Lawmakers were frustrated by a lack of cohesion between government enforcement divisions during a Senate Homeland Security, Justice and Public Safety hearing on Tuesday afternoon.
The committee received testimony from multiple government agencies and representatives from Emerald Beach Resort, who aired concerns about illegal activities at territory beaches, including unlawful camping, unlicensed vendors, and unsafe watercraft.
Marlon Hibbert, director of the Department of Planning and Natural Resources Coastal Zone Management Division, set the stage by testifying that the root cause of the territory’s problems stemmed from a misinterpretation of the U.S. Virgin Islands’ Open Shorelines Act.
“Contrary to public belief, [the Act] does not convey all beach areas to the government of the Virgin Islands, nor does it state that all beaches are public,” he said. “In the St. Croix district, the misinterpretation of the law has caused people to trespass on private land, erect structures in the name of camping and, when approached, tell our enforcement teams that all beaches are public, and they are free to camp on them.”
DPNR has posted notices on illegally-built structures in Frederiksted and private property owners have filed trespassing reports. The department and its partner agencies have removed illegal structures, Hibbert said, “but only to have them reconstructed weeks later by some of the same individuals.”
Hibbert said the department is now seeking assistance from the V.I. Justice Department for court approval to remove the structures by court order — and arrest anyone who violates that order.
“It’s unfortunate that we must resort to these measures,” he said. “However, we no longer have any choice but to exercise our powers to the full extent of the law.”
The problem is taking a different shape on St. Thomas, where businesses are either exceeding the permissions granted to them or operating without any approval at all, according to multiple testifiers.
Representatives from the Emerald Beach Resort shared a video and slideshow presentation outlining concerns, including noise pollution, waste management, unlicensed vendors, threats to hotel staff and watercraft operating at high speeds within swimming areas. Emerald Beach Managing Directors Joel Kling and Michelle Felder, who shared the resort’s presentation, said multiple attempts to request government intervention haven’t been successful because the relevant agencies either have limited enforcement capabilities or limited training.
During several hours of testimony and questioning, Senate Majority Leader Kenneth Gittens and the committee chair repeatedly decried the hazardous environment and, at one point, shared a video clip from the blaze that engulfed the vacant Beachcomber Hotel in February.
“What are we going to wait for,” he asked. “For somebody to get killed, for somebody to get seriously damaged? That fire that took place could have caught to a guest bedroom with people inside there. What would we have said as a government, having full knowledge of what’s taking place down there?”
Lawmakers spent much of Tuesday afternoon’s discussion unraveling the Byzantine permitting process that led one Lindbergh Bay Beach vendor — initially permitted to set out beach chairs and umbrellas — to begin operating as a restaurant.
After probing questions from Sen. Donna Frett-Gregory and others, Licensing and Consumer Affairs Assistant Commissioner Horace Graham said the vendor entered into a lease agreement with the Sports, Parks, and Recreation Department, which did not permit selling food or drinks. The vendor then sought and obtained restaurant and tavern keeper licenses from DLCA. The vendor’s booth also passed a Health Department inspection — even though DPNR’s Hibbert confirmed, the structure itself was built illegally.
The dispute between the vendor and the Virgin Islands government is currently wending its way through V.I. Superior Court.
Questioning of the testifiers ended with a blunt assessment from Gittens, who addressed the enforcement arms of DPNR, DLCA, the Health Department and the Sports, Parks and Recreation Department.
“You have all failed — failed to faithfully perform your official duties and responsibilities outlined to you in the Virgin Islands Code,” he said. “And that said, I could only refer to it as neglect of duty or malfeasance in office. That’s exactly what took place.”
Gittens reiterated his call for the agencies to collaborate and take action before someone ends up injured or worse.
Sens. Kenneth L. Gittens, Novelle E. Francis Jr., Donna Frett-Gregory, Dwayne M. DeGraff, Ray Fonseca, Angel Bolques Jr., Milton Potter, Javan James Sr., Alma Francis-Heyliger and Carla J. Joseph attended Tuesday’s hearing.
