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Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Gas Station Meeting Set for Friday

An informational meeting on a proposed 24-hour gas station and convenience store will be held from 5 to 6 p.m. Friday adjacent to the site on Southside Road in Great Cruz Bay.
The site is situated on .43 acres between the small shopping center that houses the St. John Market and the entrance road to Power Boyd.
“So everybody knows what’s going on,” owner Nedal Salem, who operates as Chocolate Hole LLC, said.
The meeting was postponed from Oct. 31 because of “application issues.” The Oct. 31 meeting was called at an Oct. 26 meeting where some residents complained that the daytime meeting meant that those who would be most impacted by the proposed gas station could not attend because they were working.
Salem needs a permit from the Planning and Natural Resources Department to build above-ground tanks to store the fuel.
The area 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 the Oct. 26 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. (See link at story’s end for further info.)

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