Jan. 23, 2002 – While most of the people speaking Wednesday at a St. John Coastal Zone Management Committee hearing on the Pond Bay Club's application to build a condominium project at Chocolate Hole opposed the development, a few were in favor.
Supporters called it hypocritical that the naysayers, many of whom live in large homes in the Chocolate Hole and adjacent Great Cruz Bay areas, would try to block the condo project while their own homes put stress on the environment and infrastructure.
"When you come here and build your monster houses, you, too, are destroying the infrastructure," Lorelei Monsanto said as the nearly 100 people who overflowed the Legislature Building listened. Two police officers also listened, apparently on duty in case anyone present got rowdy. A group of residents opposing the project had paid for advertising that encouraged residents to make their views known at the meeting.
Licensing and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Andrew Rutnik said it was a matter of fairness that the Pond Bay Club go forward, provided it meets environmental standards set by the CZM. Rutnik, a St. John resident, said he was representing Gov. Charles W. Turnbull at the hearing. He said the governor favors the project and has faith the CZM will make sure it doesn't harm the environment.
Bob Hart suggested that since the project would have an immediate impact on the neighborhood, that it be built in stages. If the developer proved he was a good neighbor after building the first half, he would be allowed to build the second half.
The developer, First American Development Group/Carib Limited Partnership, first tried to get a CZM permit in 2001. After residents picked its plans apart, the company withdrew its application.
The new plan scales down the project's footprint by nearly 14 percent. The number of units was reduced to 56 from 62, the number of bedrooms cut to 162 from 180 and the number of parking spaces cut to 121 from 132. The project covers 56,759 square feet of beachfront property. The beachfront setback was increased to 60 feet from 50 feet, and a planned three-story building was eliminated.
"We worked long and hard to get where we are today," said Bob Emmett, the project's managing director and a principal in First American Development Group.
Neighbors of the planned project said they didn't think the scaling back was sufficient. "Chocolate Hole is a most beautiful site. It will all be gone," Great Cruz Bay resident Walt Trillhaase said. He said he does not snorkel in Great Cruz Bay, home to the Westin Resort, because of pollution.
Many concerns about sewage were expressed. The developers plan to pipe treated sewage and brine from the desalinization plant 1,500 feet out from the shore. "It's still within the mouth of the bay," Bob Ingham pointed out.
Residents were concerned about the one-day storage capacity of the sewage tank. They expressed fears that if the sewage treatment plant were to break down for more than a day, the sewage would go directly into the bay.
The Estate Chocolate Hole Landowners Association had much to say about three parcels in the proposed development that were purchased later than the original lot. Robert Wolf said those parcels come under the landowner's association covenants that prevent commercial use. The developer plans to put a tennis court and parking on those three parcels.
A handful of environmentalists were sandwiched in among the neighbors testifying at the hearing. All opposed the project. "The quality of life of the neighbors must be considered," said Erva Denham, president of the League of Women Voters of the Virgin Islands.
She and others opposed the developer's plan to overhaul the beach by bringing in sand. Several said it would simply wash back out into the bay to smother the coral, which would kill the fish habitat.
The CZM committee will make its decision on the project at 4 p.m. on Feb. 5. The meeting will be held at the Legislature Building in Cruz Bay.
