Do you value living where you know that your home, backyard,and neighborhood can be free of noise, lights, dust, heavy trucks and fumes?

When you bought your home, did you expect that your neighbors would always remain a home, a farm or something you could live with, just like zoning has specified for decades?

If you answered yes to both, be prepared for changes if the Oak Bluffs planning board’s proposed Light Industrial/Mixed Use Overlay Zoning District (LIMOD) passes on April 9.

I am a seasonal resident, having first set foot on the Vineyard in 1957. I am also a professional planner who has worked for small towns like Oak Bluffs on zoning projects for almost 50 years. My daughter and her family are full time residents, but even before she was born and drawn to the Island, I learned about the great planning work going on here as the Vineyard was ahead of so many other communities when it came to balancing conservation and development. The Vineyard became a model for other places, including my home in the Hudson Valley of New York.

Residents can ensure Oak Bluffs remains mostly residential by voting to reject the LIMOD. Oak Bluffs’ master plan policy is for established residential areas to be protected from things like industry. Here are some questions to consider:

1. Will increased industrial activities near hundreds of homes create environ mental impacts like noise, lighting, dust, and big heavy trucks. Once allowed, mining will be around for 100 years or more.

2. What are the economic effects on tourism and second-homes from industrialization of the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven corridor?

3. What are the costs of road construction, improvement, and repair needed by heavy trucking and who pays for it?

4. Who pays for water treatment when groundwater is contaminated by mining? The rules in Section 8.6.3 allow LIMOD to supersede Water Resource Area Overlay District rules.

5. Will the Planning Board protect you from mining impacts? Section 8.6.7 states the Planning Board can “consider” limiting dust, odors, noise and lighting when issuing approvals; but how do you limit impacts integral to mining?

6. What happens if residential areas are no longer desirable due to mining’s impacts and homes go down in value?

Ask yourself, will you be better off with more heavy industry in Oak Bluffs? If your answer is no, then don’t forget to vote no on April 9.

Ted Fink

Rhinebeck, N.Y.