Sept. 25, 2003 – Starting Wednesday, what for decades has been a favorite free parking place at the western end of downtown Charlotte Amalie will be off limits.
Motorists will no longer be allowed to park their vehicles in the vacant lot beside Percy's Bus Stop across from the Seaborne Airlines terminal. And those who do will risk having their vehicles towed at their own expense, according to a Government House release
According to Planning and Natural Resources Commissioner Dean Plaskett, "Parking should never have been allowed there in the first place. It is government land and was never meant to be used for parking.
Unregulated, unmanaged parking lots are often a source of nonpoint source pollution, Plaskett said, referring to pollutants from vehicle fluids that could get washed into the sea in the absence of proper drainage controls. The lot next to Percy’s Bus Stop is submerged land and is prone to flooding, he said.
Plaskett also said that the Public Works Department paved the area "without permission" from DPNR, which he said has leased the land to a tenant. He said the lessee — whom he declined to name — has not complied with an agreement with Planning and Natural Resources to develop the space.
"That property was leased for particular use and so far has not been utilized for that purpose," he said, adding that negotiations with the tenant are ongoing.
For those in need of an alternate parking place at the western end of the downtown area, the Government Employees Retirement System paved parking lot is close by. It is open on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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