www.KeepOurPlace.com exists to encourage and facilitate closer study and awareness of the “Other 50%” of Block Island, the half of the island that is not in conservancy.

The reason to do so is that the Other 50% is changing quite rapidly, and not always in ways that are in keeping with what we might like. Some of the proposed changes are flagrant. Indeed, when faced with possibilities like Champlin’s marina or Seawinds, the island itself cries out in pain and the community arises as one to protect it. Meanwhile, year in and year out, a dozen or so new houses go up. The majority, KeepOurPlace.com believes, bring a smile to the face of the island. They are vigorous designs, but wholly in keeping. Their owners have every right to be proud of them.

As the island fills up, however, doing it right gets more challenging. The next $100 million of development will be decisive. Done right, and we are blessed with our established island architects who know how to do it right, the island will continue to deserve its place as one of the last twelve great ones. Done willy-nilly, it risks joining so many mainland communities that are now asking themselves, “How did we let this happen to our community?”

Tomorrow: Wholly in Keeping. Says Who?