Nov. 13, 2008 — A call issued over the past few days by residents on the West End of St. Thomas to stop the installation of a new communications tower in Estate Fortuna did not fall on deaf ears: on Thursday, Department of Planning and Natural Resources officials halted the project after finding that none of the required permits had been posted.
The site on which the tower will be erected is attached to the multipurpose center, a compound in Estate Fortuna shared by V.I. Fire Services and the V.I. Police Department. During a town meeting held over the weekend, about 50 residents living in the area rallied in opposition to the project and circulated a petition calling for the government to stop construction.
The lease for the property is between V.I. Housing Finance Authority and St. Thomas-based Royal Systems LLC, according to government officials. (See "West End Residents Meet to Oppose Communications Tower".
After receiving numerous complaints from West End residents, DPNR inspected the site and saw that crews were already excavating and clearing the property, along with installing footings for a retaining wall. But Housing Finance Authority, as the property owner, had not been issued an earth-change permit allowing for any such work to be conducted, according to a DPNR news release.
Local law requires the approval of an earth-change permit before any property "is cleared, graded, filled or otherwise disturbed for any purpose or use," the release said.
The authority has been ordered to halt the project and must submit an earth-change permit application — which shows whether the tower will have an adverse impact on the surrounding environment — and conduct a meeting with local residents before work can continue.
DPNR Commissioner Robert Mathes praised residents for reporting the development to the department, the release said.
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