For a third time in four years, the Senate will consider a plan to rezone an undeveloped plot on St. Croix from residential to business. Monday’s hearing comes at the behest of the governor, who vetoed a similar plan passed by the Legislature in 2022.
Gov. Albert Bryan Jr.’s 2023 veto negated rezoning the 15.9 acres of virgin green space in Beeston Hill from residential-low density R-1 to business B-2. Property owner Atta Misbeh hoped to build a mixed-use strip mall with some housing. Bryan said “special interests” had influenced the legislation.
Bryan’s proposed plan would rezone the area to B-2 but disallow any activity beyond housing unless specifically authorized by the legislature, according to a Government House press release. Misbeh or future property owners would be allowed to build 24 residential units on 3 to 4 acres, a playground, and an outdoor meeting space, nothing more.
In online petitions and voluminous comments to the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, neighbors in Beeston Hill and surrounding areas have long opposed rezoning the land to business, claiming a promise to only building housing was a ruse. The rezoning would lead to traffic and safety concerns, possible drainage issues, and ultimately more empty storefronts out of character with the neighborhood.
Longtime Beeston Hill resident Judith Lordi said Bryan’s rezoning plan was the same as a previous attempt, just dressed up differently.
“Unable to win over Crucians for spot-rezoning, he has approached the governor,” Lordi told the Source Friday. “This is ridiculous. R1 with enough acreage is allowed condos — no need to rezone at all, or possibly just to R2.”
Lordi suggested officials were attempting to dissuade testimony against rezoning the St. Croix property by holding the Senate’s hearing on St. Thomas. Two Crucians will testify at the Senate’s Committee of the Whole meeting Monday, however: David Dower and Olasee Davis. Misbeh, DPNR Commissioner Jean-Pierre Oriol, consultant Alicia Barnes, and Territorial Planner Leia LaPlace-Matthew were scheduled to testify as well.
In 2025, a former senator and former DPNR commissioner, Barnes, represented Misbeh in his bid to rezone the property. Barnes told LaPlace-Matthew that the B-2 zoning would allow for easier financing, as lenders were more apt to invest in land zoned for commercial use. An independent appraiser agreed, writing to DPNR saying B-2 property sold at a higher value than R-1.
LaPlace-Matthew said how projects were financed was immaterial to rezoning considerations. DPNR recommended against the rezoning.
Virgin Islands law puts rezoning decisions in the hands of the Legislature, then the governor, after diligence by DPNR. Many senators have expressed frustration with the checks and balances, saying DPNR were the experts and should have the final word.
