Oak Bluffs town officials are wrestling with if there is enough wastewater capacity for one of the largest Island housing proposals in recent memory. 

Based on the current and future needs for the area, the town recently created a wastewater working group specifically to deal with the 116-unit Green Villa housing project eyed for Edgartown-Vineyard Road near the regional high school. Officials have expressed concerns that the town will not be able to provide the amount of flow necessary to support the project and they have not yet determined whether or not there is sufficient sewer capacity.

In its application to the town’s zoning board of appeals, Green Villa has said it will need between 7,400 and 15,000 gallons of wastewater a day depending on the plan, and is seeking to connect to the town’s sewer system in the area.

The question of capacity is not an easy one to answer because it’s based on a variety of factors, said Joe Peznola, consultant to the town on the project.

“It’s complicated,” he said. “There’s a lot of moving pieces.”

Mr. Peznola said that while the town’s wastewater commission believes it will receive 150,000 additional gallons of wastewater capacity by 2028, 130,000 of those gallons are already set aside for nitrogen reduction, and about 12,000 more gallons are committed to the Tackenash Knoll housing development, veteran housing and the Martha’s Vineyard YMCA. This could put a squeeze on Green Villa’s ability to hook up to the town’s sewer, he said.

So far, town officials have met with Green Villa developer William Cumming and his team for two wastewater working group sessions to address the potential capacity issue and plan to meet a third time. While there is no clear answer yet, Mr. Cumming presented three possible paths forward Wednesday to the town’s zoning board of appeals, which is currently considering Green Villa’s application.

His first proposal would have Oak Bluffs providing enough sewer flow for all 116 units. The second proposal would be for Green Villa to utilize a combination of sewer flow and onsite septic. Under this scenario, Mr. Cumming said he would want to add two additional duplexes to the project to offset the roughly $1.5 million cost of installing septic systems. 

The third proposal is that the town provide sewer hookups for 116 units plus two additional duplexes, in which case the developer would give the town $1.5 million “to be used in any affordable/infrastructure betterment initiative the town chooses.”

The board is waiting for input on the proposals from the wastewater commission. Zoning board chairman Llewellyn Rogers said he wanted to put an end to months of back-and-forth about the capacity issue.

“We’re gonna have to talk to [the wastewater commission] and get a definite answer,” Mr. Rogers said. “If we continue on next month, and we have no answer, we’re going to be right back where we are tonight.”

Mr. Cumming first raised the Green Villa idea in 2023, and since then it has been a contentious proposal. 

The developer and town have disagreed on several technical matters, and have turned to legal appeals in an attempt to settle the disputes.

Last year, the town sued Atwood Company for its approach to the permitting process, and the developer is currently embroiled in a lawsuit against the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, claiming the commission does not have the ability to oversee “40B” affordable housing projects.

The project is still before the MVC, and Oak Bluffs has taken a rare step to have the zoning board of appeals review the project concurrently.

While the appeals play out, the zoning board is also seeking clarification on how Mr. Cumming plans to functionally implement income- and occupation-based use restrictions for different sections of the development.

In addition to supplying affordable housing as part of the project, Mr. Cumming plans to set certain sections of Green Villa aside for buyers who meet 150 per cent of the Island’s average median income, a subset that is being considered more as the cost of the housing market continues to rise. 

He also wants to earmark apartments for teachers from Oak Bluffs and potentially other communities.

Because employment and income status can change, the board pointed out that ensuring homes go to qualified residents may not always be as simple as selling units directly to occupants. For teacher housing, Mr. Cumming mentioned the possibility of selling the relevant properties to an Island housing non-profit, which would then rent them out to those who qualify.

Mr. Peznola said enforcing these restrictions in a way that makes sense will be a complex process.

“There’s nuances that have been put into this project by the applicant that are all admirable,” he said. “It makes it complicated to be able to get [the plan] into a succinct document that has the findings of fact, memorializes the commitments by the applicant to these [restrictions], and then begins to put together the proper conditions.”