Owners of recently-rezoned St. Croix green space were hit with a stop-work order Thursday after three days of allowing heavy equipment to tear through virgin vegetation on the site without a permit, officials said.
The 15.9 acres in sleepy Beeston Hill had been the center of controversy for years as its owners sought to rezone it to allow for commercial interests. After several failed attempts, the Legislature eventually rezoned it for medium-density residential use, including a potential hotel, over the objection of neighbors and against the recommendation of the territory’s land-use experts.
Neighbors feared the landowners’ promises to only build housing were hollow, and the developers would disregard zoning guardrails to cause traffic congestion, noise pollution, and dismantle the area’s restive nature.
The Department of Planning and Natural Resources visited the site Thursday and issued a verbal order to stop the work, department spokesperson Jamal Nielsen said.
Many people misunderstand the nature of an earth-change permit, Nielsen said, and don’t realize it’s needed for equipment like a mulching machine. In these cases, DPNR orders the work stopped, the owners apply for a permit, and a few days later, they are allowed to restart. The duration and scope of work at Beeston Hill without a permit, however, may be more serious, he said. DPNR officials were assessing the situation for a potential fine.
Generally, an earth-change permit will require safeguards against muddy silt runoff or even landslides that can occur when roots that hold earth together are removed, Nielsen said. A photo of vegetation removal at the Beeston Hill site shows a wide road cut through the dense foliage. No silt screen or other runoff mitigation devices were evident.
A property neighbor wrote to the Source reporting a mulching machine was at the site at least one day and a second, much larger earth mover arrived Thursday. They reported hearing trees falling over from their home and estimated four or five hours of vegetation removal work had happened each day.
