After several weeks of dormancy, the Camp Arawak land exchange proposal between the V.I. government and Beal Aerospace has sprung back to life — with the help of more than a few attorneys.
In a four-page press release Monday, Beal officials touted findings of company lawyers, including a "prestigious Washington, D.C. law firm," that the proposed land swap is legal. Those findings were presented to senators and, reportedly, Government House officials in meetings Monday on St. Thomas.
Senate President Vargrave Richards did not return calls concerning the meeting. Beal’s director of corporate affairs, Wade Gates, could not be reached for comment either.
Beal’s pronouncement was met with skepticism by St. Croix attorney and former St. Croix Environmental Association board member Andrew Simpson.
"Our courts make decisions based upon law, not press releases," said Simpson, in a SEA release. "And they are not easily fooled."
SEA, area residents and at least one V.I. senator have vowed to take Beal and the government to court if the Senate okays the land swap.
At issue is Texas-based Beal’s proposal to have the government exchange 14.5 acres of land, once the home of a youth camp called Camp Arawak, for approximately 15 acres of land Beal owns in Estates Whim and Grange Hill.
Beal needs the Camp Arawak land for a portion of a parking lot, part of its proposed $57-million world headquarters and rocket assembly plant near Great Pond Bay on St. Croix’s rural southeast shore. The 340,000-square-foot building would be the largest single structure in the Eastern Caribbean.
The sticking point in the exchange is that the Camp Arawak land was deeded to the V.I. government in 1974 for "the express and direct purpose of beach, park and other public recreational use."
Beal said an analysis done by its lawyers, who include Marise James of St. Croix and St. Thomas attorneys Daryl Dodson, Marjorie Roberts and Adriane Dudley, corrects "erroneous" information presented to the Legislature by its legal counsel, Yvonne Tharpe.
Contested issues include whether the government’s interest in the property has already terminated, or whether the heirs of the land's donor, Frank Wiesner, have the power to terminate the deed. Also, Beal’s lawyers contend that if Wiesner’s gift was a charitable trust, then the Legislature has the power to authorize the exchange of properties within the trust.
"Based on this detailed review of case law, statuary law and the facts surrounding the Wiesner property, we disagree with the conclusions of the revised memorandum presented to the Legislature," James said. "Therefore, we submit to the Legislatur
e that there are no legal barriers to the proposed exchange…"
Several other issues were raised in the legal analysis sent to the Legislature by Beal’s lawyers, including the Washington-based Jenkens & Gilchrist.
- Beal’s lawyers claim the land in the swap do not fall under the public trust doctrine, therefore the Coastal Zone Management Act applies to the development of the property.
- V.I. law permits the land exchange as long as the proposed use is consistent with the CZM Act.
- Company lawyers contend that the exchange would not impair the public’s right to use Great Pond Bay.
SEA and Simpson, meanwhile, discounted Beal’s legal arguments. Simpson said the public trust doctrine has been extended over the years to cover such things as parks.
As for Camp Arawak, SEA argues that while assets in a trust, such as stocks and bonds, can be exchanged to enhance the trust's income, that does not apply to land specified for a particular use.
SEA said the government did use the land as prescribed in the deed, until Hurricane Hugo damaged buildings.
The organization also said the CZM Act is in addition to, not to the exclusion of, the public trust doctrine and that the exchange would impair the public’s right to use the shoreline.
