Oak Bluffs selectmen last week voted to begin the process of possibly eliminating the Copeland Plan district, an architectural district of critical planning concern (DCPC) which is regulated by a review board and encompasses several historic areas of town, including Ocean Park, the North Bluff and Waban Park.

The district was designated as a district of critical planning concern (DCPC) in 1991 to “preserve and protect the cultural continuity of the district by preservation of its architectural integrity and parkscapes.” The Copeland district review board was established at the same time and has the power to review architectural plans for new construction, limit the height of construction to 50 feet and restrict demolition.

The proposal to eliminate the district was brought to selectmen last week by David Wilson and Renee Balter, both members of the Cottage City Historic Commission.

Ms. Balter said the authority of the Copeland review board is largely duplicated by the historic commission, which often forces applicants to go through the same review process twice. “To put them through the same process twice to get the same outcome seems unfair,” she said.

Ms. Balter said the Copeland review board only considers applications when they are referred by the town building official. As a result the board does not meet on a regular basis and often goes long stretches without reviewing applications. She said the historic commission meets on a regular basis and automatically reviews applications for most construction projects within the district.

Mr. Wilson argued there is no longer a need for the Copeland review board.

“There was a need 10 years ago, when there was no historic commission and no protection at all,” he said.

Selectman Kathy Burton, also a member of the historic commission, said the two boards are a source of tension among some applicants. “I have seen the complete frustration from applicants who have to go through both processes. It’s a very difficult and tedious process,” she said.

But selectman Kerry Scott, a member of the Copeland review board, argued against eliminating the DCPC.

“I am perturbed by this . . . that the historic commission wants to eliminate another review process. We need to ask ourselves, does the [district of critical planning concern] offer more protection than the Cottage City historic commission? To me the answer is clearly yes,” she said.

Ms. Balter said the Copeland District review process is rarely triggered. “The [Copeland] process is so inexact, everything is left to the building official, while the historic commission is regulated by a state law. It has regular meetings and an exact formula for the makeup of the commission . . . it’s a precise process,” she said.

Ms. Scott said instead of eliminating the district, the town should improve the Copeland review process.

“I think this process has been handled in a shameful manner in recent years. We have not done a good job identifying the projects that should be reviewed, and we can do better,” she said.

In the end the board voted 3-0 to refer the proposal to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, with Ms. Scott and Ms. Burton abstaining.

The Cottage City historic district was unanimously approved by Oak Bluffs voters at the 2003 annual town meeting. At the time many townspeople were worried that low interest rates, a new sewer system and a surge in real estate values would lead to a renovation boom that could mar the town’s singular turn of the century architectural legacy.

The district embraces 75 acres downtown, including the North Bluff and the corridor between Circuit and Sea View avenues. The district includes 386 houses and 12 parks and covers the Copeland District, named after Morris Copeland, the designer who laid out the system of curving streets and parks in 1871.

The neighborhood is thought to be one of the first planned communities in the country. Its meandering streets and small parks bear the influence of Frederick Law Olmstead, who designed Central Park. Visitors who once walked the neighborhood included President Grant, Alexander Graham Bell and Oliver Wendell Holmes.

The historic commission primarily regulates exterior work that can be viewed from a public way. The commission established rules allowing for things like new houses to be set closer to the street, towers to be built that exceed height restrictions and lower porch railings.

The Copeland Review board is able to consider more abstract factors such as aesthetics and viewscapes; and because it is a DCPC, created under the auspices of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, it has more legal strength.

And while the two districts overlap, each also includes sections of town the other does not.

Oak Bluffs town administrator Michael Dutton sent a letter to the commission on Sept. 11 asking the MVC to hold a public hearing on the issue and make a recommendation to the town in time for the next town meeting.

Jo-Ann Taylor, the DCPC coordinator for the commission, said the commission will discuss the request in the coming weeks and decide whether to hold a public hearing. If the commission votes to rescind the Copeland district, the proposal will then go back to voters for final approval at town meeting, she said.

MVC executive director Mark London said this marks the first time to his knowledge that a town has tried to eliminate a district of critical planning concern. He said the Copeland review board does provide protection the historic commission does not.

“The decision of the [district of critical planning concern] review board will survive just about any legal challenge,” Mr. London said.