A meeting planned for 5 to 6 p.m. Sunday adjacent to the South Side Road site in Great Cruz Bay where Nedal Salem wants to build a 24-hour gas station and convenience store was postponed Friday, according to Planning and Natural Resources Department spokesman Jamal Nielsen.
Nielsen blamed the postponement on application issues. He could not elaborate. Nielsen said no new date was set.
Salem, who operates as Chocolate Hole Estate LLC, needs to get a permit from DPNR to build above-ground tanks to store the fuel. At a meeting held Tuesday, residents complained that those who would be affected most by the gas station could not attend a daytime meeting. DPNR attorney Dawn Henry and Salem agreed to hold a subsequent meeting Sunday.
The .43-acre site where Salem plans the gas station is officially Chocolate Hole, but residents refer to it as Great Cruz Bay because it’s adjacent to the bay of the same name.
Issues raised at Tuesday’s meeting included the proximity of the island’s only gas station, E&C. It sits a quarter of a mile away from the proposed site. Additionally, a grocery store is adjacent to Salem’s proposed convenience store. Several people at the meeting expressed concerns that that the competition would hurt those existing businesses.
Additionally, residents had concerns about bringing fuel up the very steep Jacob’s Ladder. Numerous trucks have slid down the hill, particularly when it rains.
