THE COMMISSION

In 1974, Dukes County voters and the Massachusetts General Court made the bold decision to create the Martha's Vineyard Commission and give it special powers to manage Island development. According to the Commission's enabling legislation (Chapter 831 of the Acts of 1977 as amended):

Martha's Vineyard possesses unique natural, historical, ecological, scientific, cultural and other values . . . These values are being threatened and may be irreversibly damaged by uncoordinated or inappropriate uses of the land.

ROLES OF THE COMMISSION

The Commission has two primary responsibilities.

It is responsible for regional land use planning for all seven towns of Dukes County.
It has special regulatory roles with respect to development in the six towns of Martha's Vineyard.

SUCCESSFULLY KEEPING THE VINEYARD UNIQUE

Notwithstanding tremendous growth in the past generation, the Vineyard has largely preserved its unique character. While not everyone will agree with each decision, it must be recognized that the MVC has played a vital role in protecting the Vineyard and will be even more crucial in the future as development pressure continues to increase.

We avoided inappropriate development typical of the mainland: hillsides covered with suburban sprawl, farmland transformed into strip malls, beaches lined with motels.
For the most part, the quality of the environment, the quality of life, the unique amenities and the Vineyard's sense of place have been preserved, and are the foundation of our thriving visitor-based economy and our sound property values.

ISLANDERS WORKING TOGETHER

On the Vineyard, six towns share one island. Only by working together can we effectively deal with our shared resources and concerns such as water, open spaces and Island character, traffic and transportation, sustainable economy and the supply of affordable housing. We've been doing Smart Growth for decades and have shown that respecting the environment is key to a strong economy.

FUNDING

The Commission is funded by assessments to the seven towns of Dukes County and grants from organizations such as MassHighway and other public agencies. The MVC can also accept private donations. The Fiscal Year 2006 Audit (FinancialStatement 6.9M) describes the financial information for the previous year and the Budget FY 08 (AnnualBudget 224K) describes the upcoming/current year.

REVITALIZATION OF THE COMMISSION

The Commission has embarked on a process of revitalization to better deal with the challenges of the 21st century. The MVC has started implementing an action plan to improve the MVC's operations including undertaking a community-based planning process to update the MVC's Regional Island Plan, improving partnerships with towns, streamlining the project review (DRI) process and better explaining what the Commission is and does. The Executive Director outlined a plan of action in Executive Director's Report (LookatCommission 243K) .

OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS

CONTACT US

Office location		The Stone Building 33 New York Avenue Oak Bluffs

Mailing address		Martha's Vineyard Commission P.O. Box 1447 Oak Bluffs MA 02557

Telephone		508-693-3453
Fax		508-693-7894

E-mail		info@mvcommission.org
Website		www.mvcommission.org