The following is an edited version of a letter sent to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission:

On Thursday, Jan. 21 you will consider tes timony to rescind the designation of an important overlay zoning district in the town of Oak Bluffs.

I am writing to you because I am opposed to the proposal to rescind the designation of the Copeland Plan district of critical planning concern.

I was the original nominator of the district in 1991 and reside in the district. I am also a member of the Copeland plan review committee. The idea of rescinding the designation was never brought to the committee for its review and comment. I am also a trained landscape architect, and served as the second director of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission.

Rescinding an MVC designation of a critical area, or even a proposal to rescind an MVC designation, has never occurred; by doing so you would be setting a bad precedent. Since certain towns now have their own wetlands protection bylaws, should we now also rescind the coastal district designated in 1976, another special overlay zoning area?

Morris Copeland is the landscape architect of this unique downtown area of Oak Bluffs. He was a contemporary of Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux, who most notably designed Central Park in New York city and the Fens in Boston. Morris Copeland was born in Roxbury in 1830 and died at the age of 44. The University of Massachusetts press wrote: “Robert Morris Copeland was one of a small number of American landscape practitioners whose written and built work helped establish the foundations for city planning and integrated park systems. Copeland merged many of the principles of scientific farming with landscape gardening. Although he died at a relatively young age, his accomplishments were substantial. He left behind several important designs for cemeteries, estates, suburbs, communities and parks throughout New England, New York and Pennsylvania.”

Oak Bluffs voters were proud to memorialize his name for the past, present and future generations of their town. Rescinding the designation is tantamount to expunging his name from our history and would be an embarrassment, in my opinion. Perhaps we should just plant a tree for him!

The state act that created the commission grants it the power to adopt regulations for districts of critical planning concern . . . “which may differ from the otherwise relevant local development ordinances and bylaws in their scope and magnitude . . .” Accordingly, the historic district state act, from which towns may adopt regulations for protection from inappropriate alteration to historic buildings, was deemed to be insufficient to protect this special Island.

The commission’s designation of the Copeland district preceded the town’s adopting of the Cottage City Historic District (although the town had the power to do so earlier), and the regulations promulgated in the Copeland plan district differ in scope and magnitude from those in the Cottage City district. For example, Copeland district regulations require that “views from abutting properties shall be preserved.” Many of the Victorian homes in the area have porches with views over abutting properties to parks and Vineyard Sound, which could be obstructed without this protection and thereby significantly alter Morris Copeland’s intention.

Consequently the MVC broad neighborhood and regional perspective considers an important design feature which local historic regulation does not have the power to protect. The local commission reviews each building proposal for its singular component of window style, exterior material, etc.

At one time in its history Oak Bluffs had a devastating fire. Would we not be far better off having the MVC broad power of protection supported by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in the event that a developer bought streets wholesale and attempted to rebuild an entire neighborhood out of character with its history? Should we now remove this protection for the shortsighted interests of a few local power brokers in town? If there is a concern over too much land use regulation, it would be better to rescind the Cottage City historic district, or at least consider a streamlined permitting process.

The Copeland district today remains worthy of the same protection you afforded it 19 years ago.

Ron Mechur is a real estate appraiser and landscape planner who lives in Oak Bluffs.