The permit for the controversial Coral Bay mega-yacht marina will go before the V.I. Legislature’s Committee on Economic Development, Agriculture and Planning for a public hearing on Dec. 17 at the Legislature Building on St. Thomas.
The committee hearing on the permit for the controversial project by The Summert’s End Group, LLC., will be chaired by Sen. Janet Millen-Young, and tentatively is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. although no agenda has been announced.
Governor John P. de Jongh Jr., who promised the territory in his January 2014 State of the Territory address that he would deliver a marina development, signed the St. John Committee of the Virgin Islands Coastal Zone Management (CZM) Commission permit for the 145-slip marina on November 5 which was approved by the committee on October 1 and forwarded it to the V.I. Legislature asking the senators to fast-track their approval of plan. (See related story below.)
“A rental fee of… $194,026.46 per year shall be charged for the use and occupancy of of the submerged land area occupied under this permit,” according to a permit included with the press release from Government House. “Prior to the completion of construction of the permitted marina described in Section ‘2’ of this permit, the permittee shall pay an annual rental fee of $64,027.08, per year for the use and occupancy of the submerged lands as described in Section 2 of this permit.”
“The initial payment under this permit is due upon receipt of the effective permit, and subsequent payments are due on the anniversary of the effective date,” the CZM permit states. “Payments are to be made to the Department of Planning and Natural Resources.”
Under “Special Condition” 7.1. in the CZM permit for the Coral Bay marina “(A)ll applicable Territorial and Federal permits or other necessary approvals must be obtained, prior to commencement of development activities.”