The Oak Bluffs planning board continued its ongoing public hearing on a special permit for the planned turf field and track complex at the regional high school, forgoing a presentation from the high school on the project.
Instead, the board heard a report on Thursday from Boston-based engineer Howard Stein Hudson on a traffic study conducted on the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road corridor between Barnes and County Roads.
The public hearing for a special permit to construct the turf field within the town’s water protection overlay district was continued to March 24, when the high school is expected to be given the floor to present. When asked by regional school committee chair Amy Houghton how long the public hearing may last, planning board chairman Ewell Hopkins had no definitive answer.
“The big variable is public input,” he said.
Mr. Ewell added that during public comment following the high school’s presentation, opinions on all aspects of the turf field project will be taken. Though, he said he hopes comments refrain from redundancy and remain relevant to the special permit question at hand.
He said for the remainder of the public hearing, the planning board will “move as rapidly as we can.”
During the traffic study presentation Tuesday, consultant Keri Pyke showed traffic numbers and the anticipated impact of planned developments, from the turf field to the YMCA expansion to new housing along the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road corridor.
As a mitigation, Ms. Pyke suggested two new traffic circles on the road, one at the high school and another at County Road. The board largely agreed that these circles would be a good addition, with Mr. Hopkins noting that a circle at County Road could help with traffic should the undeveloped land across the street be realized.
After the presentation, Ms. Houghton asked whether the board could have an out-of-sequence meeting to better move along the public hearing on the athletic fields and allow the high school to present.
“I’m not comfortable with starting before the 24th,” Mr. Hopkins said. He added that the board needs time to review all relevant materials before the presentation.
