear 10.4 acres of ancient forest for a large solar array on land it owns abutting the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest. The project is expected to save the district $800,000 over 20 years through reduced electricity costs.
But it has drawn strong opposition from Vineyard ecologists who say the detriments of removing ancient woodland far outweigh the benefits of harnessing the power of the sun to produce electricity.
A public hearing opened last February and has since been postponed twice by the water district.
The continued hearing reopens at the Olde Stone Building in Oak Bluffs on Oct. 20.
Also, a public hearing on the proposed demolition of a historic commercial building in Oak Bluffs to make way for a mixed-use development will resume Oct. 20. The 8,570-square-foot building on Circuit avenue houses Phillips Hardware, a well-known longstanding business in the center of town. Owners Donna Leon and Susan Phillips want to put up a three-story building about twice the size of the original with commercial space and apartments.
A public hearing on the project opened in September.
Both the solar array and Phillips Hardware plans are under review as developments of regional impact (DRIs).
At their meeting last Thursday, the commission voted to allow off-season boat storage in a 6,000-square-foot parking lot behind the Island Cove Adventures mini-golf course on State Road in Vineyard Haven. In a letter to the commission in September, Raymond and Mary Gosselin of Island Cove Adventures said they expect to store between five and 10 boats up to 35 feet long on the property. The boats would be prepared offsite and stay in the parking lot from mid-October to mid-May. Commissioners reviewed the proposal as a modification to an earlier DRI application and agreed that it did not require a public hearing.
Looking ahead, the MVC expects to see plans for the Stop & Shop expansion of its Edgartown store late in the year. Commission executive director Adam Turner said he expects an application in December; commissioners urged delaying a public hearing until the new year, in light of the November election, when nine people will be elected to the 21-member commission. Stop & Shop unveiled preliminary plans for the expansion in October 2015.
And the commission has not yet received a DRI application from MV@Play, a community group that wants to build a sports facility at the regional high school that would include artificial turf. The plan has ignited fierce, ongoing debate over the merits of grass versus artificial turf. The Chilmark and West Tisbury selectmen referred the project to the MVC for review, using the discretionary referral process, but MV@Play later voluntarily agreed to a full review by the commission.
The commission’s next meeting is Oct. 20 at 7 p.m.
Comments
"Old growth forest?" We don
Peter J Edgartown"Old growth forest?" We don't have old growth forests on MV. What we have is land that 100 years ago used to be mostly open fields and moors that is now overgrown with scrub oak. The heath hen was call that because it lived on the open heath, not forests. Ask any islander over 60 and they will tell you that the Cape and Islands used to be mostly open fields with interspersed cedars. That started to change in the 50s when farming and livestock grazing began to disappear. So, argue back and forth about solar arrays, but don't bring in alarmist talk about the death of old growth forests....that term properly applies only to forests that have not been cut, ever.
You are mistaken. Old growth
Slater MVYou are mistaken. Old growth applies to any forest where the majority of fauna has reached maturity. From Wikipedia: An old-growth forest — also termed primary forest, virgin forest, primeval forest, late seral forest, or (in Britain) ancient woodland — is a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance and thereby exhibits unique ecological features and might be classified as a climax community.[1] Old-growth features include diverse tree-related structures that provide diverse wildlife habitat that increases the bio-diversity of the forested ecosystem. The concept of diverse tree structure includes multi-layered canopies and canopy gaps, greatly varying tree heights and diameters, and diverse tree species and classes and sizes of woody debris.
We have plenty of this on the island. Do some research before you babble.
Ancient Forest do in fact
Tim Boland West TisburyAncient Forest do in fact exist on MV and yes the majority of the Island has been cut repeatedly, however, oak has the ability to re-sprout, like the coppiced forests of Europe. The Island has been studied by Dr. David Foster and his associates at Harvard Forest. A book will appear next year that traces the agricultural and natural history of Martha's Vineyard.
More information can be found here:
http://mv1850.com/
Like most of New England,
David R Foster ShutesburyLike most of New England, Martha's Vineyard does not have any old growth forest. What it does have is irreplaceable ancient woodlands that while cut for firewood in the past have never been cleared, plowed, or otherwise converted from a wooded condition. In these forests today, the native soils are intact and the native plant species that have occupied these sites for thousands of years continue to dominate. Due to their capacity to resprout follow cutting and fire many of the oaks on these sites are many hundreds to thousands of years old.
The largest expanse of these woodlands on the Vineyard occupy the State Forest and abutting areas, including the proposed site of the solar array. It is the combination of being a highly unusual sandplain forest type and being an intact ancient woodland that makes the town-owned forest, as well as the State Forest, so extremely valuable historically and ecologically.
A map showing the extent of ancient woodlands on the Vineyard is attached to my letter to the MVC and contained in the 1850 Henry Whiting map and brochure. See http://mvlandandsea.com/the1850map.
Old growth, or, relativity
Mark Lucier EdgartownOld growth, or, relativity new, it matters not. Please do not pave paradise and put up a parking lot ; We have seen these other projects out by the Katama farm, Sandy Valley -- they both are no more than energy projects that ruin the area.
Why the heck can't they just
Carol Lampson CrockettWhy the heck can't they just do the obvious thing that EVERYONE out here in California does (including me, my hospital, my employer, our high school) - put them on the roofs? Solar panels belong on ROOFS. You don't cut down trees to put up a field of solar panels, that's just idiotic. If you already have desert hardpan, OK. But cutting down a forest for it? Stupid, terrible environmental policy. Don't do it!
What about the protected
RHN VHWhat about the protected moths?
I agree with Carol Lampson,
Ted Arrowsmith Vineyard HavenI agree with Carol Lampson, this has got to be one of the most stupid plans I have ever heard of. Panels belong on roofs.
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