Beyond the Building Cap Part 2

This is the second in a multipart series called Beyond the Building Cap. Part One appeared on April 2 and examined open space acquisition initiatives Island-wide.

By Lisa Wangsness


Most local property tax dollars pay for infrastructure services and utilities for the public good. To a point, the costs of education, government, public safety, transportation, human services, capital projects, maintenance, and debt are necessary and benefit the community as a whole.

Evidence suggests, though, that both the rate of growth in a community and how well leaders plan for the costs of infrastructure can determine the quality and affordability of municipal services. Money namely, the individual property tax burden is certainly at stake. But also hanging in the balance are less tangible impacts to the social, environmental, and aesthetic quality of life that sound investments in infrastructure inevitably have.


People Cost Money

Conventional wisdom has it that as communities grow, infrastructure costs are shared by a broader tax base and individual property tax burdens remain relatively constant. This is not the case, though: larger numbers of residents require different kinds and levels of service. Ten one-room schoolhouses would undoubtedly cost less than the Tisbury School; the new state-of-the-art Tisbury police station costs many times more than a larger version of the old one.

The vast majority of services and utilities benefit residents, not businesses. To help compensate for residential expenses, some towns tax commercial properties at higher rates than their "fair share." But the commercial tax rate cannot absorb all the costs of residential development, and so inevitably the tax burden on individual properties rises.

A recent study conducted by economist Leah Smith for the Nature Conservancy on the cost of community services for the town of West Tisbury illustrates the high expense of residential properties in the town. The study found that for every dollar in residential property tax revenues, the town spent $1.32 on services and utilities that benefited residents. For every dollar in commercial tax revenues, the town spent only 27 cents on services and utilities that benefited businesses.

Since residential development grows at a far greater rate than commercial development, costs to residential taxpayers will inevitably increase unless the town is willing to cut spending.

Ms. Smith's study also illustrates that for every dollar collected from farms, forests, and open land, the town spends just 33 cents. The conclusion? Leaving more land as open space helps soften the financial impact that costs associated with residential development will have on the town.

This contradicts the view to which assessors commonly subscribe that is, conservation means land off the tax rolls and a higher burden of municipal expenses falling to the rest of the taxpayers.


Open Space Acquisition a Tool

West Tisbury selectman and treasurer Cindy Mitchell concluded in a phone interview Tuesday that if the rest of the town boards agree with Ms. Smith's findings, it would make sense for the town to "consider participating in an open space plan that may require some municipal bonding."

Open space acquisition, then, would serve the same purpose as a building moratorium, with the added benefit of preserving the cherished rural characteristics of the town. A one-time cost to the town could save taxpayers high infrastructure costs down the road.

And according to a 1989 Nantucket study on the economic impacts of growth, simply driving down the rate of growth could help the town stagger its capital projects over longer, more manageable time periods. High growth rates tend to cause debts to pile up, possibly forcing taxpayers to raise levies to cover mounting debt service charges. A high growth rate also causes the acceleration of large capital improvement needs.

And, according to Tisbury treasurer Tim McLean, the interest rates the towns receive on loans from lenders go up if the town already has a great deal of debt on its plate. Mr. McLean noted that Tisbury has been very careful about trying to stagger its debts to prevent "piggybacking" them.

"The difference between an AA bond rating and a AAA rating may only be a quarter of a point that difference doesn't sound like much but over time it really adds up."

The Seasonal Factor

Seasonal residents cost the town far less in services than year-round residents do; they don't send their kids to school, and they use town services for only a small part of the year.

In her study, Ms. Smith broke down residential properties into year-round and seasonal categories. She found that for every dollar in revenue from year-round properties, the town spent $1.92. For every dollar from seasonal properties, the town spent just 40 cents.

Across the Island, revenues from seasonal properties have helped subsidize municipal spending that largely benefits year-rounders. But Ms. Smith noted a trend in West Tisbury that may have resonance in other Island towns now and in years to come: "over the past 15 years or so, the pattern of housing in West Tisbury has gradually been shifting to a higher proportion of year-round use." In 1980, she wrote, 45.8 percent of houses were inhabited all year; in 1990 the number of year-round houses rose to 52 percent; by 1997, it was 64.3 percent.


Year-rounders on the Rise

Population statistics confirm that the numbers of year-round Islanders are rising at much higher rates than new development. Whether the newcomers are renting houses or moving into houses that were previously seasonal is difficult to estimate, but either way these people require services and are not broadening the tax base.

Finally, it's possible that in the future, previously seasonal residents may decide to take up year-round residence on the Island due to advances in communications technologies. An article in Newsweek last September provided anecdotal evidence of professionals who are now "living the Island dream" through tele- and cybercommunication.


Planning
The economists who conducted the Nantucket study advocated careful planning to the extent that this is possible in light of the somewhat unpredictable trends in growth to help the town finance its debts most cost-effectively.

Evidence suggests that by maintaining a capital improvements fund, by saving as much money as possible for anticipated long-term costs, by streamlining and consolidating government accounts, by maintaining fiscal discipline in yearly budgets, by instituting user fees for town services such as sewers, and by planning capital improvements that allow for growth, towns may plan for more cost-effective infrastructures.

On Martha's Vineyard, "local" infrastructure involves town, multitown, and regional planning and funding bodies. Some of these planning teams have been successful, others haven't. Here are a few snapshots of what large scale infrastructure planning looks like today:


Fixing Old Problems the Long, Hard, Expensive Way

In Oak Bluffs, 20-plus years of planning, hundreds of thousands of dollars in engineering consultants' fees, and uncountable town employee hours have left the town staring at a stern letter from the state attorney general's office threatening punitive action in the form of serious fines if the town does not begin sewering immediately. The Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) disputes the recommendations of the current consultants though the recommendations were recently endorsed in uncompromising terms in letters from the DEP and the state attorney general's office.

While the town seems closer to agreement lately, the years of holdup have wasted enormous amounts of time and money during rapid growth periods. Much the same may be said of Tisbury, which has been debating sewering since the 1970s.

Furthermore, Oak Bluffs will vote by majority on the type of technology and the site; the CAC favors solar aquatics technology, which is expensive to upgrade, and locating the plant at the old school, which provides very little room for growth.

The $14 to $19 million plant will accommodate three percent growth per year in the business district only, and allow 10 percent extra room for current "suppressed use" due to dire conditions. Whether that growth is allowed to occur in one year or 20 has not yet been determined. Also, if a business exceeds its maximum flow allowances, what will happen?

The town should also realize that when the debt is finally retired in 20 years, either major repairs and renovations or an entirely new system will be needed.


Schools: An Investment in the Future

Schools are getting the funding they need; the question is how long will it be until they need renovations, and how much will those renovations cost? Per pupil expenditures continue to rise every year, but the high growth of the mid-1990s seems to have leveled out. Meanwhile, technology, which needs to be upgraded every three to four years these days, will continue to require significant costs and possibly cost increases.


Transportation Links Many Issues

The Vineyard Transit Authority (VTA), under the new and capable leadership of Angela Gompert, has made strides this year, adding new service to Lucy Vincent, Menemsha, and Lambert's Cove Beaches. The VTA also plans to add a new park-and-ride service in downtown Oak Bluffs. The costs of these services is borne partly through state and federal funding and partly through the Cherry Sheet allocations to the towns served (money in reimbursements from the state).

Traffic snarls in the summer not only affect quality of life for residents, but have real cost impacts on the towns: additional police, fire, and ambulance services are required, and the damage to roads and roadside utilities creates the necessity for road repairs. Also, a better public transportation system could solve some of the Steamship Authority's space issues.

Besides breaking the traffic gridlock, a transit system has an enormous social benefit to nondrivers estimated to be about 31 percent of New Englanders. All of this, however, costs money. User fees can help offset the costs of such services, but transportation must be affordable.


Infrastructure Can Limit Economically Necessary Environment

The Edgartown planning board recently approved a proposal for town meeting consideration that would zone for a summer dormitory on the airport property, which it deemed an ideal location for a high-demand service (not to be run by the town) which could affect the ability of summer businesspeople to meet their staffing needs, in light of recent affordable housing shortages for summer workers.

The limiting factor is the wastewater facility at the airport, which recently received an upgrade and completed its flow allocations. It turns out the facility cannot accommodate a major new flow source.

A Tale of Two Landfills: Planning's the Thing

Oak Bluffs began its landfill capping project in December; Chilmark will start capping its landfill this year, too. Both towns attempted to plan for these projects; their fiscal management strategies, however, were noticeably different.

Chilmark successfully saved $455,173 and will borrow the remaining $223,377 commercially. Plans have been made to replenish the town's now-stripped stabilization fund before the town goes out to borrow money for its school.

Oak Bluffs also saved some funds but had to borrow $2.4 million (plus a still-to-be-approved additional $460,000 for state-ordered changes) through an interest-free loan offered by the state. And while the Oak Bluffs project is scheduled to be completed by July 1, 1998, the town did not allow for the $152,000 principal on the debt payment to be included in its budget.

At the last minute and at the same time the town learned it had a budget shortfall the town will attempt to pass an article to raise taxes temporarily until this loan is repaid. If the town fails to pass the tax hike, departmental budgets will suffer. If overrides failed at the same time, departmental budgets especially the schools stand to lose even more.


SSA: Regional Leadership the Question, Cost of Living at Stake

The Steamship Authority approached the Martha's Vineyard Commission this winter to discuss rising freight traffic that will soon reach capacity. Since Woods Hole cannot accommodate more vessels, the SSA will probably look at New Bedford as an alternative freight port.

Ron Rappaport, the Vineyard member of the SSA, wants Islanders' advice. Whether or not the MVC will take appropriate initiatives to stimulate discussion or action remains to be seen. If the SSA requires large new capital expenditures, the cost of transporting freight could rise; increased shipping costs could affect the price of everything from groceries to lumber.

In addition, Nantucket will begin a pilot high-speed passenger ferry system this year in direct response, the press releases say, to Nantucket's referendum to limit auto traffic. Nantucket has the advantage of being able to speak as one town. Whether or not Martha's Vineyard can find a regional voice remains a question.


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Part 3
Beyond the Growth Cap: Housing
Affordable Housing Shortage Continues

This is the third in a multipart series called Beyond the Building Cap.

By Lisa Wangsness


Tanya Koch, single mother of two, has lived on the Island since she was 14. She works full-time at Dukes County Savings Bank. Last fall, the house she and her children had rented for the previous six years was sold. She spent the winter searching for a year-round place, but so far she has found nothing. Now it's April, and she has two options: renting a shack from a friend for the summer with no running water, or moving into her grandmother's house in Attleboro. She thinks she'll go with the shack.

"It'll work, it's just going to be tough," she said, bracing a smile. "I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that something will come up in the next two weeks we just can't pass up. But I've lived here more than half my life. I have a decent job. If I want my kids to grow up here, why should I have to leave?"

While new development has soared in the past two decades, working Islanders appear to have more trouble than ever finding affordable living situations.

"The bottom line is that land prices here have grown so much faster than the wage base," said Derrill Bazzy of the Dukes County Housing Authority board of directors, "making it very difficult for people to buy property or even rent here on the Island."

John Best, a real estate broker and a member of the Martha's Vineyard Commission (MVC), did the math at a recent MVC meeting on housing. "A person making 10 dollars an hour working a 40-hour week can finance a $55,000 mortgage," he stated grimly. The average price of a home on the Vineyard in 1997 was approximately $280,000."

And so Martha's Vineyard joins the ranks of resort areas such as Aspen, Colorado, and neighboring Nantucket, which have seen countless year-round working people forced to commute from great distances or to make their livings elsewhere. Many Islanders who responded to a housing authority survey conducted five years ago said they planned on leaving the Island because they could not find appropriate affordable housing.

"These people are not strangers," stated Randi Vega, chairman of the housing authority board of directors, in an interview last winter. "They work in our schools, police stations, grocery stores. We have to keep in mind that the people for whom it's most expensive provide vital services to the community."

"Windemere cannot get people to work as nursing assistants for 10 dollars an hour," observed Michael Donaroma, a Martha's Vineyard commissioner and a member of the Edgartown planning board. "An incoming schoolteacher cannot qualify for a mortgage here. Businesses are finding it difficult to get good administrative help."


Summer Housing
Growth, plus expanding popularity of the Vineyard as a summer destination, and a national economy which just goes on bubbling hot have also driven up the prices of affordable summer rentals. In the summer, according to an agent at Advantage Real Estate, apartments and homes typically cost about $1,000 a room per month. An agent at Century 21 Real Estate said that she hasn't seen a three-bedroom home rent for less than $9,000$10,000 for the 1998 season. Many of the overseas programs that in the past sent college students to the Island have stopped recommending the Vineyard because the expense of housing makes it nearly impossible to save money.

As a result, seasonal businesses have had an increasingly difficult time finding summer help.

In order to help summer businesses find the employees they need, the Chamber of Commerce has created a "One Stop Job Shop" program to help summer workers find accommodations. This service has proved invaluable to the business community, but many business owners report that they still have worker shortages. This is especially true for smaller businesses that cannot afford to provide housing for their employees, and that often cannot afford to pay their workers enough to house themselves let alone save money for school.


Preserving the Island Community

On the year-round affordable housing front, the private nonprofit Island Elderly Housing (IEH) has created enormous housing opportunities for low- and very-low-income elderly Islanders during its 22 years in business. These units provide virtually the only housing on the Island for elders who survive on Social Security or very low fixed incomes. With full-time executive director Carol Lashnits at the helm, IEH has built more than 92 units with state and federal grant money since the early 1980s. In the next year or so, IEH will build another 28 units with an additional $2 million received in grants this year.

The Dukes County Housing Authority, a public organization with representatives from each of the towns on its board, has managed to bring 42 units of moderate- to low-income housing into the market in the last two years. The housing authority's goal is to bring this total up to 105 units as soon as possible. Two of these units, which became available this winter, provide the only shelter on the Island for homeless families. But unlike the Martha's Vineyard Land Bank, a parallel public land conservation agency, the housing authority does not receive a steady stream of funding from real estate taxes. In fact, the housing authority does not even have enough money to pay a full-time executive director, an investment that could pay for itself since writing grants to tap state and federal funds takes more time and consistent effort than even the most dedicated of volunteer boards can muster.


Zoning

Local and regional zoning bylaws can also play an important role in establishing affordable housing provisions. But, as written, the Island towns' zoning bylaws do not provide affordable housing incentives. In some other communities in the commonwealth, they do
.
For example, a bylaw in the town of Manchester allows residents to build guesthouses or accessory apartments if the property owners agree to rent them at affordable rates.

In certain cases here, the town zoning boards actually discourage affordable housing opportunities. Multifamily dwellings are not allowed in the three up-Island towns; while apartments without deed restrictions are not guaranteed to remain affordable, units above commercial venues tend to remain cheaper even in tight real estate markets. In West Tisbury, accessory units and guesthouses can only be used by family members.

The difficulty that Island Cohousing has experienced recently also illustrates local reluctance to allow special zoning consideration for development that provides affordable housing opportunities.

The Martha's Vineyard Commission (MVC) has used its DRI (development of regional impact) "superzoning" powers in the past to require subdivision developers to set aside land for open space and for affordable housing opportunities. Resident homesite committees in each town sell lots set aside for the purpose at one-quarter their market value to Islanders chosen on the basis of income, length of residence, and, finally, a lottery system.

But in the last 10 years, development patterns have changed; planning board members across the Island agree that new subdivision applications are almost nonexistent. Instead, lots are being bought and developed one at a time. So just as development no longer subsidizes open space acquisition, it also no longer subsidizes affordable housing opportunities for Islanders.


Strategies

Melissa McDonald, an MVC staffer who is developing a housing action plan for the Island, has come up with a number of strategies the Island might try in order to preserve its diverse community. Most importantly, said Ms. McDonald in an interview last week, "people need to realize that in order to address this issue, there needs to be involvement across the board. Like environmental issues, the solutions won't come from just one group. And the problem is not going to be completely solved, but we can make headway."

Some of these suggestions have also been discussed recently by the board of the housing authority, which, said vice chairman Juleann VanBelle, has recognized the Island's need for a more holistic approach, bolstered by strong leadership.

"We should be taking the lead on public policy development rather than just buying and selling property," she said.

The strategies currently being evaluated include the following:


Conduct a Needs Assessment Study

Nobody knows exactly how many Islanders need affordable housing, or what type of housing is most needed. Without this basic information, it is impossible to know where affordable housing efforts need to be focused. A case in point is the experience of Faith Runner of West Tisbury, who decided four years ago to rent out the six one-bedroom apartments she owns on a year-round basis rather than seasonally to do her part to help assuage the Island's housing problem. So far she's taken several serious financial hits thanks to tenants who skipped out on leases at the wrong time of year.

All her apartments are one-bedroom units that do not allow pets, and rent for between $550 and $650 a month. Ms. Runner muses that her units may not meet some or all of the needs of those most in need of year-round leases, but she cannot be sure whether that's because they are too small, too restrictive, too expensive or whether what is really needed is simply affordable summer housing.

"We need to focus on who's doing the demanding," she said, "or the housing authority could run into the same problems."


Create a Homebuyer's Revolving Fund

For those Islanders who would like to buy homes but who are having difficulty saving enough money to close on a house, a revolving loan program would allow money to be borrowed for down payments at zero percent interest. Programs that help people buy homes, said Ms. VanBelle, are especially important to consider.

"When you own a home, you have a different sense of community," she noted. "You take part in local decision making in a much deeper way than you do if you don't have a stake in the community. Also when you own a home, you build equity."

Create a Rent Revolving Fund

A fund to help subsidize rents or allow people to borrow money at zero interest for the first month, last month, and security deposit required by most landlords at the signing of a lease could provide affordable housing opportunities requiring any building, renovating, or property management on the part of housing organizations.

"Instead of having to build 50 units," said Mr. Bazzy, "we can meet people halfway. If someone's rent was $1,000 a month, we could set up a system where the housing authority would pay $350 of the rent and the resident would pay $650. Instantly it's affordable." Mr. Bazzy added that such a program could be landlord-based, with certain privately owned rentals designated as permanently subsidized in part by the housing authority.


Revise Regional Zoning Laws

As subdivision development declines, the MVC could figure out new ways to use its superzoning powers so that new development continues to subsidize affordable housing.

Provide Incentives to Property Owners
Deed restrictions for guesthouses and accessory apartments that require affordable rents either permanently for for a set period of time both Aspen and Manchester have implemented this type of program could help. Other incentives could also be considered.


Dormitory Housing for Summer Employees

On Tuesday evening, Edgartown passed a new zoning bylaw that would permit a developer to build dormitory-style summer housing at the airport. Such a project could provide a mechanism for smaller business owners to provide more affordable housing for their employees. However, the airport project cannot be built unless the airport wastewater facility is expanded and it just was enlarged this year.


Political Will

While most Islanders appear to agree that affordable housing is a problem on the Island, there has been little political will on the part of the community to instigate broad reforms, policies, and fundraising efforts to address the problem.

Island voters have shown they are willing to spend far more on education than is required by state law. By and large, open space conservation has not been prioritized by the towns; even so, Edgartown and West Tisbury voted to fund open space acquisitions this week, and Oak Bluffs will consider acquiring open space in concert with other conservation organizations this spring. Meanwhile, no articles on any of the town meeting warrants propose spending money on affordable housing efforts.

"I don't see in the short term much scope for the towns making a cash contribution out of the tax base for acquiring land for the housing authority," said West Tisbury selectman and Martha's Vineyard commissioner John Early. "I don't feel there's any real flexibility in the municipal budgets right now to make a substantial contribution to a new line item."

Of course, direct funding is not the only option. The institution of a land banktype real estate transaction tax or another type of tax on summer visitors is another possible source of funding for affordable housing programs that has been discussed recently by the MVC and the housing authority. But lobbying for such a tax has not begun. Some worry that recent state officials' lack of support for additional land taxes would not only block a housing proposal, but could put the land bank tax at risk of being overturned. The MVC may still consider drafting this type of legislation.


More Involvement Needed

"One thing we've been talking about is, how can we broaden the base of people working to solve the problem?" said Mr. Bazzy. "We need to make it easier for the community at large to make it happen."

Part of the reason people might not be willing to get involved right now, Mr. Bazzy said, is because they may worry that affordable housing units would be a detriment to their neighborhoods.

"People are nervous about what affordable housing might look like. But Sepiessa and the Greenough House are great examples of housing that's affordable but which is also a great asset to the community."

Ms. McDonald said that during public comment sessions on affordable housing she held in all six towns this winter, participants indicated a number of reasons why political momentum around affordable housing is lacking.

"For one thing, people believe nothing's going to happen anyway, that this is just how things work," she said. "There's also a fear that money used to build additional units means bringing more people into the community with kids in schools, and their taxes will go up."

Mr. Bazzy agreed that cost of community services is a concern for some taxpayers, but added, "I'd rather pay a little more in taxes and see people in our community be able to stay here."

The Vineyard has also seen almost no lobbying on the part of those who need affordable housing for political action.

"They're scrambling, living in unaffordable housing, moving two, three, four times a year, crowded into housing situations that are unsuitable for their needs. They're just too damn busy working," said Mr. Early.

"Who wants to admit that they're having difficulty making ends meet?" added Ms. McDonald.

"I think there's also the sense that people should pull themselves up by their bootstraps," Ms. VanBelle commented. "People not only expect other people to do this, but expect themselves to do it too. But if they don't have any boots, what are they supposed to do?"


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Part 4
Beyond the Growth Cap: Planning

This is the fourth in a multipart series called Beyond the Building Cap. Part One appeared on April 2 and examined open space acquisition initiatives Island-wide. Part Two appeared April 9 and discussed the demands on municipal services and the tax consequences of growth. Part Three, which considered progress and shortfalls on affordable housing, appeared on April 16

By Lisa Wangsness


"If we don't legislatively take our future into our own hands, economics is going to do it for us," said Oak Bluffs resident John Boardman, eliciting sustained applause from the audience at last week's town meeting.

Vineyarders have been trying to manage growth, effectively or not, ever since the first big building booms of the early 1970s, when the Martha's Vineyard Commission (MVC) was established as a regional planning and regulatory agency with "superzoning" powers. And during the '80s, all six towns adopted zoning bylaws to help shape local development.

Extensive interviews and a review of documents and data during the past three weeks, in preparation for this series, suggest that the way in which public policy related to growth management takes shape over the next few years could have dramatic impacts on the Island and its people for better or for worse.


Zoning Antiquated, Inadequate

Evidence suggests that zoning laws have become less effective, especially during the last 10 years as development patterns on the Island have changed significantly.

The MVC's superzoning laws governing subdivisions require developers of subdivisions of 10 lots or more to set aside land for resident home sites and for conservation. But planning boards across the Island agree that subdivisions have become increasingly rare these days; new building permits have been issued one lot at a time.

The MVC has made no moves to change its superzoning rules in light of these changes in development patterns.

Local planning and zoning boards have continued to refine their zoning laws to shape development in their towns. But interviews with planning board members across the Island reveal that zoning laws that attempt to preserve open space (cluster zoning laws, for example) have been used very rarely. Also, none of the local zoning laws provide incentives to developers or property owners to build affordable housing, or rent on a year-round basis at affordable rates. Other towns in the commonwealth have done this successfully.


Planning Without Implementation Strategies

Years of creating master plans that have proven to be laundry lists "collecting dust on the shelves," in the words of Theo Nix, chairman of the Oak Bluffs blue ribbon committee on growth, seem to have generated frustration in the Island community.

"I've been hearing about the [Oak Bluffs] master plan for a lot of years," said Oak Bluffs resident Catherine Deese at last week's town meeting, "and I don't understand why some solutions haven't come out of it."

Linda Sibley, chairman of the MVC, agreed in a recent interview that implementing policy is necessary but difficult.

"I think we all know what the results of doing nothing are just look out the door," she said.
And although none of them were willing to speak on the record, a multitude of public officials and community activists who were interviewed for this article voiced strong criticism of the passive role the MVC has played in regional planning.

"The MVC completed a master plan when Carol Borer was the director, and I think they did a very good job with that. But it is only the first step and it hasn't been followed up," said Ed Logue, a resident of West Tisbury and one of the most widely recognized planners in the country. As head of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, Mr. Logue revolutionized community redevelopment projects and created Government Center and the downtown waterfront, among countless other internationally famous achievements.

Mr. Logue stressed that the MVC needs to start with good, updated information, establish priorities, set both short- and long-term goals, and act upon them.

But MVC officials downplayed their ability to take a proactive approach to growth management planning. "I've learned that there is very little the Martha's Vineyard Commission can do to implement policy," Ms. Sibley stated, although she added that more dialogue with the towns could help bridge some of the gaps.

Executive director Chuck Clifford concurred. "This is not Oz," he said. "This is six independent towns that are freethinkers, and like anyone else they don't like people coming in and telling them what to do, even if they're friends."


Six Towns

Indeed, the structure of Island government has made it very difficult to implement growth management policy based on sound planning initiatives.

Selectmen, most of whom hold full-time jobs, have little time to deal with long-range planning specifically, to ensure that goals in the towns' master plans are achieved because they are too busy dealing with the everyday life of the community.

As a group, the All-Island Selectmen's Association has pushed no agendas for Island-wide growth management.

Planning board volunteers are unpaid altogether, and often have little political clout.
In the past, the MVC has not had the kind of close relationship with the towns it needs to be more proactive.

Simpler on Nantucket

Nantucket, which has only one town, is an instructive comparison. John Pancini is the director of the Nantucket Planning and Economic Development Commission, counterpart to the Vineyard's MVC.

"We have a very close working relationship with town government," said Mr. Pancini, adding that such a relationship was integral to the commission's effectiveness.

Nantucket is nearing the end of a two-year comprehensive planning process that will rewrite the island's zoning laws to focus on open space acquisition, creating affordable housing opportunities, creating better neighborhoods, and planning for infrastructure growth. Far from a laundry list of desires, Nantucket's new plan is a collection of specific legislation designed to get things done.

"The planning commission realizes that it's not enough to come up with a plan, we must come up with an implementation strategy," Mr. Pancini said.

Nantucket has also been working on building public support for the new comprehensive plan by involving the public in planning workshops, town meetings, and public hearings.


Some Six-Town Strategies

But Mr. Logue suggested that the MVC might work on ways to circumvent the problem with cooperative government on this Island. For one thing, he suggested, the MVC could take its show on the road to generate more support for initiating implementation strategies.

"The MVC ought to come around and tell its story to the towns," he said, pointing to the success that Martha's Vineyard Land Bank director James Lengyel has had in establishing cooperative relationships with the towns. "I believe there is public support for it."


Recent Upsurge in Grassroots Initiatives

Indeed, a renewed interest in growth management seems to be sweeping the Island just now.
Visioning sessions sponsored by MVC last spring appear to have generated momentum in the towns. The Oak Bluffs blue ribbon committee sprang partly from the momentum generated by this session. In Tisbury, a committee concerned about growth management continues to meet, and made an unsuccessful bid to put a building cap on this year's town meeting warrant. West Tisbury has recently hired land use attorney Joel Russell to help rewrite the town's zoning bylaws and update the town's master plan. And an open space committee in West Tisbury, born of the visioning session there, recently spearheaded the successful effort to acquire the tract of land abutting Lambert's Cove Beach.

Tad Crawford, chairman of the committee, said in an interview recently that his group would continue to explore opportunities for the town to acquire more open space. But, he said, "for this to work more broadly throughout the Island will involve a whole coalition of interests."

Mr. Nix agreed with Mr. Crawford. "I believe there is a silent majority on this Island that has to stand up and cause something to happen. If this Island is worth preserving, you have to fight for it, or it's not going to continue to be a good place to live."


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Part 5
Framework for Growth Planning

For related stories, see the Building Cap Series located in The Times archives.


An Approach to Growth Issues

Oak Bluffs voters chose wisely Monday evening when they elected to broaden the inquiry into the growth challenges facing their town. Considering a building cap proposal made by their special committee on growth and open space, a measure described most often by even its fiercest touts as merely the "something" that had to be done, voters preferred instead to put the spurs to the master planning process overseen by the town planning board.

The town meeting acted sensibly despite the distracting halloo from the faux preservationists who never met a zoning regulation or a building permit limit they didn't like. Never mind that history shows that such extraordinary measures have been ineffectual, that unimaginative zoning rules have charted the course of much unwanted change, and that zoning itself, inflexible and based upon suburban models unsuitable to the Vineyard style, may even have sped the course of development.

No, Oak Bluffs voters wisely took advantage of a real opportunity to shape the town's future anew by casting aside out-of-touch editorial unreason.

Of course there is a useful framework to the debate on how our communities may change and develop. Times writer Lisa Wangsness' detailed analysis of the state of Island-wide planning ("Beyond the Building Cap," a series published in the April 2, 9, 16, and 23 editions, and complete on The Times website, www.mvtimes.vineyard.net) discovers the imperatives which each community's residents and leadership must observe. Successful community planning is hard work and it is about much more than limits.

It's About Choices

Sound planning requires voters to choose. Not just what they don't want, but what they do. Is it a year-round community you want, or a town which is quiescent off-season and brought to life by summer visitors? Where should business grow? What rate of change is acceptable? How much open space, and where? Are we disposed favorably toward young year-round families, or retirees?


And Balance

How to achieve the prized calculus of a successful community. Oak Bluffs voters, and their planning board leaders, will need to adjust the need for growth, for expansion of the tax base, for new businesses, and more affordable housing all important ingredients in the advancement of a town against the need to protect landscapes and shorescapes and water quality and the unique felicities of each town's daily rhythm. Here's a key to growth planning in every town.


And Financial Planning and Responsibility

Planning for change and growth, even planning for limited growth, means planning to afford it. But what Lisa Wangsness' research found is that the municipal responsibility for financial planning ahead of predictable change is frequently evaded. The historical benchmarks have, discouragingly, included poor or nonexistent capital budgeting for infrastructure improvement and replacement schools and town halls generally crumble around students and officials before, oops, we need $11 million for a new facility; no regular funding plan for open space acquisition; no regular scientific polling to seek voter guidance when budget dollars are being allocated to buy a beach or build a bike path. Better financial management indeed, better overall municipal leadership is an inescapable requirement for successful growth planning. Without it, new rules will be sidestepped, new initiatives will not be funded, and voters will not be persuaded to part with their treasure to fund even worthwhile town endeavors. There must be more cooperation between financial officers, planners, and finance committee members, and ultimately less attention paid to tax rates and more to sound budgeting and smart spending.


Guidance and Inspiration for Desirable Change

And finally, after all the choices have been made and remade in a balanced plan, with a financial foundation built beneath it, the next question is what can be done to make it happen. What can be done to get developers, newcomers, and residents to shape their private decisions so as to support and advance the plan? Can business be encouraged to grow here, but not there? Could incentives attract the new business the town would like? Or the affordable housing it needs? Can year-round families be encouraged or discouraged perhaps, because it does sound as though folks with kids are mildly undesirable? Could retirees be attracted somehow maybe large-type street signs? Or maybe rich summer folk we might allow them wider driveways or servants' quarters (not guest houses) on large waterfront lots?

Whatever the choices, however they are balanced and funded, the result will be more nearly what town residents want for themselves if well-made plans are put into action by forward-looking voters who have enjoyed broad representation in the planning work.

Copyright by The Martha's Vineyard Times. Reprinted with permission. Originally published March 1998.