Remy Tumin
Aquinnah voters will decide in February whether the town should begin steps to take ownership of the historic Gay Head Light.
The town selectmen said at a meeting last week they would schedule a special town meeting for the first week of February.
“We should have permission from the town to spend time on this, particularly if it comes down to acquiring it,” selectman Jim Newman said.
A small but vocal group of residents, builders, realtors and members of town land use boards turned out to express their opinions this week on a proposed Chilmark bylaw that would regulate house size. Some quibbled over specifics of the plan, while others argued that the proposed regulation is not strict enough. The town planning board presented the latest version of the much-debated bylaw at a public hearing held Monday night.
After nearly a year of discussions, the Chilmark planning board will hold the first public hearing Monday night on a proposed bylaw to regulate house size.
The draft bylaw calls for two thresholds of regulation. Residential building projects between 3,500 and 5,500 square feet per first acre would require special permits from the zoning board of appeals. Total construction would be capped at 5,500 square feet per first acre.
A soft buzz of 250,000 watts of energy echoed off of Watcha Path in Edgartown on Thursday afternoon.
“Listen to that hum,” Bill Bennett told a group of Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School students standing next to several transformers at Mr. Bennett’s new solar array.
Cong. William Keating appealed directly to the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard this week to expedite the transfer of ownership of the Gay Head Light, which must be moved soon due to rapid erosion at the Gay Head Cliffs.
In a letter to Adml. Robert J. Papp Jr. yesterday, Mr. Keating urged the Coast Guard to declare the lighthouse as excess property.
A home building project in East Chop that has long been at odds with the town is set to come before the Oak Bluffs zoning board of appeals for further review next week.
Leslie Hayling, a New Jersey dentist, has been rebuilding a home and garage apartment for nearly 10 years on Dempster Park. In a sharply-worded letter to Dr. Hayling last summer, Oak Bluffs building inspector James Dunn ordered the removal of a long list of additions that were not included in a 2005 special permit.