After three hours of emotionally-charged testimony last Thursday both for and against the Bradley Memorial Church renovation project in Oak Bluffs, the Martha’s Vineyard Commission closed a public hearing on the project.
The commission is expected to begin deliberations at a June 19 meeting. The project — which includes affordable housing, artist work spaces and historic preservation of the Bradley Memorial Church, the first African-American church on the Island — is under review by the commission as a development of regional impact (DRI).
A key subcommittee of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission has recommended that the commission deny a proposal from the Vineyard Golf Club to build nine luxury houses for club members plus a new employee dormitory and bathroom on the course along the Edgartown-West Tisbury Road.
The commission land use planning committee on May 12 voted 5-1 with two abstentions to recommend denial of the proposal. Although it is not bound to follow the recommendations of the committee, the full commission usually gives the recommendation considerable weight when voting on a project.
With gas prices on the Vineyard hovering above $4.50 a gallon for regular and almost $5 a gallon for premium — some of the highest fuel costs in the nation — more Islanders are leaving their cars at home and taking the Martha’s Vineyard Transit Authority busses.
Reflecting the hard financial times being felt across the nation, Oak Bluffs voters at a special town election on Wednesday defeated three funding measures for Proposition 2 1/2 overrides and debt exclusions for next year’s operating budget, while narrowly approving three others.
The game of lacrosse was the clear focus of the sporting world on the Vineyard this past week as both the boys’ and girls’ high school varsity teams hosted games in the opening round of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament.
The Martha’s Vineyard Commission last week again reviewed revised plans for the controversial three-story garage built along the North Bluff in Oak Bluffs in 2003 without a permit.
The story behind the three-story garage is by now familiar and dates back to November of 2003 when Mr. Moujabber received a town building permit to replace an existing small garage on his Sea View avenue extension property. In less than six months the project grew into a three-story building with multiple balconies, sliding glass doors and a roof deck.
