SOUTH MOUNTAIN COMPANY'S FUTURE SKETCH

March 2000

Dedicated to the memory of Ed Logue, a pioneer planner who loved the Vineyard, and to Herb Abrams - it was his idea to do this!

Introduction

Martha's Vineyard is being overwhelmed by its own desirability and prosperity. Land values are rising and life is changing. Most people are acutely aware of the changes but our political leadership has not formulated a collective vision of the future. Instead, our posture is defensive (the on-going SSA struggle is a good example). We're like a fortress under siege, weakly trying to fend off the inevitable.

But is it inevitable? Can we imagine a future that would make it possible for our children and grandchildren to enjoy the Vineyard the way we have? Can we muster the strength and resolve to tackle the hard issues and forge a satisfying future that serves the interests of all? Perhaps . . ..

During the last days of January, 2000, South Mountain Company's 25 employees, along with several friends and planning experts, spent two days thinking about the future of the Vineyard. Our goals were several:

• to sketch the outline of a future we would like to see;
• to decide what commitments we, as a company, are willing to make to achieve such a future; and
• to share our findings with the Vineyard community in ways that might inspire similar inquiries, create dialogue, and lead to action.

These are the findings of one small group of people who live and work here. We share these thoughts in a spirit of unity and collaboration, and hope we can work together to turn this ship around. It may feel like we're mired in a sea of molasses, but perhaps that's because we haven't yet put our shoulders to the wheel . . .. together.

This is only a sketch. Some of the ideas are more developed than others. Some are already in place and need only to be encouraged and/or better funded. Mostly they are offered to promote further discussion. We gathered early on a Friday morning. After introductions, David McCullough addressed the group. He spoke about the Chagres River which almost unhinged the building of the Panama Canal but was eventually harnessed to become a part of the engineering solution, and compared it to the River of Money which is pouring into the Vineyard, unhinging a way of life. He expressed five ideas that became an important part of our discussions:

• "We need political unification";
• "We need reliable information";
• "We need to redirect the River of Money that is causing such harm";
• "We must avoid the destination resort mentality";
• "The Future is a Design Issue - it's not what you do but how you do it".

What We Loved & The Forces of Change - Brainstorms

David's remarks led us to our first activity, a brainstorm to answer the question, "What did you love about the Vineyard when you first came here (most people) or when you were growing up here (a few)?"

Some of those:
• The easygoing pace;
• The illusion of distance - the "awayness" of the Vineyard;
• The freedom & accessibility of living here - "you could always find a shack or a campsite or a caretaking gig";
• The sense of Youthfulness - the feeling of MV the "campus";
• The lack of social judgment: "jail was ok on your resume";
• The lush summer vegetation - arched canopies over Middle and North Roads;
• The bond between land and people based on traditional understanding;
• The egalitarian nature of the place - "the Vineyard disrupts hierarchy and mixes the common with the celebrated";
• The "island quality" - clear edges, natural boundaries;
• The "grain of New England" is embodied here, a special part of the regional heritage;
• The way children are valued here and the strong sense of community they are raised with;
• "You used to be able to get along fine without a full time job";
• The tribal culture of the Wampanoag, the black culture of O.B., - the diversity;
• "On the Vineyard it's harder to fall through the cracks";
• Four digit calling up-island;
• The discovery of new nooks and crannies each year - a small place full of new surprises and endless beauty;
• The fair, Jungle Beach, the village centers, farms and fields;
• What the water all around does - the smell, the sound, the light, and the boats;
• The Old Timers - there were more of them;
• Nobody locked anything;
• "Lazy Brothers" - it was ok to be lazy";
• Empty roads;
• Camping at Webb's and Cranberry Acres;
• The scale - "you feel bigger here".

Umm. . . feels good enough to keep, doesn't it?

After identifying the things we loved, we moved on to a sometimes (but not always) gloomier subject: the causes of change. What forces are changing the Vineyard?

Some of the suggestions:
• The power of the almighty dollar makes it hard to design in scale;
• The fishing industry has dwindled;
• Visitors and new residents seem impatient;
• New money brings new values - conspicuous consumption was once absent; now, it's accepted;
• E-mail and faxes propel the pace of change and the change of pace - technology is a "fast bridge" to the mainland;
• The landscape suffers many little losses - and they all add up;
• Vineyard as investment - the expectation of making money from real estate;
• Traffic year round;
• Sprawl - the disappearing edges between town and country;
• The MV Commission should be a vital change agent - but it's not;
• The next generation can't live here;
• "Private Property - Keep Out";
• Fewer at-home parents and fewer farmers tied to the land;
• Year round population growth - "I don't recognize as many people any more";
• Year round pressure of work;
• Fewer seasonal rituals = erosion of traditional values;
• Negative unemployment: the Help Wanted signs suck people across the sound;
• "Put-on-the-Brakes" thinking without complimentary constructive alternatives.

Nothing too positive in that list. We did identify some positive forces of change, however - the Land Bank, the increasingly activist stance of the Housing Authority, the Brazilians as a new cultural identity, for example - there are many others.

After comparing the place we loved with the forces that are changing it, we began to consider the components of a positive future - one that might harness the forces of change to allow the Vineyard to continue to be a place we (and the generations to come) will love.

Eight Critical Areas

In the discussions and work sessions that followed we concluded that there is important work to do in eight critical areas, which we are calling:

1. Achieving Political Unity
2. Creating The Vineyard Institute
3. Promoting Adequate and Appropriate Housing
4. Preserving and Enhancing Rural Character
5. Supporting the New Traditional Economy
6. Making a Transportation System That Works
7. Committing to Environmental Stewardship
8. Maintaining Cultural Traditions.

In each of the eight areas, we characterized the problem and worked on solutions. The results of those discussions follow.

Achieving Political Unity

THE PROBLEM:

• At present, there is no effective regional political leadership - "regional" has a harsh ring to some, and we lack full agreement that regionalism is essential. Fear of regional unity has become a crippling illness.
• The Martha's Vineyard Commission has unusually broad powers and a strong mandate, but it is not realizing its potential for regional planning.
• County government is entirely separate from town governments and has little influence on most issues.
• Most pressures facing the Vineyard are island-wide; solutions must be the same.
• There is no "connective tissue" that joins the many effective planning, social, and cultural efforts that coexist on the Vineyard.

THE SOLUTION:

• The 13 colonies found a way to join and still retain their individual identities; so did the diverse tribes of the Iroquois and the modern postwar European countries - there is surely a way for the six towns to do so, and to learn to find regional political and planning solutions that elude us now.
• All issues should be dealt with on the most local level that is practical and effective, and all organizations (town governments, county government, planning agencies, etc.) should be connected. When someone holds the strings of a large number of balloons, each has its own buoyancy and lift, but they are all held firmly. On the Vineyard, some entity needs to be holding the strings.

THEREFORE:

• Do an island-wide non-binding referendum to see if the public wishes to instruct the all-island selectmen to find a way to become a "federation", to make the individual towns a part of a greater union. We may find that the public is ahead of our political leadership on this issue.
• Strengthen the Martha's Vineyard Commission through broad institutional change and additional funding to make this organization the effective planning leader that it should be and the "connective planning tissue" for the island.
• Encourage true collaboration among year round and seasonal residents so it becomes clear that the interests of the two groups are the same and perceived differences are erased.

Creating the Vineyard Institute

THE PROBLEM:

• We need reliable information - physical, social, and economic - to guide future decisions.
• We are at the mercy of the "hired expert syndrome" - well-regarded experts giving polar opposite opinions on issues depending on who they work for.
• The many diverse and random ongoing planning efforts among the towns, non-profits, MVC, and business community are fractured and disconnected - the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.

THE SOLUTION:

• An unaligned, impartial, unimpeachable source of high quality information and data - a think tank for Vineyard issues.

THEREFORE:

• Create and fund the Vineyard Institute - an organization that could develop highly accessible information to guide decision makers.
• Model the Institute on the WorldWatch Institute - have an annual "State of the Vineyard" report to track progress.
• For example - on the issue of Open Space, the Institute would work with the towns, land bank, and conservation organizations to map open space needs (for scenic, biological, agricultural, recreational, historic, and cultural purposes). By understanding the real needs, open space acquisition could be focused and targeted to best purpose.
• The institute could be expanded into an educational institution - the College of the Vineyard - for local public educational purposes and leadership training.

Promoting Adequate and Appropriate Housing

THE PROBLEM:

• We lack diverse affordable housing options for year round working people.
• Important long-term Vineyarders are leaving the island due to the affordable housing shortage, sapping the vitality and strength of the community and depleting the workforce.
• There is a pathetic lack of housing funding - to date we have not satisfied even so basic a need as an executive director for our Housing Authority.

THE SOLUTION:

• Vigorously pursue all avenues toward good housing options - stepping up the efforts will give hope to the young and under-housed and empower them to imagine a future on the Vineyard and to work towards that goal.

THEREFORE:

• Create a compelling "case statement" that documents - in simple and graphic terms - the need and extent of the problem.
• Mount a strong campaign for housing funding - through the Island Affordable Housing Fund - that results in a housing endowment (from private investment and contributions) and a permanent housing income stream (from a Housing Bank - equivalent to the Land Bank, or a rooms and rental tax - and island-wide Impact Fees).
• Create island wide affordable housing qualification and equity standards;
• Begin widespread initiatives and create zoning changes (like those presently happening in West Tisbury) that will create more diverse housing options, including: more rental housing, more in-town apartments, more "sweat equity opportunities", more planned communities (i.e. Island Cohousing), more houses moved to new sites rather than torn down, more housing "barnraisings" by tradespeople, etc.
• Reduce land costs through small lot village zoning, differential tax assessments, inheritance tax adjustments with housing linkages, and resident homesites with perpetual restrictions.

Preserving and Enhancing Rural Character

THE PROBLEM:

• Recent development of the Vineyard is primarily suburban rather than rural. The qualities of rural/village development patterns and suburban/sprawl development patterns are juxtaposed below:

THE SOLUTION:

• Continue and encourage the village/rural patterns of prewar Martha's Vineyard.

THEREFORE:

• Rather than continuing sprawl, identify and create new village nodes or expand existing to combine housing with essential commercial services in areas where there are concentrations of people living and/or working. This will make a more livable, more walk-able, less congested Vineyard. Possible locations: at the Blinker, at the junction of old County and State Road in West Tisbury, at Ocean heights, on Chappy, at the Airport Business Park, at the Morning Glory Farm intersection, at Chilmark Center. A good existing example is the area around Tony's Market in OB.
• Promote village qualities in commercial areas:
walk-ability, appropriately scaled buildings close to street, commercial/residential mix, places to gather and interact, activity day and night, apartments above businesses, minimal parking (in the rear), sharp edges (no sprawl), dense housing nearby, pastoral areas and green space within and outside village clusters.
• Imagine models through proactive design visioning: for example, design some new villages, redesign the North Tisbury business district, and create plans to guide growth and change.

Supporting the New Traditional Economy

THE PROBLEM:

• To be sustainable, our economy must extend beyond tourism and building.
• Our present economy does not support enough meaningful, year round, environmentally responsible work and commerce.
• Our traditional economy, based on fishing and agriculture, has withered away.

THE SOLUTION:

• Economic development efforts should be directed toward revitalizing the agrarian economy and supporting a lively, craft-based economy dominated by small business and artisans.

THEREFORE:

• Develop craft-based apprenticeships and educational opportunities - expose island young people to traditional island crafts, trades, and livelihoods.
• Support agricultural and aquacultural startups and make low-interest loans available for such ventures.
• Develop new agricultural infrastructure (i.e. a slaughterhouse for locally raised meat and poultry products).
• Establish a center of higher education (see "Vineyard Institute") with a strong local cultural focus.

Making a Transportation System That Works

THE PROBLEM:

• The Vineyard has become very congested and continues to be heavily reliant on automobiles - it's the only way to get around.
• We do not have a multi-modal integrated transportation system that includes the mainland and the entire island.
• We need a financial mechanism that will allow us to dramatically ramp up public transportation.

THE SOLUTION:

• Dust off the 1996 Donaher Report that emerged from the MV Transportation Task Force. Put implementation into high gear.

THEREFORE:

• Institute an annual island vehicle sticker ($30 for a day, $30 for a year) that will finance public transportation improvements and reduce short-term vehicle trips to the island.
• Make public transportation that is convenient, comfortable, attractive, and highly flexible (like Bermuda!).
• Support SSA solutions that integrate and truly satisfy both island and off-island port communities (and beyond).
• Encourage delivery services and other traffic reduction strategies.
• Encourage the development of new village centers (see "Preserving and Enhancing Rural Character") to shorten trips and make the island more walk-able.

Committing to Environmental Stewardship

THE PROBLEM:

• We don't know what our carrying capacity is; therefore, we won't know when we've fouled our nest beyond repair. • We don't have reliable and incontrovertible environmental information on which to base our decisions.
• We don't know what our true Open Space needs are.
• We have not yet committed to the most environmentally sustainable methods for dealing with water, waste, and energy.

THE SOLUTION:

• We need to know.
• We need to commit.

THEREFORE:

• Support the production of a new level of environmental information and resource mapping (see "Creating the Vineyard Institute").
• What we do know is that we have a sole source aquifer which must be vigorously protected; therefore, we must commit to the most environmentally advanced waste and sewage disposal methods that are financially feasible (a good example is the Nantucket composting system - it should be implemented here).
• Support our conservation organizations fully in all their creative approaches to open space acquisition and maintenance of biological diversity - their dedicated efforts have improved the quality of our life and landscape.
• Promote "un-development" - identify developed areas important for open space needs or rural character preservation for future un-development using a land bank right-of-first-refusal mechanism.
• Pioneer effective transfer-of-development-rights mechanisms.
• Support the development of locally produced renewable energy.

Maintaining Cultural Traditions

THE PROBLEM:

• As the young depart, we lose generational continuity, and thus we lose our cultural traditions, our passed-down oral history and knowledge about land and water, and our stories of the past.

THE SOLUTION:

• Make every effort to preserve the knowledge of our elders and keep our young here.

THEREFORE:

• Perpetuate cultural traditions and oral knowledge through demonstration, application, and mentoring.
• Enable generational continuity by supporting income diversity (see "Promoting Adequate and Appropriate Housing") and deferring inheritance taxes until properties leave the family.
• Identify and cultivate youthful opinion leaders and bring them into the island decision-making process.
• Take lessons from the Wampanoags about preserving heritage and passing down oral history and knowledge.

The SMC Commitment

Having wound our way through the eight issue areas and come to some broad consensus conclusions, we shifted our focus. We asked ourselves the following question, "Given the vision of the Vineyard that we see before us, what can we, as a company, do to further and support the future we've identified?"

The discussion was lively. Ideas flowed easily. The result was a series of actions to pursue as a company:

1. For large homes, institute an internal SMC Development of Regional Impact Process. Apply this to houses over 3500 SF. Establish a set of criteria and a DRI checklist modeled after the MVC checklist, review this with clients in advance of accepting large projects, and be public about our intentions (both in terms of our internal system and encouraging the adoption of an MVC DRI rule for all large Vineyard houses). Accept only large projects that have more benefits than detriments. Promote simplicity, frugality, modesty, energy efficiency, and beauty. Educate our clients about true Vineyard values.

2. Use our Money to Support our Goals. All agreed we should step up our charitable contributions to 10% of profits. All agreed we should focus our donations on local issues - housing, cultural, agriculture, and fishing projects in particular - but it was suggested that we should still leave room for a portion to go to off-Vineyard causes. We could consider starting a foundation in conjunction with other Vineyard businesses, especially those who are not now making substantial contributions (to increase the overall rather than just divert from one place to another). We could extend the reach of our funds by using a portion as social venture capital, to support/establish/loan money to newly-forming "risk" ventures that further our Vineyard goals.

3. Do More Work in the Planning and Development Feasibility Realm. We might do a "Housing Needs Assessment and Case Statement" on our own dime and contribute it to the community. We might collaborate with other design firms to do public design visions for areas like Five Corners or the North Tisbury Business Districts. This could extend to "mapping new ideas for the Vineyard " which might include new village nodes, open space and resource data, identification of areas for wind generation of local electricity, etc.

4. Revise the SMC Statement of Purpose and Goals. Review and update. Make it more specific; use it to communicate our Vineyard values to potential clients.

5. Offer Leadership to the Design/Building Community. React to the "builders line" about building caps threatening livelihoods. Form a positive builders' association or, even better, a design-build association. Be out front and vocal about our support for a sensible future.

6. Offer to improve the WT Dumptique and add Building Material Exchange. Take this on as an SMC project. Discuss with the Refuse District, the WT Board of Health, and the Dumptiquers to determine needs. Offer to assemble a plan and proposal for the Dumptique and a Building Materials Exchange. If it is embraced (or even encouraged) do it!

7. Continue to Plan Diverse Affordable Housing Projects. Specifically, look toward developing in-town adaptive re-use or renovation project and continuing with planned community work in more walk-able locations.

8. Use the Experience of Older SMCers as Educational Tool Beyond SMC. Consider a variety of training options, such as apprentice programs. Build bridges of interdependence with communities who will otherwise regard us with envy when resources become scarce in the future (e.g., New Bedford).

9. Improve our Use and Recycling of C & D Waste. Explore whether it is possible to get a gypsum tub grinder for MV. Work on building materials exchange at dump (see #6 above). Make more of our waste lumber into kindling and systemize better. Try to sell high quality salvage wood scraps as a resource on the Internet. Support the establishment of an island-wide trash composting facility. Replace porta-potties with portable job site composters.

10. Brush as a Building Material. Return to the consideration of how waste brush, tree cuttings, and clay (all plentiful on the Vineyard) can be made into building materials, such as clay/chip blocks.

11. Step up our Commitment to Reclaimed, Renewable, Energy Efficient Materials and Systems in our projects. Take it further down the path to sustainability.

12. Create a Timber Bank to Replace the Wood We Use. Trees do not easily grow into useable timber on MV. Consider investing in woodlots elsewhere in NE and growing timber using sustainable practices.

13. Keep Meeting to Follow-up, Extend, and Work On All of the Above. Perhaps do short company meetings each month after Board meetings. Bring in outside speakers whenever possible for inspiration and guidance. Expose the community-at-large to these people when appropriate.

14. Figure Out How Best to Bring Our Findings to a Larger Audience - SMC as conveyers of a vision and willing participants in achieving it. Consider working with the high school students to illustrate and flesh out these ideas. Show our leaders what's possible. "If the people lead, the leaders will follow."

Conclusion

David McCullough ended his Friday remarks by saying, "We may not win, but at least we'll know we were there". Isn't this why we undertake such efforts - to navigate and steer rather than drifting on winds of change? Whatever the outcomes, at least we'll have committed to the effort. We'll know we were there.

We learned from this endeavor. We learned how powerful it is when a large community of interest thinks together in a facilitated discussion. We learned that:

• There's no crisis here. We have not crossed a line and destroyed our nest. We can change what we wish to.
• What is happening to the Vineyard is neither new nor unique. Our problems are the same as those facing all beautiful places.
• Our problems can be solved. Witness open space - it took a multifaceted effort to make the success that we are having with Open Space: active conservation groups, large contributions, creation of a land bank, etc.
• We must take a similar creative approach to other issues.
• If we look closely, it's clear that we've made a good start. Lots of good planning has already been done; it's important to remember what we've accomplished on the Vineyard as well as what needs to be done.
• The most effective tool for change is models that make radical new approaches seem commonplace. Our Future Sketch is one example.

At the end of the session Tom Chase of the Nature Conservancy and Armando Carbonell of the Lincoln Institute (and former founding executive director of the Cape Cod Commission), neither of whom had much previous experience with SMC, summarized what they had observed. Both were impressed by the breadth of thinking and the ideas that emerged from a group of people in a for-profit business. They were generous with both ideas and spirit, and said two things loud and clear:

• "On the Vineyard, now is the time"; and
• "Get out there and be a role model - this is important stuff."

We are grateful to David McCullough, Tom Chase, Armando Carbonell, Tony Lewis, Bruce Coldham, and Sanford Evans for their assistance and participation, and grateful to each other for the synergistic collaboration that resulted from thinking hard together.

Buckminster Fuller once said, "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new reality that makes the existing reality obsolete." We wish to offer these ideas and commitments to the island in the hopes that it may help in some small way to move us all to passionately embrace an optimistic, equitable, and sustainable future for Martha's Vineyard. And build a new reality.

- March 2000