Marriott Frenchman's Reef's proposed timeshare development met universal opposition from neighboring homeowners at a zoning hearing Tuesday night.
A proposed development expansion at Cabrita Point and a request for a restaurant off Raphune Hill also fared poorly.
In addition to staff from the Planning and Natural Resources Department and representatives of the individuals or businesses requesting the zoning changes, about 30 people attended the three-hour hearing.
Many testified against Marriott's request to rezone six acres from R-1 to R-3 to build 234 two-bedroom timeshare units in several buildings, including some that would be six stories high. The project would be on a 10-acre hillside site just north of the existing hotel; part of that land already is zoned R-3.
Resident Chris Hansen said the development would "ruin the neighborhood" and "destroy the peace and tranquility that we now enjoy."
"There is no demonstrated need for timeshare units," said another resident, attorney Alexandra Bartsch. "This is just an attempt by Marriott to increase their profits at the expense of the neighborhood."
Dr. Wilbur Callender, in a letter read into the record by attorney Judith Bourne, said the Reef has been a good neighbor to him and he'd like to support the project, but he can't. "My home is my investment" and the view from it figures into its appraisal. Without the view, the property value decreases.
Several people who testified sounded similar themes about the view and about declining property values.
Attorney Alan Smith, representing two other residents, questioned whether the portion of the site zoned R-1 had been purposely zoned at a lower density to provide a green belt or buffer zone between the existing hotel and other, residential, property owners.
Speaking on behalf of the League of Women Voters, Colette Monroe expanded the concerns outside the neighborhood. She cited traffic congestion problems that could back up as far as Mandela Circle and said the development would alter the view not only of the harbor but from the harbor, with cruise ship passengers seeing not a green hillside, but six story buildings.
Nick Pourzal, longtime former managing director of the hotel and owner of much of the surrounding property, said he did not oppose the project but warned that the two-bedroom units could be subdivided in the future and thus increase the population density.
Not so, according to attorney George Dudley, who said the law would not permit it. He and attorney Henry Feuerzeig represented Marriott affiliate MIFR (Virgin Islands) Inc., the entity that applied for the zoning change. Also speaking for the resort was John Kennedy, Marriott's director of planning and development.
They said they are willing to work with area residents to mitigate the impact of the project and noted that the project needs approval from Coastal Zone Management to proceed. CZM will not allow some of the horrors residents may fear, such as a "wall of six-story buildings" along the ridge, Dudley said.
Kennedy said the project will be constructed in phases, adding, "It could be a five-year development." The number of units proposed is roughly two-thirds of the density allowed under an R-3 zoning, and the project as now conceived reserves 58 percent of the area as open space; the law requires only 35 percent.
However, he said the design is not finalized and it can be modified to meet objections and concerns.
"We're not an evil developer," Kennedy said. "We're Marriott."
The Cabrita Point zoning request is by Cabrita Point Development Inc. Speaking for it were Joseph Hodge, president and authorized agent, and James Bernier, chief engineer. They want to rezone about 5.5 acres in three parcels adjacent to the existing Cabrita Point condominium development.
Hodge said he wants to put in a small marina capable of handling boats with a five- to six-foot draft, a conference center for 50-55 people and condominium units.
The proposal, he said, does not tie into the next-door expansion project by the Ritz-Carlton.
"This design was on the board from 1993-'94," Hodge said. "This is independent and always has been independent."
Bernier pegged the cost of the project at $800,000 and said the marina will not require any dredging.
Opponents cited road congestion, overcrowding and destruction of wildlife habitats as dangers the project poses.
In his bid for a zoning change, Roy Anduze said his family home across from the Wheatley Shopping Center "is no longer suitable for use as a residence" because of the changing neighborhood.
But his closest neighbors, Robert and Luz Moron, disagreed. They said turning it into a restaurant would increase traffic and noise. Besides, they said, Anduze or a subsequent owner might use the requested B-2 zoning designation to put in something else allowed in that category.
Sue Higgins, who chaired the hearings for DPNR, asked Anduze if he would accept a variance rather than a zoning change. With a variance he would be restricted to the stated use of the property, that of a restaurant.
"I see no reasonable grounds" for a variance rather than a zoning change, Anduze said.
A fourth request heard Tuesday night came from Casey Smith who wants to rezone portions of Estate Bovoni and Frenchman's Bay so he can run a computer-repair service, auto-security installation and apparel-printing business out of his home. "I have no intention of selling the land," he testified.
