The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School committee came out victorious Wednesday in the drawn-out legal battle over plans for a new artificial turf field at the Oak Bluffs campus.
In a brief two-page judgment, state Land Court judge Kevin Smith threw out the Oak Bluffs planning board’s denial of the project, saying it is protected under a provision of state law that allows educational uses to skirt some zoning restrictions.
The decision, which came after a hearing last week where both parties argued their case, disposes of the two-year legal challenge.
But in another twist in the long-running controversy, the Oak Bluffs board of health stepped into the fray by scheduling a meeting on Nov. 28 to consider a moratorium on the installation of artificial playing surfaces.
Plans for an artificial turf field, part of a larger overhaul of the high school’s athletic facilities, has been talked about going back to 2016. Debate over the project has been bitter, spilling out in contentious hearings, school committee debates on anonymous donations and budget battles on town meeting floor.
Supporters of the new field say it will allow Island athletes to enjoy a high quality, low-maintenance playing field that is commonplace on the mainland. Opponents have raised concerns that the synthetic field could threaten the Island’s main aquifer with dangerous “forever chemicals” known as PFAS.
In 2021, the project went to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission. After hours of meetings and testimony, the commission approved the project, pushing the plans to the Oak Bluffs planning board.
Planning board members were divided on the project, and in May 2022, the special permit — which required majority approval — was rejected on a 2-2 tie vote.
The school district later appealed the decision, saying the field should have been allowed by right under the town’s zoning bylaws because it is protected under the so-called “Dover Amendment,” a state law that exempts agricultural, religious and educational uses from certain zoning restrictions.
In September, Judge Smith granted partial summary judgment in the case, ruling that the planning board overstepped its authority in denying the school’s application on the basis of ground water protection. In that decision, the judge said the town can only impose dimensional restrictions on the project.
“The board acted beyond its authority when it imposed water protection regulations of the [Water Resources Protection Overlay District] on the artificial turf field project,” he wrote. “I recognize that the protection of groundwater is of critical importance to any municipality, particularly when that municipality is on an island in the Atlantic Ocean. But I am constrained by the language of the Dover Amendment and the cases that have construed it.”
After that ruling, the judge asked both the town and the school to come up with a path forward to resolve the case. The two parties remained at odds. The school said it should be allowed to move forward with the project, while the planning board contended the project should be sent back before the board for further consideration.
Judge Smith’s ruling Wednesday closed the door on further consideration by the planning board, granting final summary judgment to the school district.
“It is ordered and adjudged that the decision of the Town of Oak Bluffs Planning Board … is hereby annulled because the proposed project is protected from the application of that bylaw provision as an educational use under the Dover Amendment…,” the judge wrote. “And it is further ordered and adjudged that the court’s decision of Sept. 5, 2023 and this Final Judgment dispose of the entire case; no further relief is awarded to any party.”
Several school and town officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday. Attorneys for both parties did not respond, nor did the chair of the planning board and the school superintendent.
School committee member Michael Watts, who is a liaison to the school’s attorney, said the school committee would have to meet to talk about next steps.
“I’m hopeful this resolves this part of the case,” he said. “This seems to make closure.”
Though the judge’s ruling landed in favor of the school, a turf field arriving on the Island still faces an uphill battle.
Money to pay for a field still needs to be raised. When it was initially proposed two years ago, the first phase of the project alone was just shy of $8 million.
In a June interview with the Gazette, schools superintendent Richard Smith said a foundation would likely be used as a receiving mechanism for project donations, but such considerations hadn’t yet been fleshed out.
“We haven’t moved forward on seeking donors or creating a donor list, to my knowledge,” he said at the time.
An appeal of the judge’s decision to a higher court is possible, and the move by the Oak Bluffs board of health further complicates the issue.
The board of health had raised the topic earlier this summer, again raising concerns about water quality, but ended up not making a decision due to the field being tied up in the courts.
At a July meeting, board of health chair William White said the board should play a part in the process, potentially setting up a new showdown.
“In a lot of ways, it is our role because of public health issues,” he said at a July meeting. “We can’t abdicate that responsibility.”
Updated with comments from a school committe member.
