The St. Thomas Historic Preservation Commission is challenging the legality of the roof being built over the deck of Manno's Restaurant in the Fort Christian parking lot.
Commission member Philip Sturm said the six-member commission twice turned down Manno's owner, Egbert Stuart, last year when he sought approval to build the roof, the Independent reported Saturday.
Construction in the islands' historic districts must be approved by each island's Historic Preservation Commission before a building permit can be issued.
"One of the reasons the HPC turned down the request is that we believe that the deck, which was constructed in 1996, over which the roofing is being constructed, is also illegal, having received neither HPC approval nor a building permit before it was built," Sturm said. "Stuart's request was denied because it is against the policy of the commission to approve additions to an illegal structure such as the deck at Manno's."
Somehow, however, the Planning and Natural Resources Department issued Stuart a building permit for the roof in early December even though he didn't have HPC approval for it, the paper reported. But that permit was revoked Dec. 30 and the department is seeking a stop-work order to force Stuart to remove the portion of the roof already built, according to Manny Ramos, director of permits.
PNR's Dec. 30 order says that the building permit was "issued in error and is hereby revoked." It explains that the PNR commissioner can revoke any permit issued on the basis of misrepresentations in the original application.
"The misrepresentation is the application stated that the building permit was for roof repair," Ramos told the Independent. "This is not the case."
Stuart declined to respond to the Independent's request for comment.
Ramos said PNR officials will meet with Stuart soon, and Sturm noted that Stuart can appeal the Historic Preservation Commission's ruling to the Board of Land-Use Appeals.
