As Martha’s Vineyard searches for answers to an increasingly dire housing shortage, it could do well to look 35 miles to the east, where Nantucket voters approved sweeping changes in zoning bylaws at a special town meeting on Nov. 9. After 90 minutes of deliberation, in a voice vote described as “overwhelming” by one attendee, Nantucketers said “yes” to changes that will allow single-family-home density of up to nine units per acre and apartment density of up to 23 units per acre, on two parcels that total 32 acres, located halfway between downtown and the airport. The bylaws also state that 25 percent of the total units developed must qualify as “affordable,” which means available to Nantucket residents who earn 80 percent or less of area median income (AMI) for Nantucket County. The potential densities must still be approved by special permit from the town planning board.

The zoning sea change was spearheaded by Wilmington-based Richmond Group, which intends to build Richmond Great Point, a 325-unit development that will be comprised of 225 rental apartments and 100 single-family homes on the two parcels. Fifty-six apartments and 19 single-family homes will be designated “affordable.” Seven single-family homes will be designated “locally affordable,” that is, available to residents earning less than 175 percent of AMI.

“People here recognized the housing problem was so severe there was no way the town could build itself out of it,” Richmond Great Point Development (RGPD) director of real estate development Dave Armanetti told The Times. “Housing Nantucket does good work, but 60 units in 12 years is five units a year. That’s not going to do it. You have to do something with scale and magnitude to take a bite out of the problem.”

Asked what the local blowback was when the project was first announced, Mr. Armanetti said, “Some people told us we were crazy. But at the same time, people knew the situation couldn’t go on. People here were seeing how the shortage was affecting the overall economy, and that made a big difference.”

The newly approved bylaws actually allow for considerably higher densities, which could top out at 500 units on the 32 acres.

“We are self-limiting our proposal to a maximum of 325 total housing units in an effort to be as transparent as possible with the town and the community, and to confirm to these stakeholders that we will not be seeking the maximum potential density (or anything close to it, actually),” Mr. Armanetti wrote in an email to The Times. He estimated that Richmond Great Point will build out to about 65 percent of maximum allowable density.

The Richmond Group is not new to the Island. Over the past 20 years, it has built three single-family subdivisions on Nantucket. Most recently, The Meadows, a proposed development of 28 year-round rental apartments, has passed the planning board and Historic District Commission, and the company is about to apply for the building permit. Over 200 local residents have already applied for apartments.

The company acquired the land for Richmond Great Point when it purchased a 70-acre parcel in 2013 for $30.6 million. Mr. Armanetti said the existing infrastructure is ideal for high-density housing and commercial/light industrial, which is also part of the site plan. “The sewering here is a lot better than you might think,” he said. “It was only built in the early ’90s. The town has put a lot of time and money into their overall wastewater plan.” As part of the deal, Richmond Group is paying for a new pump house in the area, and to extend the town sewer the length of the property.

“It also helps that since it’s a little outside downtown, it won’t create congestion in the area,” he said.

Local control

Mr. Armanetti said a key factor in winning the hearts and minds of Nantucketers was showing how Richmond Great Point would ultimately give locals more control over future developments. “People really understood that local control was much more preferable than a bureaucratic process through Beacon Hill,” he said alluding to 40B criteria set by the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), which state that any town with less than 10 percent subsidized housing inventory (SHI) is susceptible to outside developers coming in and building it for them, and leaving the town far less control over the final product.

Nantucket currently has 4,896 year-round housing units based upon the 2010 Census; and as of December 2014, it had 121 SHI units, a total of about 2.5 percent. Richmond Great Point doesn’t get Nantucket to the full 10 percent, but it almost triples the SHI, to slightly more than 7 percent. The leap in SHI will allow Nantucket to claim “safe harbor,” which gives the town more control over future 40B proposals for at least the next two years.

On Martha’s Vineyard, there are 411 affordable units, according to a 2013 Martha’s Vineyard Commission Housing Needs Assessment, which also lists 7,368 year-round occupied housing units, bringing the Vineyard average in around 5 percent. Of the six towns, Aquinnah comes in at a whopping 26 percent — 31 of the 41 SHI units are under the aegis of the Tribal Housing Authority. The down-Island towns all hover in the 5 percent SHI neighborhood, followed by West Tisbury at 1.8 percent, with Chilmark straggling in at 0.7 percent.

Relentless outreach
Mr. Armanetti said that the community outreach efforts by Patty Roggeveen, director of community relations for Richmond Great Point Development, and a former Nantucket selectman, played a key role in the special town meeting vote.

“It took a lot of footwork and a lot of community sessions,” Ms. Roggeveen told The Times. “Sometimes I just chased people around until they listened. We literally shook the bushes to get 750 people to that town meeting. In the end, they voted on something that they were very clear about.” Attendance at the Nov. 9 special town meeting was 7 percent of eligible voters.

“We’ve been open to people working with us and to hearing what they have to say,” Ms. Roggeveen said. “The planning board and the board chairman have been particular advocates for affordable housing on the island. It’s not a slam dunk, but they’re working with us.”

Ms. Roggeveen was emphatic that a partnership between the public sector and the private sector is essential. “The key is partnerships,” she said. “You can’t do something like this with a small town government and a nonprofit. The driver is a for-profit entity. There’s no way to make it work without it. You still need the local boots on the ground to make it all work, but nothing is insurmountable. You have to structure the deal so both ends benefit, and eventually you crack the code.”

As to cracking the NIMBY (not in my backyard) code, Mr. Armanetti said, “I’m not going to say it didn’t get ugly at times. But it’s just a matter of keeping on the course, knowing we’re filling a need for the community.”

“There were a few NIMBYs at town meeting, but they were quickly drowned out,” Ms. Roggeveen said.

“The bottom line is, the housing crisis affects all of us,” Mr. Armanetti said. “The hospital can’t retain talented people, the school system can’t retain teachers. Police and firemen shouldn’t have to struggle to find a decent place to live. We surveyed 132 business owners, and 78 percent of them said the housing crisis was affecting their bottom line. Eighty-four percent of their workers complained about expensive, substandard housing options. We heard about 14 people living in small three-bedroom houses. That’s bad for the tenants, their employers, and their neighbors. You keep pushing it like that, something bad is bound to happen.”

Why not M.V.?

Island Housing Trust executive director Philippe Jordi was on Nantucket for the historic vote. “I was really impressed with the fact that you had a community foundation that is stepping up, and working together on the problem,” he told The Times. “You had stakeholders, businesses, developers’ reps, town committees, nonprofits, and their land bank reps all in one room, trying to generate collaboration. And they made something happen.”

Asked why private-sector partnerships like Richmond Great Point have not evolved on the Vineyard, he replied, “Three letters, M-V-C [Martha’s Vineyard Commission]. For better or worse, it’s a reality here. They don’t have that on Nantucket.” Mr. Jordi said that he often speaks to off-Island developers who have never heard of the MVC, and when informed, they’re incredulous at the power the MVC wields. “They’re astonished that the MVC can put the kibosh on projects, and the ambiguity involved with the decision-making process,” he said. “That’s not to say [the MVC] couldn’t do it for good reason.”

Mr. Jordi says he is optimistic that the situation will improve under the guidance of new MVC Executive Director Adam Turner. “Adam’s made it clear that housing and water quality are his two top priorities,” he said. “He and I are going to work with the All-Island Planning Board [AIPB] to develop an Island production plan. We’re going to have weekly meetings that include a member of each town planning board to scope out a project we can bring to the next [AIPB] meeting in January. We need a strategic plan that has deliverables. It can’t be just another plan.”

Mr. Jordi said that Nantucket also benefits from being one town, not six historically disparate towns. “They’re not as diffused as we are. That’s huge,” he said said. “To develop something regionally, we have to go to each town individually, and each town wants to know specifically what they’re getting for their money. Can you imagine if the Land Bank had to wait for annual town meeting? Nothing would get done. How do we expect housing to be any different?”

The post Nantucket voters approve groundbreaking zoning bylaws appeared first on Martha's Vineyard Times.

Chilmark

Dec. 17, Paula H. Noe, trustee of Paula H. Noe Qualified Personal Residence Trust for Jason Sco and the Paula H. Noe Qualified Personal Residence Trust for David Isa and the Paula H. Noe Qualified Personal Residence Trust for Alex Mich sold 2 Youngs Way to Laurie J. Colombo, trustee of Joytown Trust for $2,462,500.

Edgartown

Dec. 15, Michael J. Crato sold a ½ undivided interest in 46 Hamblen Way to Timothy F. and Joan M. Creato for $331,500.

Dec. 15, Gary A. and Shoshana A. Lichtenstein sold 15 Sampson Ave. to Michael P. Adams and Frederick A. Davie for $370,000.

Dec. 17, Paul Wales sold 5 Old Pocha Rd. to Lionel Spiro for $125,000.

Dec. 18, 29 Smith Hollow Drive LLC sold 39 Smith Hollow Drive to Charbrook Inc. for $745,000.

Dec. 18, Jennifer F. Myers and Eric M. Myers, trustees of the Jennifer F. Myers Trust and Amy M. Mazzocco and Phillip J. Mazzocco, Jr., trustees of the Amy Melissa Mazzocco Revocable Trust sold 37 Witchwood Lane to Ralph P. Fargnoli, Jr. and Judith R. Fargnoli for $3,675,000.

Dec. 18, David B. Murphy and Tanya Lapinski, f/k/a Tanya Murphy sold 8 Armstrong Lane to Tanya Lapinski for $27,500.

Oak Bluffs

Dec. 15, Kurian LP sold 40 County Rd. to Barry Lavalle for $362,500.

Dec. 15, Ocean Investments LLC sold 222 East Chop Drive to Kevin Grassa for $1,200,000.

Dec. 15, Deborah Dixon n/k/a Deborah Dixon Toledo sold a portion of 18 Wendall Ave. to Roger A. Graham for $600.

Dec. 16, Ronald L. Monterosso, and Robyn B. Nash, personal representatives of the estate of Naomi Jones Quisenberry sold 12 Greenleaf Ave. to 12 Greenleaf LLC for $650,000.

Dec. 17, Martha’s Vineyard Savings Bank and Carolyn R. Brown, personal representatives of the estate of Richard C. Brown sold 55 Wing Rd. to Timothy J. Millerick and Rene J. Will for $401,000.

Dec. 17, Nathaniel H. Dickerson sold 7 County Rd. to Elizabeth A. Slaughter and Sylvester W. Albert for $380,000.

Dec. 18, David W. Walker and Simone Renee Scott-Walker, f/k/a Simone Renee Scott sold 15 North Meadow Lane to John D. Schumacher for $914,500.

Tisbury

Dec. 15, Melinda J. Costa a/k/a Melinda J. Lockwood, Stacey M. Costa a/k/a Stacey M. Gardner sold 96 Spring St. to James C. Bradberry for $375,000.

Dec. 16, Barry J. Clifford, Barry L. Clifford and Birgitta A. Parker sold 13 Beach ST. Extension to Larking B. Reeves, trustee of Larking B. Reeves Family Trust for $1,000,000.

Dec. 17, Paula M. Sullivan sold 65 Spring Hill Rd. to Keith M. Fullin and Whitney Burke for $500,000.

West Tisbury

Dec. 17, Catherine C. Gelpke sold her interest in Lot 12 Watcha Division to Daniel F. Grossman, trustee of Mabel Johnson Family Trust for $5,000.

Dec. 17, Ann G. Appleton sold her interest in Lot 12 Watcha Division to Daniel F. Grossman, trustee of Mabel Johnson Family Trust for $5,000.

Dec. 17, Ellen Gelpke sold her interest in Lot 12 Watcha Division to Daniel F. Grossman, trustee of Mabel Johnson Family Trust for $5,000.

Dec. 17, Robert M. Gelpke sold his interest in Lot 12 Watcha Division to Daniel F. Grossman, trustee of Mabel Johnson Family Trust for $5,000.

Dec. 18, Lynda F. MacDonald sold all right, title and interest in Lot 12 Watcha Division to Ann C. and William H. Brine, Sr., trustee of the Mabel Johnson Family Trust for $330,000.

Dec. 18, Donna K. and Joseph M. Diaz sold 32 Oak Courthouse Rd. to Wade William Simmons and Christina Nicole Simmons for $850,000.

Gosnold

Dec. 16, Marlies M. Veeder sold 14 Cemetery Rd. to Christopher W. and Lisa M. Cottrell for $495,000.

The post Real estate transactions: December 14 – 18 appeared first on Martha's Vineyard Times.

Edgartown

Dec. 21, Four Flemmings LLC sold 23, 27 and 29 Kitts Field Circle to Katama Acquisitions LLC for $1,580,000.

Dec. 23, Jess Thompson Hiller 3rd, trustee of Hiller Irrevocable Trust, sold 20 Teaberry Lane to Dilcelia P. and Marquissuel M. Guimaraes for $535,000.

Dec. 24, Elena M. HcHugh sold 27 North Tenth St. to Marcos R. Alves for $440,000.

Oak Bluffs

Dec. 21, Joseph G. Parham sold 24 Greenleaf Ave. to Stuart A. Taylor 2nd and Evonne Taylor for $2,375,000.

Tisbury

Dec. 22, Gwyn R. and Earl L. Honey sold 39 Boxberry Ave. to Big Foot LLC for $505,000.

West Tisbury

Dec. 21, Joann Green Breuer, trustee of Breuer West Tisbury Realty Trust, sold 255 Great Plains Rd. to Terrence and Minhee Currier for $1,050,000.

Dec. 24, George J. and Sheryl Roth Rogers sold 45 Rustling Oaks Rd. to John A. and Daphne Mascarello for $378,000.

The post Real Estate Transactions: December 21 – 25, 2015 appeared first on Martha's Vineyard Times.

Edgartown

Dec. 30, Evelyn F. Macomber sold 49 Nineteenth St. North to Jennifer M. Rumbough for $645,000.

Dec. 30, Carl G. Gilmore, trustee of the Carl & Elizabeth Gilmore Trust, sold 5 Maqua Way to Deeluxe Holdings LP for $465,000.

Gosnold

Dec. 31, Robert B. Smith, Jr. sold a lot on Bay View Drive to Mooring Field LLC for $1,345,000.

Oak Bluffs

Dec. 29, Elizabeth Torello sold Unit 35, 21 Island Inn Rd. to Robert and Sarah Kyrcz for $117,000.

Dec. 30, James E. Coley 3rd, Michael J. Coley, and Christopher J. Coley, trustees of the James E. Coley 3rd Revocable Living Trust, sold 40 Munroe Ave. to William R. and Helen S. Bryan for $550,000.

Tisbury

Dec. 29, Geoghan E. and Catherine J. Coogan sold 55 Briarwood Lane to Bryson and Asha Palmer for $675,000.

The post Real Estate Transactions: December 28, 2015 to January 1, 2016 appeared first on Martha's Vineyard Times.

Chilmark

Jan. 6, Fairlawn LP sold 6 Eddy Farm Rd. to Paul A. Slavin and Susan D. Waitzkin for $1,615,000.

Edgartown

Jan. 4, Gloria Drongoski, Cynthia Drongoski Strouse (f/k/a Cynthia Drongoski), and Susan Drongoski Winn (f/k/a Susan Drongoski) sold 105 Martha’s Rd to Jonathan and Nichole Bull for $550,000.

Jan. 4, Sanford Nadelstein sold 1 Nickel Lane to Philip J. Spiro for $665,000.

Jan. 4, William D. Macomber sold 106 Pilgrim Rd. to Charbrook Inc. for $645,000.

Jan. 6, Ginger Norton and Douglas E. Ruskin sold 75 School St. to Keith B. and Shannon M. Stafford for $1,500,000

Jan. 6, Allen W. Wilson, Thomas R. Wilson, and James F. Wilson, trustees of the Wilson Revocable Living Trust, and Ruth W. and Michael J. Bellizzi, trustees of the Bellizzi Family 1999 Realty Trust, sold 11 Mill Hill Farms Rd. to David and Jessica Aronoff for $985,000.

Jan. 6, Violet D. Welch, f/k/a Violet D. Mackler, sold 19 Norton St. to Adam J. and Amy N. Simon for $1,825,000.

Jan. 8, Morash Family LP sold 46 Field Club Dr. to Norman and Margaret Rankow for $1,140,000.

Oak Bluffs

Jan. 5, Alison Shaw and Susan Dawson sold 49 South Circuit Ave. to Laurel Schneider and Emilie Townes for $980,000.

Jan. 8, Robert E. and Diane M. Barry sold 2 Pitch Pine Lane to Theodore C. Anthony, Jr. and Doreen M. Leavey for $591,250.

Tisbury

Jan. 7, Lolita Campbell Duarte sold a portion of 76 Edgartown Rd. to Jeanne M. Francisco, f/k/a Jeanne M. Butterfield, for $4,560.57.

Jan. 8, Sam Fischer and John G. Power, trustees of Vineyard Millennium Nominee Trust, sold 40 Howard St. to Jonathan I. and Wendy W. Mishara, trustees of the Sophisa Real Estate Trust. for $1,415,000.

Jan. 8, Karin and Fituina Tua sold 55 Skiff Ave. to Mary M. Johnson and Eileen Reilly for $504,000.

Jan. 8, Alan and Jilana Abrams sold 60 Mt. Aldworth Rd. to Izzi LLC for $1,420,000.

The post Real Estate Transactions: January 4-8, 2016 appeared first on Martha's Vineyard Times.

A sharply divided Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) voted 7-5 not to hold a public hearing to consider modifications the new owners of the Southern Woodlands property — a 26-lot, never realized subdivision with an equestrian theme off County Road in Oak Bluffs — wish to make to their existing development permit, granted after a protracted Development of Regional Impact (DRI) review process in 2005.

The vote did not come quickly or without debate, in keeping with the history of the long-stalled subdivision, the remnants of a lengthy and divisive battle over the failed Kupersmith Down Island Golf Club that ended in 2004 when the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank agreed to purchase 180 acres for $18.6 million, creating the Southern Woodlands property; the Martha’s Vineyard Commission signed off on the subdivision plan; and Corey Kupersmith stopped suing and left the Island.

Following the sale of the foreclosed property to Paul Adamson, a Boston-area developer and Edgartown seasonal homeowner, for $5.15 million at a June 26 auction, members of the Oak Bluffs planning board (OBPB) questioned whether the subdivision permit remained in force.

After a month of negotiations which escalated into threats of litigation, the planning board won some major concessions that included a $700,000 donation to the Oak Bluffs Affordable Housing Trust, voluntary reduction of total number of bedrooms to 156, and enhanced nitrogen mitigation to insure a limit of 19 milligrams of nitrogen per liter per year. Buffer zones were also extended in some areas, and ancient ways were restored.

Michelle Manners, attorney for NLP Finance, sellers of the $5.15 million note on the property, stated in a Jan. 7 letter to the MVC that the town would receive almost $500,000 in back taxes when the deal closes. According to treasurer Sharon Jackson, Farlap Development, the previous title holder for the land, owes the town a little over $330,000.

On Thursday night, acting MVC chairman Fred Hancock of Oak Bluffs said he’d studied the previous voluminous MVC decision and the proposed modifications before the commission, and that there were many questions to be answered. “I think it would be informative to the public to find out what is being proposed for this property, because it’s a fairly major plan,” he said.

“We’re essentially asking you to approve what the O.B. planning board has already approved,” Geoghan Coogan, attorney for buyer Paul Adamson, told the commission.

Commissioners briefly debated if the planning board had indeed approved the permit application before them. Mr. Hancock asked OBPB chairman Brian Packish to clarify. Mr. Packish said he was satisfied with the vetting process, which included a working group that included MVC executive director Adam Turner, as well as the Oak Bluffs Affordable Housing Trust, the Oak Bluffs selectmen, and the Joint Lagoon Pond Committee.

He added that the planning board held several well-advertised, standing-room-only public meetings. “There was a whole lot of process on this one, and we feel like we discussed it very thoroughly,” he said. “The applicant was pretty forthcoming, and very flexible.”

Mr. Packish added that while he thought it was a “pretty good process,” he was in no way suggesting that the MVC not hold public hearings on the project. He also said when the development goes back to the OBPB for final approval, there will be another well-advertised, formal public hearing.

Substantive change debated

MVC commissioner Linda Sibley of West Tisbury said that per the MVC bylaws, a public hearing was required if the proposed modifications were sufficiently “substantial” from the previous permit.

“Not whether they’re good, not whether they’re bad, that’s a judgment that’s made after a public hearing,” she said. “I have to say these changes are for the most part good, but also they are extensively different than what we originally approved.”

Mr. Coogan contended that the changes were not major, with the exception of the removal of the equestrian center, which also made the manure-removal clause redundant. “What we’re doing on the site is actually much less,” he said.

Regarding the change to affordable housing, Mr. Coogan said, “I feel like I’m almost wasting my breath. We’re going to hand the town almost a million dollars a month from now; that seems pretty simple to me.”

Bill Veno, MVC senior planner, said, after doing calculations with the previous affordable housing formula, that it would take over 30 years for the affordable housing trust to accrue that amount.

Ms. Sibley said there are members of the public who may object to the change from an equestrian facility. “It’s a big change,” she said.

“I’m sorry, if you’re going to eliminate a private equestrian center for a subdivision, I don’t see the regional impact, and I don’t see the substantive nature of that change,” West Tisbury commissioner Doug Sederholm said. “I generally defer when Linda wants a public hearing; I trust her judgment on these things, but I’m having a real hard time seeing where the substantive changes are that require a public hearing.”

Mr. Sederholm, an attorney, said the memo in front of the commission, which was filled with line-item edits in different-colored fonts, was poorly written and “a mess,” and needed revision.

Mr. Coogan explained that it was drawn up in that manner on the suggestion of some of the MVC staff and MVC counsel, so the changes made at the planning board would be readily apparent to the commissioners.

Mr. Hancock said that as written, the memo states the homeowners association can be formed before the building permits are issued, and that the original covenant specified the homeowners association be formed before lots were sold. “This developer is just going to sell lots,” he said. “The mechanism to transfer the common lands to the homeowners association is an important part of this agreement.”

Mr. Coogan offered to change the wording on the spot. He agreed to work with Mr. Turner and with MVC counsel to revise and clarify the proposed modification memo and present it to the MVC for final approval on Jan. 21, after it is “ironed out” by the Land Use Planning Committee.

Commissioners Trip Barnes of Vineyard Haven, Lenny Jason representing Duke County, James Joyce of Edgartown, Joan Malkin of Chilmark, Mr. Sederholm, Ernie Thomas of West Tisbury, and Kathy Newman of Aquinnah voted against a public hearing. “I’m really impressed with the process they’ve done so far,” Ms. Newman said. “It sounds so well done and so transparent. I think that’s what we want.”

Commissioners Linda Sibley, Christina Brown of Edgartown, Abe Seiman of Oak Bluffs, and Fred Hancock of Oak Bluffs voted in favor of a public hearing.

“I just have to say I’ve done more research on this than many people, because I knew this was going to come up when the economy improved,” Mr. Hancock said. “I didn’t want the commission to be caught with its pants down. There are a lot of things that are not as cleaned up as they should be.”

“There is going to be another public hearing on this, at the planning board, hopefully in a couple of weeks, if I can get this back to them in time,” Mr. Coogan said. “The opportunity to have a public hearing is still there.”

The post Southern Woodlands development inches closer to permit finish line appeared first on Martha's Vineyard Times.

Chilmark

Oct. 15, Bradford P. White sold 10 Harbor Hill Rd. to Frederick N. Khedouri for $801,000.

Oct. 16, Barbara A. Crosby and Erik Bruun, trustees of the Barbara A. Crosby Chilmark Qualified Personal Residence Trust, sold 3 Nickerson
Farm Lane to Carl E. Tack, 3rd and Martha F. Tack for $3,250,000.

Edgartown

Oct. 15, Edivalda V. Santana and Florisval P. Santana sold 58 Chase Rd. to Clifford Meehan, trustee of the Vitoria Realty Trust, for $621,000.

Oct. 15, Wendy R. Harman sold 25 Codman Spring Rd. to Roman and Stephanie L. Kogan for $1,175,000.

Oct. 16, Diana M. Butynski, John Butynski, Christopher S. Look, 3rd and Joyce L. Look sold 60 West Tisbury Rd. to Michael H. Lynch for $807,000.

Oak Bluffs

Oct. 15, Patricia A. Wynn sold 17 Onondaga Ave. to William D. Schroeder, Jr. and Lynn J. Schroeder for $485,000.

Oct. 16, Nina Shapiro and Daniel E. Smith sold Unit 28, Island Country Club Condo, 2 Island Inn Rd., to Melinda M. and Robert B. Lock for $124,500.

Oct. 16, Tara M. Moore sold 69 Forest Ave. to Gary BenDavid for $160,000.

Oct. 16, Bonnie M. Parent, Claudia Ann Debettencourt and Anita Marie Ciancio sold 57 Kennebec Ave. to Tara Moore for $325,000.

Tisbury

Oct. 13, Elizabeth Porter Daane, trustee of EP Daane Living Trust, sold 22 West Sound Lane to Marcy G. Glenn, trustee of Marcy G. Glenn Revocable Trust, for $1,457,000.

Oct. 15, David Degregorio and Tammy Jardin sold 43 Mud Puddle Rd. to Casey Decker and Thomas C. Decker for $440,000.

Oct. 15, Richard B. and Elaine Renaud Pierce sold 51 Mariner Rd. to Geraldine A. Healey-Dame and Thomas M. Dame for $582,000.

Oct. 16, Harold G. and Eleanor A. Richardson sold 260 Lagoon Pond Rd. to Guillermo and Sharon Paganini for $836,500.

Oct. 16, James Bonomo, a/k/a James Bonamo, and Jennifer Bonomo, a/k/a Jennifer Bonamo, sold 40 Old Lighthouse Rd. to Stephen E. and Amy S. Benford for $380,000.

Oct. 16, Thomas W. Pachico sold Lot 4, High Point Lane to SBS Properties LLC for $325,000.

The post REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS: Oct. 12 – 16, 2015 appeared first on Martha's Vineyard Times.

In an effort to preserve and protect historic houses, the Chilmark planning board is crafting a proposed amendment to the so-called “big house” bylaw that would allow property owners to exempt historic houses from any calculation of square footage when building a new house.

The designation is important under an amendment to the zoning bylaws approved in 2013 that set limits in relation to lot size on the allowable total living area of any new house built in Chilmark, and restricted the expansion of existing houses above a set threshold.

The zoning board of appeals (ZBA) is empowered to grant special permits to planned houses that exceed the thresholds, but only after considering a long list of criteria heavily weighted to consider visual and environmental impacts. The bylaw was the first of its kind on the Vineyard.

Under the proposed bylaw, a historic structure would not count in the calculation. The bylaw provides the following definition of a historic structure: Historic House means any one of the historic structures listed in the Appendix to the 1985 Chilmark Master Plan (as may be amended from time to time), which is classified as either Pre-Revolutionary or Federal and Greek Revival Eras to Civil War.

“Any house on that list will be exempt from the square-foot accounting,” former selectman Pam Goff said, “and so property owners can have that house for free, plus the square footage they want for their house. It is an incentive to keep the old houses standing and taken care of and loved.”

Any addition to a historic house completed after 1980 would not be considered as part of the historic house for calculation purposes.

“There are three interrelated provisions,” planning board committee member Joan Malkin told The Times, “but they all relate to one single principle, and that principle is designed to amend an existing bylaw that we affectionately call the ‘big house’ bylaw.”

“To give you an example,” said Ms. Malkin, who also sits on the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, “we have three-acre zoning for the most part in Chilmark, and if you had a three-acre plot of land you could build, without any special permissions, a 3,500-square-foot house — or a combination of structures that totaled 3,500 square feet.”

Ms. Malkin said the concern is that a property owner with a wonderful historic house in Chilmark who wanted to build a new 3,500-square-foot house on the property would be left with little choice but to tear the old structure down. “We thought that’s a shame, because the bylaw creates this inadvertent incentive to get rid of the historic house so that they could max out under the big house bylaw,” she said.

The planning board would like to eliminate the incentive. “The message to property owners is,” Ms. Malkin said, “You can build your 3,500, because all of that living space that is associated with that historic house — that doesn’t count.”

The zoning bylaw draft states, “The square footage of a Historic House shall be excluded from the Total Living Area if its inclusion would result in the Total Living Area exceeding the applicable limit.” In addition, a special permit will be required for any renovation, remodeling, or rebuilding that changes the exterior of the historic house.

The hope of the planning board is that a property owner would leave the historic house standing and then build a new house next to it.

The planning board would like property owners to restore historic homes, but they understand this is not for everyone.

Ms. Malkin said the expectation is that the property owners would want the dwellings on their land maintained and looking nice. “People take pride in their property,” said Ms. Malkin. “It is doubtful that someone would intentionally leave it there to take advantage of it and let it rot.”

No additional costs to property owners are anticipated. “I can’t foresee this having any cost impact,” Ms. Malkin said.

Ms. Goff agreed. “No, I don’t think there’s a financial burden,” she said. “We would assume that somebody would keep the house up, but if the house fell down, they would not get any benefit. It is really just a bonus for people who probably have the funds to build something.”

Another aspect of the proposed change is that the historic home could be counted as a guest house, even if it exceeds the 800-square-foot maximum allowed under the zoning regulations, assuming it meets the other requirements. This is a second incentive for property owners to restore the old home. “Or if it’s an addition,” Ms. Goff said, “the old part is free, and they can build a guest house somewhere else.”

The bylaw change originated with Ms. Goff, who approached the planning board and explained her reservations about the big house bylaw.

“It concerned me that someone who wanted more square feet would tear down an antique house to get it,” Ms. Goff said.

“We haven’t run across anyone who sought to demolish a historic home just so they could build a bigger house,” Ms. Malkin said, “but it could in the future, and because of the look and feel of the community — that of old houses — we didn’t want to find that the unintended consequence happened before we could say to someone, No, no, no, no, you don’t need to do that.”

Asked if she knew of any houses that had already been torn down that might have been saved, Ms. Goff said, “I don’t want to insult the people who did it, but we’ve had three go in the past seven or eight years. People will say the homes are too rotten to repair, but if you value it you can repair it.”

Ms. Goff summed up the goal. “If we save two or three, we think it’s worth it.”

Demolishing an old house is not quite straightforward. The Martha’s Vineyard Commission development of regional impact checklist now requires review of any plans to demolish any building over 100 years old.

A public hearing on the Chilmark draft amendment is scheduled for 4:30 pm, Monday, Oct. 26. Future changes are possible based on hearing comments and valid concerns.

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Aquinnah

Oct. 22, Patricia A. Burgess sold 8 Jeffers Way to Ryan and Amy Crowley for $750,000.

Chilmark

Oct. 23, Joanne S. Hansen and Judith D. Graham sold 5 Lovey’s Cove Rd. to Lanny A. and Nancy Robinson Breuer for $2,750,000.

Edgartown

Oct. 19, Kirk A. Ainger sold 23 Earl Way to Kenneth B. Monahan for $60,000.

Oct. 20, Nationstar Mortgage LLC sold 74 18th Street South to Travis Pachico for $440,000.

Oct. 23, Timothy A. Wiegand sold 12 Saddle Club Rd. to Kraig and Ashley Mundt for $447,500.

Oct. 23, WMMV Real Estate LLC sold 1 Meshacket Wood Rd. to Mark D. O’Keefe and Maria Guadalupe Granda for $1,220,000.

Oak Bluffs

Oct. 21, Jonathan Simcik sold 2 Doar St. to Ryan P. Ruley and Kristine A. Cammorata for $705,000.

Oct. 23, Sterling H. Ivison, 3rd sold 24 Harrison Ave. to Paul and Gretchen Massey for $539,000.

Oct. 23, Sterling H. Ivison, 3rd sold 150 East Chop Drive to Paul and Gretchen Massey for $2,156,000.

Tisbury

Oct. 23, Marcy G. Glenn, trustee of the Marcy G. Glenn Revocable Trust, sold 30 Tashmoo Ave. to Ezra Borut and Lisa Ann Cintron for $699,000.

West Tisbury

Oct. 20, Christopher M. and Kana Hinds sold 41 Charles Neck Way to Joyce Blackburn for $562,800.

Oct. 23, David J. and Patricia J. Dwyer sold 38 Pine Lane to Russell G. and Kristen D. Lepine for $275,000.

Oct. 23, Beatrice S. Amaral sold 501 State Rd. to Larkin B. Reeves, trustee of the Larkin B. Reeves Family Trust, for $700,000.

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Chilmark

Jan. 11, Linda J. Wank, successor Personal Representative of the estate of Mary Elizabeth Cronkite, sold 2 Boulders End to Linda J. Wank, trustee under the will of Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr., for $850,000.

Jan. 14, E. Barrington Stott, a/k/a Edward B. Stott, trustee of the Martha S. Stott Trust under the Will of Martha S. Diener, sold Lot 18 off Hancock Beach to Alan and Jill Rappaport for $500,000

Edgartown

Jan. 11, Barbara Lebey sold 26 Schoolhouse Rd. to Richard E. and Jane Brody for $975,000.

Jan. 12, Norman and Margaret Rankow sold 6 Field Club Drive to R. Bradford Malt, trustee of SLE Nominee Trust, for $1,200,000.

Jan. 13, Arthur Yorke Allen, trustee of the Athearn House Nominee Trust, sold 1 Plantingfield Lane to Athearn Acquisition LLC for $9,375,000.

Jan. 14, Charles J. Regan and Patricia R. Ryan sold 70 Norton Orchard Rd. to Joseph E. and Elena M. Blatt for $550,000.

 Oak Bluffs

Jan. 11, Olive Tomlinson, trustee of the Olive Tomlinson Living Trust, sold 34 Norris Ave. and 7 Windy Hill to James G. and Claudette I. Mullen, trustees of the Burma Realty Trust, for $350,000.

Jan. 13, Bradford J. and Raymond H. Fauteux sold 51 County Rd. to Raymond H. Fauteux for $50,000.

Jan. 14, James A. Ryan, a/k/a James A. Ryan, Jr., trustee of Ram Realty Nominee Trust, sold 19 Circuit Ave. to Ryan Family Amusements, Inc. for $3,500,000.

Jan. 14, Adam Barmakian sold 2 Wing Rd. to Robert M. Hagerty and Grace A. Bociccio for $620,000.

Jan. 14, Walter L. and Jayne C. Isaacs sold 115 Dukes County Ave. to Jason L. and Robbin L. Cray for $371,476.

Tisbury

Jan. 13, Jacqueline Noel sold 99 Summer St. to Daniel J. Seidman, trustee of 99 Summer Street Realty Trust, for $450,000.

Jan. 14, John M. Wilbur, 3rd and Beth Saint Amour sold 15 Fairfield Ave. to William L. Mueller, 3rd for $300,000.

West Tisbury

Jan. 15, Carl E. Magnuson, Jr., trustee of Carl Realty Trust, sold 71 Carls Way to Peter and Rachel Sorrentino for $2,825,000.

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The Martha’s Vineyard Hospital has purchased the Admiral Benbow Inn, a seven-room bed and breakfast on New York Avenue in Oak Bluffs, for $1.375 million. The Victorian-style inn will be used for housing and administrative offices.

In a conversation with The Times on Tuesday, Tim Walsh, Martha’s Vineyard Hospital chief executive officer, said, “It’s really all about housing.”

Mr. Walsh said the hospital currently spends approximately $1.4 million to rent housing for hospital staff throughout the down-Island towns. The hospital also has working partnerships with Massachusetts General Hospital, which staffs an oncology program, and provides anesthesiologists who rotate short-term between Boston and the Island.

“We have a lot of people coming and going year-round,” Mr. Walsh said.

The largest transition occurs during the summer months, when the hospital takes on between 70 and 80 additional staff, which includes doctors, nurses, and technicians.

“It is almost like two different hospitals,” Mr. Walsh said. “We are a small rural hospital in the winter and a fairly decent-sized community hospital in the summer.”

Mr. Walsh said that the inn purchase will help alleviate part of its housing needs, and also lessen the impact the hospital has on the Island’s overall housing inventory.

The plan is to move the development office out of a three-bedroom house located on Windemere Road, a spur road that runs past the emergency room.

There will not be any structural changes to either the interior or exterior of the Admiral Benbow Inn, other than a possible handicap ramp at the rear entrance, according to attorney Sean Murphy, who represented the hospital at the Jan. 14 site-plan review with the Oak Bluffs Planning Board (OBPB).

The OBPB approved the change-in-use permit in a unanimous 5-0 vote on Jan. 14, conditional on the installation of a sprinkler system.

According to the site plan presented to the OBPB, the first-floor living room of the inn will become a reception area, and the existing dining room will become a conference room. The three employees in the hospital development office will also occupy the first floor. The five guest rooms on the second floor and the apartment on the third floor will house hospital employees and remain as they are. The kitchen will remain and be shared by office and tenants.

The hospital previously tried to purchase the Thorncroft Inn on Upper Main Street in Vineyard Haven to help fill its need for employee housing. That deal fell through when time ran out on an agreement contingent on town approval of a special permit that would allow a change in the existing nonconforming use as an inn to “accommodations for visiting medical professionals.”

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The Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston has awarded the Island Housing Trust a $390,000 grant through the Edgartown National Bank for the construction of six new energy-efficient rental apartments in downtown Vineyard Haven that will serve low-income residents.

A total of 123 applicants from across the New England region competed for more than $15 million in grant funding, according to a press release. The Island Housing Trust’s application was selected 15th out of the 32 awarded. In addition, the Edgartown National Bank has provided the Island Housing Trust with an 18-month construction loan that will convert to a permanent loan.

This is the third year in a row that the FHLB Boston has awarded a project grant to the Island Housing Trust, IHT executive director Philippe Jordi said. Additional funding came from the towns of West Tisbury and Tisbury Community Preservation Act committees, Charlesbank Homes, the Zeitgeist Foundation, Kuehn Charitable Foundation, and donations from individuals.

Farley Built, Inc., from West Tisbury has begun construction, and the apartments are scheduled to be completed in June 2016.

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In a decision with far reaching consequences for the town of Oak Bluffs, the Oak Bluffs Planning Board (OBPB) unanimously approved the amendments to the 2004 special permit for the Southern Woodlands subdivision, 4-0, at its regular meeting on Thursday night.

Approval of the deal with Paul Adamson, a Boston-area developer and Edgartown seasonal homeowner who bought the property for $5.15 million at a June 26 auction, will provide a massive boost to town coffers. One of the five approved amendments to the original permit, which was issued to developer Corey Kupersmith for the Down Island Golf Club in 2004, is a $700,000 donation to the Oak Bluffs Affordable Housing Trust (OBAHT).

Back taxes totaling $380,000, owed by Mr. Kupersmith’s now defunct Farlap Development, will also be paid to the town as part of the deal.

In addition to the financial contributions, the developers of the 26-lot subdivision agreed to reduce the total number of bedrooms from 190 to 156, and to enhance nitrogen mitigation to guarantee a limit of 19 milligrams of nitrogen per liter per year. Buffer zones were also extended in some areas, and ancient ways were restored and will be kept public.

“My client is extremely pleased to have gotten through all of the various permitting,” Geoghan Coogan, attorney for Mr. Adamson wrote in an email to The Times on Friday. “Both the OB planning board and MVC did their due diligence and we are happy to be done with the process.  We hope the Town is also pleased that the subdivision will finally be completed after all of this time.”   

“I’m pleased with the process and with the willingness of the applicant to do right by everybody,” Oak Bluffs Planning Board chairman Brian Packish told The Times on Friday. “They were extremely generous across the board.” Mr. Packish noted when the vetting process began that the affordable housing component was only $260,000, which was to be paid in $10,000 increments each time a lot was sold. Mr. Packish said that there is also a symbolic value to the deal moving forward. “Southern Woodlands has been an open wound in our town for 10 years,” he said. “The town is gaining a lot and we’re getting rid of a barren sand pit.”

Mr. Coogan said that his client intends to sell off the lots as is, although he does intend to salvage the two dilapidated sample homes on the property.

A letter from James Lengyel, executive director of the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank Commission (MVLBC), to the OBPB, was read into the record, stating that the Land Bank would manage the public trails that traverse the property, at no charge to the homeowners. “The staff already manages the trails at the abutting Southern Woodlands reservation and it would not be burdensome for the Landbank to incorporate these additional trails into its work schedule,” he said.

Thursday’s public hearing was sparsely attended, with no public opposition — a sharp contrast to this summer’s OBPB public hearings, which were standing-room-only affairs, peppered with heated exchanges and threats of litigation.  

In January, a sharply divided Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) voted 7-5 not to hold a public hearing to consider the five modifications that had been negotiated by the OBPB.

At Thursday night’s hearing, the only public comment came from Oak Bluffs resident Richard Toole. “I think these guys have gone through the ringer, and they’ve bargained in good faith. They deserve to move forward,” he said.

Mr. Coogan said the deal is set to close on April 8, pending the outcome of the 30-day appeal period.

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Rome wasn’t built in a day, but apparently six affordable apartments in Tisbury can be, if all goes according to plan this Friday. Construction is scheduled to begin at 8:30 am, Friday morning, on the Island Housing Trust affordable housing project at 6 Water Street, next to the Stop & Shop and just a stone’s throw from the Five Corners intersection.  

“The crane will be on site at 8:00,” contractor Farley Pedler told The Times Tuesday. “We’ll be cranking from 8:30 on. Our goal is to have all the boxes set by the end of the day, but we may be squeezing into Monday morning.”

Mr. Pedler said the state police will oversee traffic at Five Corners as well as escort the massive modular blocks from the R. M. Packer lot on Beach Road, where they arrived by barge on Wednesday.

The six-unit apartment building will be composed of eight modular “boxes,” four of them 12.5 feet wide and 55 feet long, and four that are 12.5 feet wide and 30 feet long. Plans call for six 600-square-foot apartments, three handicapped accessible ground floor units and three on the second floor, each with one bedroom and one bathroom.

Mr. Pedler said there are no detours planned for Five Corners traffic. “We have it scheduled so the boxes will be brought to the site at times when no boats will be arriving,” he said. The large crane required for the job will be positioned at the car rental lot next to the 6 Water Street building site.

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Over a decade in the making, the sale of the Southern Woodlands property in Oak Bluffs is finally complete ten months after Paul Adamson, a Boston-area developer and Edgartown seasonal homeowner purchased the property from Patten Companies at auction.

Friday morning, Geoghan Coogan of Vineyard Haven, attorney for Mr. Adamson, delivered two checks, totaling over $1.15 million to Oak Bluffs town hall. Per conditions of the deal set by the Oak Bluffs planning board, Mr. Coogan delivered a check for almost $450,000 in back taxes owed by the previous owner, Corey Kupersmith’s Farlap Development Company, and a $700,000 check for the Oak Bluffs affordable housing trust, according to chairman of the selectmen Michael Santoro.

Mr. Adamson purchased the Southern Woodlands property — a 26-lot, never realized subdivision with an equestrian theme off County Road in Oak Bluffs — at a June 26 auction last year. Patten, a family-owned network of companies based in Williamstown with a long history and national track record of purchasing failed developments, precipitated the sale after it purchased the mortgage from the bank that was left holding the property once owned by Corey Kupersmith of Greenwich, Conn.

The subdivision was one of the remnants of a lengthy and divisive battle over the failed Down Island Golf Club that ended in 2004 when the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank agreed to purchase 180 acres for $18.6 million, creating the Southern Woodlands property; the Martha’s Vineyard Commission signed off on the subdivision plan; and Mr. Kupersmith stopped suing and left the Island.

Following the sale of the foreclosed property to Mr. Adamson, the closing was held up when the planning board questioned whether the 2004 special permit issued for the development remained in effect. After a series of negotiations, members of the Oak Bluffs planning board won some major concessions that included a $700,000 donation to the Oak Bluffs affordable housing trust, voluntary reduction of total number of bedrooms to 156, and enhanced nitrogen mitigation to insure a limit of 19 milligrams of nitrogen per liter per year. Buffer zones were also extended in some areas, and ancient ways were restored.
When the vetting process began with the planning board last summer, the affordable-housing component was only $260,000, which was to be paid in $10,000 increments each time a lot was sold.

“Hopefully, everybody won with this deal,” Mr. Coogan told The Times on Friday.
Mr. Coogan said he expects his client to have the lots on the market within a few weeks. There is currently no realtor of record.

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West Tisbury has selected the Island Housing Trust to develop three duplex clusters consisting of nine rental apartments at 565 Edgartown Road on town property behind the fire station.

In an effort to maintain open lines of communication, the Island Housing Trust invites neighbors, as well as the community at large, to a public informational meeting at the Howes House at 5:30 pm, Tuesday, according to a press release.

The Island Housing Trust invites anyone with concerns or questions to call Derrill Bazzy at 508-693-1117.

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Dukes Academy, long the only real estate school on the Vineyard, has announced the sale of its Classroom Education Division to Erik Hammarlund, who operates Academy of MV. According to a press release, for over 15 years Dukes Academy conducted real estate licensing and continuing-education courses in a traditional classroom venue. The school has assisted many hundreds of Islanders to pass the licensing exam, to launch a career in the real estate field, and to renew a license. Lead instructor Robert Sawyer related anecdotes from his greatest teaching moments, stating he will miss the students, the stories, the camaraderie of the Island real estate community. “We are moving from the classical classroom environment to broaden our online education division, targeting real estate residential and commercial licensees throughout the commonwealth,” said Sawyer.

The turnover will be complete by the end of October. Licensing classes are scheduled to begin Oct. 18. Erik Hammarlund is the lead instructor for Academy of MV. Mr. Hammarlund has taught courses for Dukes Academy for several years, and is widely acclaimed for his knowledge and commitment to students. He holds a Massachusetts broker’s license and a Massachusetts real estate instruction license, and is a highly recognized real estate attorney practicing on the Vineyard.

“This will be a seamless transition,” Mr. Hammarlund said. “It has been a great pleasure working with Dukes Academy, and I have been teaching there for years. Our students have attained some of the highest first-time pass rates in the state, and I look forward to continuing that legacy.”

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John F. Newsom of Oak Bluffs has joined Dockside Real Estate. According to a press release, Mr. Newsom has been a summer resident of Martha’s Vineyard since 1947. He moved to the Island full-time in 1992, and subsequently served as advertising manager for the Vineyard Gazette for two years, and as sales agent for Lawrence Realty for 24 years. Mr. Newsom has lived in the Campgrounds as a summer or year-round resident for 69 years. He served on the MVCMA board for nine years, the Oak Bluffs Planning Board for four years, and the Oak Bluffs Capital Improvement Program for four years.

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Looking to the past to handle a contemporary problem, the owners of the Lampost, the venerable nightclub, bar, and restaurant on Circuit Avenue, originally built as a four-story hotel in the Victorian heyday of Oak Bluffs, have begun discussions with local permitting boards to allow the top three floors to be converted, or more accurately, reverted, into housing.

Co-owner Adam Cummings told The Times on Monday that the shortage of employee housing is the impetus behind the move. “We had a real problem with staff housing this summer,” he said. “We always have a problem, but this year was brutal. I had my entire staff hired in March, and half of them couldn’t find housing.”

Mr. Cummings said he typically hires 42 people for his summer staff. He said he considered buying a house for staff housing, but it made more sense to look internally.

“We have five floors here. The plan right now is to convert the top three floors for housing. The [Dive Bar] restaurant on the ground floor will stay. You have the Lampost that everybody knows; that will stay. The dance floor, the lounge, and the floor above it, that used to be hotel rooms, will all be converted into housing.”

Mr. Cummings said it will be dormitory-style housing, with 10 to 15 bedrooms on the third floor, with shared living areas, kitchen, and bathrooms. The project will be done in phases over the next two years. The plan for this winter is to convert the dance floor, the third floor, into staff housing. The other two floors would be converted the following winter, for a total of 24 bedrooms, if all goes to plan.

“I’ll be getting rid of the nightclub. My abutters are thrilled,” Mr. Cummings said. “We all get along, but they said, ‘We will sign whatever you need to get this done.’”

Mr. Cummings said he will draw on his experience from the recent top-down renovation of the Lampost. “The past three years I’ve been involved in the biggest renovation project in downtown Oak Bluffs,” he said. “I learned a lot. I’m not going to start this process until I am formally approved by everybody.”

Mr. Cummings is off to a good start. He received enthusiastic support from town selectmen after his presentation at Tuesday night’s meeting. “This is exactly what we need,” chairman Gail Barmakian said.

Selectmen voted unanimously to refer the project to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission.

“I hope it goes well,” he told The Times on Wednesday. “We open April 1, so we need to be swinging hammers within 30 days.”

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In what is described as a “community housing opportunity,” Edgartown plans to sell three buildable half-acre lots of town-owned land for $75,000 to a pool of qualified applicants who will be chosen by lottery. The lots will be subdivided from a town-owned 1.6-acre parcel off Sixth Street North, just off Edgartown–Vineyard Haven Road.

To qualify for the lottery, applicants must be able to prove that they have lived or worked in Edgartown for the past five years. They must be either a first-time homeowner, or reside in an existing home that is within the Edgartown affordable housing inventory, or be a “displaced homemaker,” which is defined as a spouse or member of a household who is dependent on someone else’s income.

Household income for applicants cannot exceed 150 percent of the area median income (AMI) for Dukes County. For two people, that’s a combined income ceiling of $101,550. Town water and electric are included in the purchase price. The lots are limited to two-bedroom houses unless enhanced septic systems are installed. The lots come with a 10-year deed restriction, after which the property owners would be able to sell the house at fair market value. In recent years, Island housing organizations and towns have placed deed restrictions on the resale of affordable housing lots to ensure long-term affordability. For example, the winners of the Nab’s Corner lottery in Chilmark signed a 99-year ground lease to ensure the permanent affordability of the property.

The sale of the town-owned lots was approved at town meeting several years ago, according to chairman of the selectmen Margaret Serpa.

Selectman Art Smadbeck said a small committee will thoroughly review all applications. The requirements have changed since the town first advertised in The Times on Sept. 15. Initially, the income qualification, now set at 150 percent of AMI, was a maximum attainable mortgage of $600,000 per household. “I’m not sure where that came from,” Mr. Smadbeck said. “There were a lot of hands in this.”

Mr. Smadbeck said the Dukes County Regional Housing Authority (DCRHA), which often manages affordable housing lotteries, is not involved. “It would be difficult for [DCRHA], because they run under different rules and regulations,” he said.

Restriction objection

Doug Ruskin of West Tisbury, board member of the Island Housing Trust (IHT) and Edgartown property owner and taxpayer, is not happy about the lottery criteria.

“As a taxpayer, I see red,” he said. “I find it unconscionable that the town would sell assets at what I think is a 60 to 80 percent discount and then someone gets a windfall profit 10 years in the future. It’s patently unfair.”

A 0.6-acre abutting lot that fronts Seventh Street is worth $251,000, according to the Edgartown assessor’s property cards.

Mr. Ruskin also questioned where the Edgartown affordable housing committee was in the mix. “Who’s going to conduct the lottery?” he said. “Why isn’t the affordable housing committee running it? My understanding is that they washed their hands of it.”

Edgartown affordable housing committee chairman Mark Hess corroborated Mr. Ruskin’s statement.

“Affordable housing doesn’t have anything to do with it,” he said. “That’s the town’s deal, not ours.”

“I may be biased because of my attempts to create affordable housing when I lived in Edgartown, and getting less than enthusiastic support,” Mr. Ruskin said. “It was 10 years ago, all the same selectmen. They don’t change down there. What they’re doing may be legal, but it’s hardly fair and it’s hardly transparent.”

The requirement that all applicants must live or work in Edgartown is also objectionable, in Mr. Ruskin’s view. “I view the Island as a single community,” he said. “We’re not that big where a town should be putting up figurative walls. If it were up to me, I’d say the lot has to be affordable in perpetuity, open to all Islanders, with Edgartown preference.”

He said qualifying residents of Edgartown could be given “local preference” by putting those applications in a local pool which is drawn from first.

Dukes County Regional Housing Authority executive director David Vigneault said he wasn’t aware of the Edgartown land auction until he saw an ad in The Times two weeks ago.

“It isn’t an affordable housing offer, so we are not involved, same as the Edgartown affordable housing committee,” he said. “The board of selectmen have posted different parameters that we’re not familiar with. I hope they’re clear on the legalities.”

Mr. Vigneault said the brevity of the 10-year deed restriction would not qualify as low or moderate housing according to the state and federal criteria under which DCRHA operates.

For the working class

Mr. Smadbeck, an experienced real estate agent and the owner of Priestley, Smadbeck and Mone real estate agency, said the 10-year deed restriction is a remnant of the former resident homesite committee. “We’re not inventing anything new or doing this differently than we used to do it,” he said. “The reason for the 10-year restriction is so younger people, who are giving to this community, are not made second-class citizens. When my kids were going to college, I could get a mortgage and pay the tuition. We’re saying, You’re willing to give your life to us, this is a little bit of help we’re able to do. If the value of the property goes up, that’s how it should be, that’s real estate. No one is making a killing. If we put a permanent deed restriction on the lot, they can’t get a mortgage to send their kids to college.”

Mr. Smadbeck said the lottery is a way to help three working-class families attain ownership, an increasingly difficult prospect on the Island. “We have an organization using public funds to take land off the market,” he said, referring to the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank. “We have [the Martha’s Vineyard Commission] that has greatly restricted and pretty much opposed any kind of housing development. That artificially drives up the value of the land. If you recognize that we are part of that problem, then I think we have a responsibility to try and level the playing field.”

Mr. Smadbeck said the affordable housing efforts have focused on those with low incomes, 80 percent of AMI and lower, which leaves a big gap for middle-class families who make too much to qualify, but don’t make enough to purchase property.

“This is for working-class people who are working for our benefit — our police officers, teachers, people who work at the hospital,” he said. “Can we take care of everybody? No, that’s why there’s a lottery. We’re doing the best we can. We’re hoping when the smoke clears we’ll have three happy people who are contributing members of our community.”
M. Smadbeck said future “workforce housing” lot lotteries may be in the offing. “We’re testing the waters to see what the demand is,” he said.

Mr. Smadbeck said the feedback about the auction has been positive, across the board. “I haven’t heard anything from anyone in Edgartown except ‘This is a great idea.’” he said. “And by the way, the voters approved this. I’m very happy about it.”

Applications for the lottery can be obtained by calling the selectmen’s office at 508-627-6180. The deadline for applications is Nov. 15.

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