Editor's note: This is a copy sent to the Source of another letter sent to the governor regarding the rezoning of Botany Bay.
Dear Source,
I urge you [Gov. Turnbull] to veto No. 24-0199 and to consider the recommendations given by the Department of Planning and Natural Resources and by the many who testified, non-profit civic associations and professional biologists, during recent public hearings about Estate Botany Bay. The recommendation of a variance with conditions was met with some satisfaction by the parties involved , including a review by the developers. However, the Senate with a single vote decided the fate of this culturally rich and environmentally pristine area for development without adequate safeguards.
Your decision in favor of a variance with conditions is a true balance of preserving irreplaceable natural and cultural Virgin Islands resources with development.
Botany Bay contains two archeological sites which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with other important sites that are known yet to be discovered. Without a complete comprehensive archaeological study, which should include a Phase 1 up to a Phase 3 study, we might do irreversible damage to the few remnants of our ancestors.
I implore you as a historian to follow the recommendations of the State Historic Preservation Office and National Trust/Historic Preservation Southern Region Office. An Archaeological and Historic Sites Management Plan must be a prerequisite before any development is to take place. As stated to you by the National Historic Trust in a letter dated Dec. 6, 2001, "We believe that resources of this quality and scarcity demand active cultural resource management. We further believe that areas to [be] managed should be delineated with boundaries concurrent with existing National Register boundaries that define areas on or eligible for the National Register in cases of unlisted properties or areas where existing boundaries could be expanded."
I again urge you to reject the rezoning bill No. 24-0199 for a more constructive and balanced approach in this Area of Particular Concern of Botany Bay for future generations.
Jason Budsan
Board member, St. Thomas Historic Trust
St. Thomas
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