The Virginia Marine Resources Commission will consider a proposal next week from the Island Seafood owner to install 700 floating oyster cages in the waters off Gwynn’s Island.

A permit for the controversial proposal, which is opposed by a large number of residents (with currently more than 100 letters of protest on file), will be heard at Tuesday’s VMRC meeting, which begins at 9:30 a.m. in its fourth-floor offices at 2600 Washington Avenue, Newport News.

The business was already granted a rezoning of a residential parcel to business use by the Mathews County Board of Supervisors, making VMRC approval the last step in the process.

In addition to the letters, membership in the “Save the Haven” group opposing the project has swelled to more than 250 people in the form of a petition aimed at stopping the project.

The group, which is officially named Save the Haven LLC, started a website (savethehaven.org) to further its message and has been countered with a we...