The nonprofit that manages the oversand vehicle trails on Chappaquiddick has, for now, made peace with the Edgartown zoning board of appeals in a dispute over the permits needed to allow trucks and SUVs out onto the beach.
Last week, The Trustees of Reservations and the zoning board together told the state Land Court that they wanted to pause their ongoing lawsuit after working out a course of action for the Trustees to file an application with the town.
The court on August 28 agreed to put the case on hold, giving the Trustees until November to apply for a special permit.
The agreement seems to be a step toward cooperation after months of lawsuits and other appeals over the popular oversand vehicle trails along Chappy’s shores.
“The Trustees looks forward to working with the Edgartown zoning board of appeals and planning board collaboratively and in a timely manner to do what is needed and required by town bylaws regarding a special permit,” Trustees spokesperson Mary Dettlof said Tuesday. “Our priority remains ensuring public access and protecting the Chappaquiddick beaches.”
At the heart of the Land Court case was the zoning board’s June ruling that the Trustees needed to go back to the planning board because their original 1990s special permit couldn’t be found.
In June, the zoning board told the Trustees it had one month to apply for a new permit with the planning board, prompting an appeal by the land conservation nonprofit.
Questions over the missing permit began last year, when Cape Pogue landowner Victor Colantonio wrote to the town’s building inspector claiming the Trustees was in violation of the town’s zoning by selling oversand vehicle permits for areas of Cape Pogue that only allow residential activity.
Mr. Colantonio contended that the original application did not seek activities such as tours, kayak rentals and the allowance of thousands of vehicles onto the trails.
Edgartown building inspector Reade Milne said she couldn’t make a ruling on whether the Trustees was breaking the rules because there was no permit to base her decision on.
With no permit, the zoning board determined the Trustees needed to reapply, opening the organization’s activities to additional scrutiny at the planning board.
The Trustees contended it didn’t need another permit and quibbled about the tight timeline to reapply. In their agreement, the Trustees and zoning board said they would have another meeting and co-signed a Nov. 1 application deadline for a new special permit application.
Oversand vehicles on Chappaquiddick have been a contentious topic for years, with Mr. Colantonio and other neighbors charging that the Trustees have poorly managed Chappaquiddick.
The Edgartown conservation commission voted in new vehicle limits this year, which promptly brought legal appeals from the Trustees, which thought the limits were too low, and neighbors, who believed their were too high.
Martin “Skip” Tomassian, the chair of the zoning board declined to comment on the agreement this week.
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