Letter to the Daily News

This is an open letter to the Board of Land Use Appeals (BLUA) and the people of the Virgin Islands:

We are approaching a very important day for the island of St. Thomas. I am referring to Wednesday, September 22. On this day, there will be an appeals hearing in front of BLUA with regard to the permit DENIED by CZM for the development of the Port of Mandahl. As we saw at these hearings, the people of the Virgin Islands rallied to show their disapproval of this development, with a full house and hours of testimony begging to SAVE MANDAHL BAY. It was a hard fought victory when CZM denied these permits, but the developer would still like to proceed with his plans. And with the appeals process ready to be heard, this fight is far from over.
You may look at my writing of this letter as very selfish, or you may look at it as completely unselfish and an effort to protect the Virgin Islands. The truth is likely somewhere in the middle. I say this because I live above Mandahl Pond. I spend a lot of time down there. I use the area on a regular basis. Of course I do not want it developed in such a fashion, it would be a travesty. But I have also seen the desires of the people, and they do not want it developed either. If you want to see more about the area, I highly encourage you to view the following video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7om-9NpXxA

It is my hope that the people of the Virgin Islands will take the time to read the issues below. There are many reasons that CZM denied the permits for development of the area, and these are summarized below. As for the members of BLUA, I hope you will fully understand the reasoning for denial, and more importantly, answer the call of the people of the island who you represent.

Purpose of the original Lease:
The bulk of the land which the developer proposes for commercial and residential use was leased for the purposes of providing support for the development of Hans Lollick in the 1960’s. The developer has emphatically claimed that there is no link between this property and the owners of Hans Lollick. Since it is no longer linked to Hans Lollick, the developer is proposing to use the land for a purpose other than that of the lease.

Water Runoff effect on Mandahl Bay:
You may already be aware that Mandahl pond was originally a salt pond without exposure to the surrounding Bay. It was opened to the bay many years ago by the original leaseholder. However, it still functions to catch the runoff from the surrounding hills. By allowing the developer to alter the access to the pond and open it more to the bay, it will have severe negative effects on the surrounding bay from water runoff.

Effects upon wildlife and land around Mandahl Bay:
The developer proposes to make significant changes to the land and access to the area. He intends to clear and fill approximately 90% of the land owned by the Virgin Islands. We will never be able to change this back to its current state. Equally important is the negative effect it will have on our wildlife, trees, shrubs, plants, etc… The job of CZM is to PROTECT, MAINTAIN, and PRESERVE such lands, while also ENHANCE and RESTORE.

Effect upon surrounding residents:
The devastating effect upon the surrounding neighbors is undeniable. The first thing I do when I awake in the morning is to go out to my porch overlooking Mandahl Pond. I bought my home specifically because of the views and location to this undeveloped area of land owned by the people of the Virgin Islands. We, as residents, have the right to minimal alteration of the land and coastal areas, and this proposal drastically alters the coastal areas to the detriment of those above and around it.

The other major worry is with regard to sound and light. The noise from all of the air conditioners, reverse osmosis plant, waste treatment, generator, and boat traffic will result in unbearable noise to the surrounding residents. The entire hillside acts as a natural amphitheatre, to the degree that I can often hear two people speaking on a boat below. Throw in hundreds of more residents and their cars, and the noise and light pollution will be intolerable to the surrounding residents.

WAPA and other utilities:
The area of Mandahl has considerable power outages. For example, during EARL, we lost power well before other areas on the island. We did not get power restored until Saturday afternoon, about a week later, which was well after most other places on the island. WAPA has not stated to CZM that they can handle the power loads that will be needed, and the developer is required to prove that power supply will not be an issue.

The issue of waste treatment also gives me significant concern, and it is my understanding that CZM states the developer has not met the requirements to adequately address this issue.

Economic Feasibility:
As the owner of a Real Estate company on the island, it is very obvious to me that this project does not make economic sense. There are countless condominiums on the market that cannot be sold in a very depressed market, where prices have dropped significantly. The market simply cannot handle the supply this would generate. We have already seen other projects approved that are unable to be started because they no longer make economic sense. We have already seen projects that are started and go unfinished, instead being eyesores and a liability to those in the surrounding areas. It just doesn’t make any sense.

General Summary:
It is my sincere hope that BLUA denies the appeal and stops this project once and for all. The Virgin Islands should utilize its land for the people of the Virgin Islands in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Coastal Zone Management. It should not be for the economic benefit of a developer at the expense of the people of the Virgin Islands. Remember, this is proposed for Virgin Islands land. Please listen to the people you represent, and SAVE MANDAHL BAY !!!!!