st.thomas - St. John Tradewinds News

By Jaime Elliott
St. John Tradewinds
Despite the objections of one
committee member, Pond Bay
Club officials got the green light
to commence beach enhancement
on their Chocolate Hole shoreline
at a Friday, December 12, Coastal
Zone Management Committee
meeting at the St. John Legislature
building in Cruz Bay.
In a two to one vote in favor of
adopting CZM staff’s recommendations,
the St. John CZM Committee
approved Pond Bay Club’s
request to reconsider the special
condition barring such activity
which was included in the original
permit.
St. John CZM Committee
members Andrew Penn and Edmund
Roberts voted in favor of
allowing the beach enhancement
project while member Gerry Hills
voted against the proposal.
Special Condition Changed
In Pond Bay Club’s major land
and water use permit, which was
originally issued in January 2007
and revised in August 2007, special
condition 17 specifically
barred any type of beach nourishment
activities from taking place
at the site.
Developers of the luxury fractional
ownership resort requested
CZM officials to reconsider that
condition to allow for removal of
debris, hand-clearing of cobble
stones and coral from the shore,
removing invasive vegetation and
planting native species, and creating
a protected swim area.
In adopting staff’s recommendations,
CZM officials voted to
amend special condition 17 to
read “beach nourishment activities
shall not be undertaken without
first obtaining approval from
the Department of Planning and
Natural Resources, Division of
Coastal Zone Management.”
No Activity Below
High Water Mark
Pond Bay Club officials are not
allowed to install buoys to create
a swim area, as they only got approval
for activities landward of
the mean high water mark. Developers
must consult with the Division
of Fish and Wildlife before
conducting any removal, trimming
or planting of trees, according to
staff’s recommendations.
While Pond Bay Club officials
only requested to clean the shoreline,
it is noted in their proposal
to DPNR that beach replenishment
will likely be needed in the
future.
“It is not anticipated during this
initial phase of beach enhancement
but in all reality will be requested
in the future,” according to Pond
Bay Club’s proposed beach enhancement
plan.
Pond Bay Club developer First
American Development Group/
Carib managing partner Bob Emmett
was pleased with the committee’s
approval.
Trying To Do
the Right Thing
“We’ve always tried to do
things the right way for the project
and the environment,” Emmett
said after the meeting. “The project
was reviewed independently
by staff and they agreed with us.
We’re happy to be able to turn a
bad situation which the beach is in
now, into a positive situation.”
The approval came after Hills
posed numerous questions to Emmett,
Amy Dempsy of BioImpact
and Tracey Roberts of Springline
Architect. Hills questioned Pond
Bay Club’s marketing team advertising
a white sand beach at the
site, which Emmett said was altered
to show a “natural white-ish
yellow” shoreline instead.
Hills also pressed the developers’
representatives about their
sea turtle nesting research, which
Dempsy of BioImpact stated as the
main motivation for hand-clearing
the shoreline.
“If this was such an important
reason to put sand on the beach to
attract sea turtles to nest, why was
this not brought up until now?”
questioned Hills. “I appreciate
your thoughts for the turtles, but
globally it’s of minimal help.”
Removing vegetation, even
non-native species, will undermine
the beach, Hills added.
Undermining the Beach
“Roots of existing vegetation
hold sand in place,” Hills said,
quoting a local marine biologist.
“Roots trap sand and help rebuild
the beach. The beach is currently
in equilibrium.”
Without roots to keep the sand
in place, removing cobble and
stone will result in serious erosion,
explained Hills.
“The prediction by people who
have a history of watching the
beach, including marine biologists,
is that when the first storm
comes the stones will just reappear
and the sand that has been
sifted out will wash into the bay,”
he said. “That is why I proposed to
limit the stone removal to 100 feet
or less and assess its effect through
the winter months to see what the
storm action would do it.”
Hill’s Motion Denied
A motion proposed by Hills to
add a special condition to the approval
requiring analysis of the
stone and coral removal was voted
down by Penn and Roberts.
Acknowledging that the developer
would eventually get approval
of their plan, Hills urged
officials to take into consideration
recommendations from local plant
St. John Tradewinds, December 15-21, 2008 3
St. John CZM Committee Approves Pond Bay Club Beach Enhancement
Bah Humbug — Santa Stolen
By Jaime Elliott
St. John Tradewinds
A rowdy group of six tourists is believed to have
made off with a Christmas decoration from the second
floor of The Marketplace on Sunday evening,
December 7.
After dining at the sushi restaurant Happy Fish, the
tourists — who reportedly were making a spectacle of
themselves during their raw fish meal — unplugged
and walked off with a six-foot tall inflatable Santa
Claus valued at about $100.
Marketplace management advised all villa management
companies to be on the look out for the free
standing ornament.
More than being out the money, the act was a blatant
disregard for the spirit of the season, according to
Marketplace manager Debbie Marsh.
“Those are brand new Christmas decorations and
that one didn’t even make it to Christmas,” said
Marsh. “We were just trying to be festive. It was really
just for the kids.”
If anyone finds the stolen Santa, call Marsh at The
Marketplace at 776-6455.
expert Eleanor Gibney.
“When you get your final approval
from Fish and Wildlife, I’d
like you to at least listen to Eleanor
Gibney’s recommendation,”
Hills said.
The St. John CZM committee
approved the beach enhancement
project despite several letters urging
CZM staff and the St. John
CZM Committee to deny the proposal.
Pond Bay Club’s plan ignores
the area’s designation as an Area
of Particular Concern, according
to Larry Boxerman, who wrote to
CZM on behalf of the 300-member
strong Estate Chocolate Hole
Landowners Association.
Area of Particular Concern
“Under the V.I. CZM Act, Chocolate
Hole/Great Cruz Bay was
designated as an ‘Area of Particular
Concern’ (APC) so that abovenormal
attention could be given
to these areas,” wrote Boxerman.
“The goal was to ensure that the
on-going bay health issues created
by the Westin in Great Cruz Bay
were managed, and that the anticipated
issues expected in the Pond
Bay Club development would be
handled on a pro-active basis.”
“By considering this proposal,
it appears that CZM’s foresight
on the APC designation has been
abandoned,” Boxerman wrote.
Pond Bay Club has long been
planning beach nourishment, according
to a letter written by Attorney
Steven Hogroian on behalf
St. John Tradewinds News Photo by Tom Oat
An inflatable Santa, similar to the
snowmen, above, was stolen from The
Marketplace on December 7.
of James and Carol Furneaux.
Going for a “Caneel Look”
“It is patently apparent that
‘beach nourishment’ has been a
part of First American’s plans
from the start of this project, as the
‘Caneel look’ it seeks to attain can
only be accomplished by a destruction
of the natural beach, to be replaced
by First American’s vision
of its south-shore ‘Caneel,’” wrote
Hogorian. “The plan proposed by
First American is a land grab, and
not undertaken to further the interests
of the residents of St. John
and the Virgin Islands.”
Chocolate Hole beach was never
meant to be sandy, according to
a letter by the League of Women
Voters who also urged CZM to
deny Pond Bay Club’s request.
No Place for Sand
“Any placement of sand on the
beach will be an exercise in futility,”
wrote Helen Gjessing, the
group’s chair. “The beach was
never meant to be sandy. The sand
will be constantly washed out and
replaced by stones, broken coral
and shells.”
“The plan is embellished with
all sorts of proposed activities that
are touted as greatly beneficial to
turtles and sea grass beds and the
local beach goers, when, it appears
to the League, it is a scheme
to get rid of the natural beach cover
and replace it with sand when
the proper time comes to step up
the promotion of sales,” Gjessing
wrote.
INDEX
Business Directory .............24
Church Schedules ..............22
Classified Ads .....................23
Community Calendar .........21
Crossword Puzzle ..............22
Just My Opinion .................12
Ferry Schedules .................22
Historical Bits & Pieces ......15
Letters ...........................16-18
Paws for a Moment ............20
Police Log ......................... 21
Puzzle ................................22
Real Estate ...................25-27
Rhythm & Views .................13
Wha’s Happ’nin’ ...................6
next deadline
thursday, dec. 18th
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340-776-6496
e-mail
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