Choose Granite Countertops in Oak Bluffs, MA for Elegance and Durability

The Oak Bluffs planning board will be holding several special meetings this month to discuss potential changes to a number of zoning bylaws.

The board is pondering the expansion of commercial zones, residential zone restrictions, accessory dwelling requirements and regulations on short-term rental properties, among other changes.

Oak Bluffs residents are encouraged to attend the meetings, said planning board chair Ewell Hopkins. Zoning amendments with the most public support will be drafted into warrant articles at the end of the year and recommended for next year’s annual town meeting.

“It’s time to really look at the zoning that’s currently in place,” said Mr. Hopkins. “A lot of it’s dated, and some people may like what it is and some people may say it’s time to make a change.”

Over the summer, the board deployed working groups made up of Island volunteers to survey residents and identify the town’s most pressing zoning issues. The upcoming meetings provide people with an opportunity to share more of their concerns and get clarification on any existing bylaws, said Mr. Hopkins.

“I’m hoping that people come to these and get mad and ask, you know, ‘what the heck is going on?’” said Mr. Hopkins. “I’m hoping it stirs up discussion and we’ll be there to inform them. When these things go to town meeting in April, it will require a supermajority, so we need to include everyone right now.”

Residential and commercial zoning has been a hot topic among Island leaders. Several towns have been eyeing tightening regulations around fractional ownership and large events at residential properties have drawn the ire of residents.

There are only two commercial zones in Oak Bluffs, said Mr. Hopkins, which limits real estate options for new businesses and encourages people to use residential homes for commercial purposes. The board is considering creating additional commercial zones or altering current bylaws to make business operations less restrictive.

“For instance, if you were a newly-certified veterinarian… and you wanted to move to Martha’s Vineyard and start your practice in an office and not out of your home, you have two streets where you can do that in Oak Bluffs,” said Mr. Hopkins. “Are folks okay with that? That’s what we’re hoping to find out.”

For a planning board meeting schedule and full list of proposed zoning topics, visit the town's website.

Oak Bluffs is preparing to unroll its 20-year comprehensive wastewater management plan, which will include upgrading its sewer system in an effort to clean nitrogen from local waterways.

The project could have a contractor by the end of the year, and Oak Bluffs officials are performing inspections around town in anticipation of the work.

Oak Bluffs voters approved allocating $26 million toward the town’s wastewater treatment facility during last year’s annual town meeting. In early August, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection issued a permit to upgrade the Oak Bluffs Wastewater Facility.

The request for proposals is currently open for the project’s first phase.

Some details, such as the cost of the expansion, are not set in stone yet.

Wastewater facilities manager Patrick Hickey told The Times that the current schedule is to receive project bids for the facility expansion by mid-November, with an anticipation the town will secure a contract by the end of the year.

“When the treatment facility is actually impacted, it might not be until after next summer,” Hickey said.

As part of this initial phase, Oak Bluffs wastewater facilities will be performing grease trap inspections over the next several weeks, to make sure businesses are in compliance. According to a letter sent by Hickey, the department plans to strictly enforce installations in an effort to avoid permit violations while the town is upgrading.

“The permit approval … has conditions, as the wastewater treatment process may be compromised during construction,” Hickey wrote. “For this reason, we are required to mitigate possible permit violations.”

Hickey told The Times that businesses will not incur additional costs for the inspections, and this was also an opportunity to remind business owners about proper procedures. “Piece by piece, you try to bring things up to standard,” he said.

Hickey said that what he’s essentially doing is enforcing rules that are already in the town’s bylaws. In particular, Hickey said, the town needs to reduce all forms of loads as a part of the conditions.

“There is a good amount of grease, especially in the summer,” he said. Hickey said improper grease traps can lead to grease buildup that could require an entire line to be ripped up.

When asked for additional information about the upgrades to the wastewater treatment facility, Hickey said the idea is to upgrade to a membrane bioreactor system, otherwise known as a MBR system. The system separates solids and liquids with microscreens before discharging treated effluent into the environment. While the upgrade construction takes place, the older plant will still be in operation, in case the startup of the new facility goes awry, or further testing is needed, and simply as a backup. “We have to stay operational while we do construction,” he said.

Hickey said a MBR system can last 10 years, according to manufacturers, but some have lasted around 20 years with good care. Hickey said that Bourne uses a MBR system, and that town had experienced issues with its system because of improper grease discharge.

Hickey said he is trying to speak with people now so they can be prepared for changes. “We’re trying to do it so by the time we have the new facility online, it’s not an issue anymore,” he said.

Oak Bluffs Wastewater Commission chair Gail Barmakian said improvements to the wastewater facility’s treatment capacity will allow the town to extend sewer lines to homes near vulnerable watersheds.

This isn’t the first comprehensive wastewater plan Oak Bluffs has undergone, according to Barmakian. A plan needed to be made for the current wastewater treatment facility around 19 years ago, and there were different criteria on how to distribute flow.

“At the time of that plan, nitrogen wasn’t on [Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s] radar,” Barmakian said, adding that the comprehensive wastewater plan in the works was more mindful of environmental concerns, especially nitrogen removal.

As a part of nitrogen removal efforts, innovative/alternative septic systems, also called I/A systems, will be a part of the management plan. Some homes already have Title 5 septic systems, which comply with state laws for a certain level of treatment, but primarily control bacteria. “Title 5 doesn’t do much for nitrogen,” Barmakian said.

Some estimates suggest upgrading to an enhanced septic system can cost as much as $45,000. The numbers are still being crunched on how much the new management plan will cost the town, and individuals who need a septic improvement when it is implemented, according to Barmakian.

Oak Bluffs officials will also need to look into other funding possibilities, and how the town is expected to change, such as population shifts or zoning amendments. There are also steps for updates within the plan. “It’s a document, but it’s a flexible document,” Barmakian said.

The management plan is currently undergoing a Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act public review process, which is needed before final approval from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, according to Barmakian.

The comprehensive wastewater management plans addressing contaminated bodies of water stem from the Clean Water Act.

“We are all in violation of the Clean Water Act,” Barmakian said.

The Conservation Law Foundation refiled litigation against the town of Barnstable over alleged violations of the Clean Water Act earlier this year. This lawsuit was initially dismissed in July 2022 by a federal judge.

The state has also been pushing for municipalities to address unclean waterways, finalizing new septic regulations for Cape Cod towns in June to reverse years of nitrogen pollution. More recently, WCVB reported that Gov. Maura Healey is expected to sign a tax relief bill on Wednesday, Oct. 4, that will boost the $6,000 tax credit for septic upgrades to a maximum of $18,000.

Updated Dec. 20

The field case is headed back to court.

During a Tuesday afternoon meeting, the Oak Bluffs planning board decided in a split 2-1 vote to appeal a Massachusetts Land Court judge’s decision.

Board chair Ewell Hopkins and member JoJo Lambert voted in favor appealing, while board member Sean DeBettencourt voted against the motion; board member Mark Crossland recused himself. Board member Erik Albert was absent during Tuesday’s vote.

The lengthy legal battle between the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School Committee and the planning board was over the board’s denial of a special permit to construct a synthetic field; in its denial, the board cited concerns over perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a group of chemicals commonly called PFAS, which have been known to cause health issues.

A Massachusetts Land Court judge then annulled the denial last month, pointing to a state law known as the Dover Act, which gives special protections to projects with an educational component.

The ruling was made on Wednesday, Nov. 22, and the town had 30 business days to appeal the decision.

The planning board also met in executive session with the Oak Bluffs Select Board regarding the lawsuit last week. They did not make any public comment following the executive meeting.

When Hopkins asked for a motion on whether to appeal the land court’s decision, there was a brief pause on Tuesday. After Lambert received clarification on what the motion was about, she moved to take the land court’s decision to the Massachusetts Appeals Court.

DeBettencourt said that it was problematic that Albert wasn’t present to cast a vote; with Crossland recusing himself, only three out of five members would actually be voting on an issue that has rattled the community.

“I understand that’s the process, but I don’t think it’s a good look,” DeBettencourt said. He advocated for the vote to be delayed until Albert was available.

But Hopkins said he called for the meeting as soon as “legally possible” after meeting in executive session with the select board; also, delaying it would risk missing a key deadline.

Hopkins added that Crossland has chosen to stay out of this topic from the start of the board’s review.

“Behind the scenes, I did everything in my power, as well as delay this vote by 10 minutes, to give Erik an opportunity to take part,” Hopkins said, adding that he tried working with Albert for the past two days so he could attend the meeting.

“I have a hard time — regardless of the potential outcomes — seeing this path is going to lead to a better, more unified town of Oak Bluffs,” DeBettencourt said.

“I don’t know what the outcome is either, and my hope is that it does lead to a better outcome,” Hopkins replied. “We are in total support on that.”

Albert did not respond to a request for comment.

The board took no public comment, which some meeting attendees were not thrilled about. “Of course not,” meeting attendee Joe Mikos wrote in the Zoom chat. “What a joke[,] this is a public meeting.”

Another attendee was more verbose in his criticism of the board, particularly toward Hopkins. “This abuse of power and manipulation by the bias chair yet again! Sad for OB that this is what we get,” meeting attendee Ryan Ruley wrote in the Zoom chat. “A member traveling asks for a later meeting, and the chair says no because he is afraid of his vote. Scam artist!”

The planning board isn’t the only town entity looking to take action against the turf field planned for the high school. The Oak Bluffs board of health gathered support from other Island health officials for a potential town construction moratorium on synthetic turf fields that contain PFAS. The Oak Bluffs board of health received pushback last month on the moratorium, and after hearing the public feedback, they decided to come back to the topic at a later date.

The high school committee has scheduled a meeting for Friday, Dec. 22, and will potentially enter into executive session to discuss “litigation strategy” surrounding the appeal.

Committee member Mike Watts told The Times on Wednesday, Dec. 20, that the committee will need to discuss the issue with their attorney before anything is decided, but the planning board was within their legal rights to pursue the appeal. “That’s how our legal justice system works,” he said. Watts said the deadline to make an appeal was Friday, Dec. 22.

However, Watts said the committee can’t begin the project immediately, even if they wanted to. The Martha’s Vineyard Commission originally approved the field project in 2021, but the long legal process threatened to have that approval expire. In turn, the commission voted in August to extend the approval to 60 days after the court case was resolved, meaning either after a judge’s ruling and the end of any appeal process, or following the stipulation of dismissal with the appropriate court.

Attorneys from both parties were not immediately available for comment.

While looking for a summer job during high school, Emily deBettencourt found her way to the Oak Bluffs harbor. She wasn’t water savvy and at the time knew practically nothing about boats. But with friends already working at the marina, she thought the mooring attendant gig could be a great way to spend the summer.

Then she got hooked.

Nearly 10 years later, Ms. deBettencourt can still be found working around the Oak Bluffs harbor, but now with a wealth of experience and a new title: harbor master.

For years, Ms. deBettencourt served as assistant harbor master to longtime harbor master Todd Alexander until his retirement in spring 2021. She officially stepped into the lead role earlier this year.

“Todd was here for almost 30 years. He’s an enyclopedia of the Oak Bluffs harbor, Oak Bluffs in general, boating . . . pretty much everything,” she said. “Right now, I feel like I learn something new every day. I hope that I’ll know it all one day.”

But Ms. deBettencourt isn’t captaining the harbor all on her own. She recently appointed Maeve Rice as assistant harbor master, and the two are working hard to get the marina ready for the summer.

Ms. Rice grew up sailing around the Island and is no novice on the water. Between busy seasons at Offshore Ale Company, where she bartended for the past five years, she embarked on various sailing expeditions, traveling most recently on a catamaran to the U.S. Virgin Islands.

She said she feels most at home working on the water.

“[I am] exactly where I want to be now,” Ms. Rice said. “It’s been like a family ever since I’ve been here, even though I’m the new person.”

Ms. deBettencourt hopes the entire harbor staff feels the same way. She doesn’t take the “master” in her name too seriously, and wants harbor management to be a team-driven operation. In the office, she sits beside Jennifer Goeckel, who has been managing the office since her early days as a mooring attendant. She described Ms. Goeckel as the “brains of the harbor.”

Ms. Goeckel said that since Ms. deBettencourt’s promotion, she has had the opportunity to get more involved with the workings of the harbor. As a lifelong sailor, she enjoys opportunities to step out of the office and spend time on the docks.

“[Todd] just knew so much, and now everybody’s learning and working together,” she said.

Harbor management is a field historically dominated by men, and Ms. deBettencourt is currently the Island’s only woman harbor master. Ms. deBettencourt said that she still has to prove her place on the water.

“I feel like people can easily pick up on confidence or lack of confidence,” she said. “When I was younger, people would be like, ‘Do you have any guys in the office to help me with this?’ That happens all the time — ‘We need a guy.’ One time, someone was asking for that and we sent out our smallest little kid, Charlie.”

Thankfully, she added, most Islanders and other harbor masters have shown her and her team lots of support.

“We were walking down the harbor and it was a nice day with people out for the beginning of the season, and everyone was just congratulating her,” said Ms. Rice.