When a situation like Champlin’s or Seawinds arises, there is no ambiguity, because there is no pretense that the proposal is in keeping with any island criteria for appropriateness. Everyone knows in advance that it is totally inappropriate.

In a back-handed way, the same clarity attaches to conservation. Perhaps in the beginning, some might have argued that putting land into conservation would not be in keeping with island tradition, but not any more. Can you imagine someone making a cogent argument that conserving open space is inappropriate? On today’s Block Island, conservation is the very essence of keeping.

Individual houses are in the gray area in between. A house design is neither “totally in keeping” nor “totally out of keeping.” However, KeepOurPlace.com sees certain kinds of houses that are not adequately in keeping with the island. This is not to say, of course, that we would all agree as to exactly which ones they are.

What we might agree on are some of the criteria for evaluating the next $100 million of development on Block Island. In the days ahead, we will look at some potential criteria.

Tomorrow: Theory One:”It’s the tourist experience, stupid.”