The League of Women Voters has raised questions on several fronts concerning Public Works’ proposal to fill a portion of the Charlotte Amalie Harbor in order to widen the Veterans Drive/Waterfront Highway.
The project requires a Coastal Zone Management permit from the local government as well as approval from the federal Army Corps of Engineers. CZM held a public hearing July 15. Procedures call for CZM staff to make recommendations to the CZM citizen’s committee and for the committee to make a decision about the permit within 30 days of the hearing.
Some of the League’s concerns are environmental but others involve funding and administrative issues.
In a letter addressed to CZM Director Jean-Pierre Oriol, League President Gwen Marie Moolenaar poses five questions:
– What is the plan for managing traffic on the waterfront during the project?
– Has an independent study been done to determine if the southern side of Hassell Island is suitable for the coral and sea grasses that are to be transplanted there?
– Has a study been done to determine the impact on the water currents/movements due to the change in shape of the harbor by this project?
– What is the projected duration of the project?
– Is there indeed a reliable federal funding source from project inception to end to avoid a prolonged project duration that would inflict further distress to the public?
Moolenaar says the League would be pleased to meet with Oriol to discuss their concerns.
The relocation of coral and sea grasses is also a concern of the Division of Fish and Wildlife, a “cousin” agency to CZM; both are within the Department of Planning and Natural Resources.
An April 2014 letter in the voluminous file on the project from Fish and Wildlife Director Roy A. Pemberton Jr. to Oriol notes that Public Works says the fill will impact 1.072 acres of sea grass and 1.446 acres of coral. “A plan for evaluating the success of the relocations should be submitted, with alternative measures” to be implemented if the relocation isn’t successful, he wrote.
Pemberton also wants Public Works to justify the use of 100 feet of fill to create scenic lookouts into the harbor as well as a promenade on fill by the Legislature building.
Public Works Commissioner Darryl Smalls has not said how much the entire project is expected to cost. However, the administration is seeking to borrow $40 million against future federal highway grants just for Phase I of the project, from Lover’s Lane westward to the Legislature building. The entire project involves fill in a 45-foot width (more for the lookouts) for a stretch 1.28 miles long, bordering the main business district all the way west to the Windward Passage hotel.
The project has received support from some community groups as a way to alleviate traffic congestion that is choking the downtown area while enhancing aesthetics and preserving the historic Legislative building and nearby Fort Christian.
Moolenaar was off-island this week but said she does not expect a response yet to her letter because Oriol is on leave.
