A public hearing for Stillpoint Martha’s Vineyard’s barn took place during a West Tisbury zoning board of appeals meeting Thursday evening.
Stillpoint acquired this property with the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank in April. The plan was to have Stillpoint make an educational community space for Islanders, while the Land Bank preserves the surrounding area. Stillpoint applied for a special permit to convert a barn on the property into a “public place of assembly.”
Thomas Bena, a principal in Stillpoint, and Marilyn Vukota, Stillpoint’s attorney, provided background information about the project to the board. Vukota said Claudia Miller, who originally bought the property in 2008, had an agreement where the 40-acre parcel of land was split into 13 lots, including the barn, land to be preserved, and two privately owned historic homes.
“Claudia’s rule was that nobody gets any of it unless it all closes at the same time,” Vukota said.
Stillpoint has a public hearing with the Martha’s Vineyard Commission on Thursday, Sept. 8, since it is a development of regional impact (DRI). Members of the commission will be coming to the property on Wednesday, Sept. 7, for a site visit.
“I don’t know how much we can get done here without the MVC, but we wanted to get it in front of you,” Vukota said.
According to a June letter from West Tisbury building inspector Joseph Tierney, there are three organizations Stillpoint will need to go to for their project: a site plan review by the West Tisbury planning board, since this is an “educational use” building in a rural district, the commission for the barn’s conversion into a public place of assembly and the addition of 30 parking spaces, and the building inspectors for a permit. Bena said the barn would be a “quiet” space that would fit at most 100 people. The building could hold different activities, such as a morning tai chi class and an afternoon lecture.
“My goal is to take the most difficult issues on the Island we’re facing and that divides us, and create programming around that,” Bena said. “So, probably anyone on the two poles of any issue would not want to come to Stillpoint. But anybody who’s willing to take a step toward the middle to explore other people’s points of view, they’re going to find a lot of programming at Stillpoint.”
During the public comment period, zoning board of appeals chair Lawrence Schubert read correspondence about the request. West Tisbury planning board chair Virginia Jones wrote a letter stating her board “may need further review on this application to determine the final plan,” and may need to “review the decision from the Martha’s Vineyard Commission.” A letter from Polly Hill Arboretum, signed by executive director Timothy Boland and assistant director Emily Ellingson, expressed overall support for the project, but voiced some concerns, such as parking and impacts from structural development.
Meeting attendee Susan Wasserman expressed concern for the Mill Brook watershed, which the barn is near, and the amount of development (e.g., cutting down trees) and number of people that would be involved. Schubert said these will need to be addressed by the commission, and later with the boards. Bena said they plan to develop in a way that would limit how many trees are cut, such as mimicking the parking lot style of Polly Hill Arboretum.
After consulting board administrator Kim Leaird, the zoning board of appeals unanimously approved holding another meeting with Stillpoint on Thursday, Oct. 6.