Senate Rejects Summer’s End Marina Permit Extension Amid Accusations of Bypassing CZM and Violating Virgin Islands Law

Tears, accusations of slander, threats of litigation, allegations that local laws were circumvented, and assertions of “manufactured” urgency punctuated what could have been a brief discussion in the Committee of the Whole on Thursday.  Instead, the atmosphere in the legislative chamber grew more contentious with each testimony – 9 in total. Up for discussion was Bill 36-0145, an act ratifying Governor Albert Bryan's approval of the Modification and Extension of Consolidated Major Coastal Zone Management Permit Nos. CZJ-04-14 (W) and CZJ-03-14 (L). The permittee in question is the Summer's End Group, LLC, the developers behind the Summer’s End Marina project.  Expected to be the first marina on St. John, the project commenced over a decade ago, but no shovel has yet hit the ground. Instead, the Summer’s End Group had been occupied with permitting, environmental assessments, reengineering the project’s scope, lawsuits from project opponents, and property disputes. Bill 36-0145 notes t...