CZM Approves Public Works Reconstruction for St. John; Solar System for Lovango Resort & Beach Club

St. John will see progress in its continuing recovery efforts from hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. A major permit to rebuild the Public Works maintenance facility was approved on Monday by the island’s Coastal Zone Management Board.

Board members also agreed to allow a modification to the development plans for Lovango Cay. The owner of a resort being built there asked permission to add a solar energy system with battery storage. Because Monday’s session was a CZM decision meeting, most of the detailed discussion had already taken place. Department of Planning and Natural Resource Coastal Zone Management Director Marlon Hibbert offered staff recommendations for each project prior to board members taking votes. Both measures passed without objections; special conditions were added to each project.

The Public Works project calls for demolition and reconstruction of government property located in Estate Susannaberg to include the administrative office, maintenance building, V.I. Transit (VITRAN) headquarters and recycling facility. Commissioners Raef Boulon, Elissa Runyon, and Kurt Marsh Jr. joined St. John CZM Chair Andrew Penn in voting to approve. “So, gentlemen of the Public Works, I promise to approve, and you’re all set to begin,” Hibbert said following the vote. The director stressed the importance of observing the 14 special conditions added to the project, including one to secure all construction debris prior to the onset of any weather emergency.