CZM Permit Approval Brings ACC of St. John a Step Closer to New Shelter in Coral Bay

The Animal Care Center of St. John is one step closer to building a new state-of-the-art facility in Coral Bay after the Coastal Zone Management Committee approved its major permit application in a move that the non-profit’s architect said is a dream come true.

The permit comes with 11 conditions, including a noise study, noise monitoring protocol, regular noise assessments, and a buffer of native vegetation around the dog run to address concerns about barking that were expressed at public hearings prior to Tuesday’s decision meeting.

However, the project has also garnered considerable support, with 500 people signing a petition in favor of the development when the public hearing to rezone the property from residential low density, or R-2, to business secondary/neighborhood, or B-2, was held in October 2020.

“It’s been a dream to have this happen and we’re looking forward to making it happen,” architect Michael Milne of Barefoot Design Group told the committee, which voted unanimously to approve the permit. “It’s a very much-needed facility.”