A professional planner who has experience with islands and small towns will be the next executive director of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission.

Adam Turner, town planner for Colchester, Conn., will replace Mark London this August as head of the regional planning agency.

“It’s going to be a very interesting job,” Mr. Turner told the Gazette by phone Tuesday. “All of the issues are very attractive to me as well as being a part of the community.”

The commission voted unanimously to offer Mr. Turner the job at a meeting last Thursday, following public interviews with all four finalists.

Terms of a contract, including salary, will be negotiated in the coming weeks.

Mr. Turner, a Connecticut native, holds a master’s degree in urban planning and previously served as senior policy advisor in the Northern Mariana Islands governor’s office. During his three decades in the planning field, he’s managed up to 150 employees, developed land use plans, written regulations, and secured grant funding in the public and private sectors.

Since 2007, he has served as the Colchester town planner, where he has helped preserve open space for agriculture, expand infrastructure and restore environmental resources, he told commissioners during his interview.

In comparing the Vineyard to Colchester, Mr. Turner said Tuesday that both communities are concerned with protecting their rural and historic character. “We are focused on the same kind of character issues but on a smaller scale,” he said.

Before voting to select him as the next person to lead the MVC, commissioners noted his varied experience, but said it was his enthusiasm and charisma that tipped the scales.

“He was like a kid,” said commissioner James Vercruysse. “He was almost coming out of his chair with excitement about the opportunity to be here and to work with the Island.”

After his interview, Mr. Turner lingered in the meeting room, shaking hands and chatting with the commissioners.

“I am sure how everybody noticed how he hung around and thanked everybody,” said commissioner James Joyce.

Originally, there were 33 applicants for the position; after screening and interviewing some of the candidates, an eight-member search committee recommended four finalists to the full commission.

During hour-and-fifteen minute interviews on Wednesday and Thursday last week, they spoke about their experience in land use planning and management style.

After eliminating two other finalists during deliberations, commissioners seemed divided over the remaining front runners: Mr. Turner and Bradford Washburn, assistant director of the state Office of Coastal Zone Management.

In a straw vote taken before the official vote, six commissioners endorsed Mr. Turner and five supported Mr. Washburn.

Those who advocated for Mr. Washburn, the younger of the two candidates, cited his experience in coastal planning and grant writing and his concise, articulate answers to interview questions.

“I respect the wisdom that comes with experience but feel that someone with his energy would be able to bring a new perspective to the MVC,” said commissioner Josh Goldstein. “I really felt from his statements he was ready to invest in this.”

But others favored Mr. Turner.

Commissioner John Breckenridge said he would build trust among community members, and pointed to an example Mr. Turner gave during his interview. As town planner in Colchester, Mr. Turner had been charged with cleaning up a large junkyard which bordered a wetlands area.

Working with the junkyard’s 90-year-old owner required sensitivity, Mr. Turner told the commission. “He was giving up something that was dear to him, but we were patient, and we finally did clean it up,” he said.

Leonard Jason Jr. agreed that he thought Mr. Turner would listen to the community.

“He struck me as a man who could build consensus through listening,” Mr. Jason said.

On Tuesday Mr. Turner said he would start the job by listening to community members and attending government meetings.

“I want to talk to the leadership and all the stakeholders and try to understand where they think attention needs to be paid,” he said. When he’s had a chance to get his “feet on the ground,” he said he’d begin to identify areas where he’d like to focus his attention.

Mr. Turner is married with two daughters who are five and eight.

On Tuesday, he said his family was excited about moving to the Island, a place they have visited before.

“Living in a community was one of the attractive parts for me,” he said.